This article is from page 8 of the 2011-02-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
THERE was celebrations in Liscannor over the weekend as Dennis Vaughan was crowned Irish Seafood Chef of the Year. Vaughan, who runs Vaughan’s Anchor Inn Bar and Seafood Restaurant in the village, was officially presented with the prestigious accolade by the Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries, Sean Connick, last week.
“We are very happy to get the award. We have always aimed to produce the highest quality of seafood in the restaurant. It’s what we have always done, we were brought up on it with all the fishing so even from a very young age we have aimed to produce top quality seafood,” he told The Clare People yesterday.
“In the restaurant the focus was always primarily on fish. The total focus of the restaurant is on local fish and shell fish. We are one of the few restaurants in the country who proc ess all their own stuff – from crabs to prawns to fish – everything that we use comes in either on the bone or in the shell and we work with it from there. Everything is as it comes out of the sea.
“I think that the public do recognise a product. You could be in a restaurant beating yourself up and going down the road of putting cheaper products on the menu but I think you will lose the loyalty of people who come to you looking for that grade of product. It’s is about giving people what they want and not cutting any corners.
“We give it as good as we can give it, with a premium product that peo- ple seem to like and so far it is working out well for us.”
While a number of restaurants around the county have closed for the winter months or have installed limited opening hours, Vaughan’s Anchor Inn Bar and Seafood Restaurant has been able to remain open all year round, seven days a week.
Meanwhile, it was also being confirmed over the weekend that 13 Clare eateries have been named as part of the BIM Seafood Circle – with the majority of the chosen restaurants located in the north and west of the county.
There are currently 200 members of the Seafood Circle nationwide. It was set up to champion retail and hospitality outlets that offer the best quality seafood and service to customers.