This article is from page 12 of the 2013-04-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
FIVE Clare restaurants have scooped majority of honorary awards at the Munster Regional Final at the Santa Rita / LIFE Magazine Irish Restaurant Awards, which took place in The Imperial Hotel in Cork on April 22.
Noel’s Restaurant, Bunratty, is now not only home to an award-winning seafood chowder, but it has the friendliest staff; after being awarded for Best Customer Service on the big night in Cork.
“It was a team effort,” began Noel Wallace, “everyone buys into the same plan and works together.
“We have a fabulous team here and we are absolutely delighted to receive the award, especially at a time where customer service is so highly valued.
“We had a great night and look forward to the All-Ireland event on June 10.”
Over 350 restaurant owners and staff celebrated their success and hard work at the awards and witness fellow restauranteurs accept the prestigious awards.
Other winners include JP Clarkes of Bunratty, awarded the title of Best Gastro Pub; The Wild Honey Inn in Liscannor, who received Best Restaurant; and the well-known Earl of Thomond in Dromoland, who accepted awards for Best Hotel Restaurant and Best Chef, David McCann.
L’Arco, an authentic Italian Restaurant located in the heart of Ballvaughan also received the award for Best Casual Dining for the second year in a row. Run by the Quinn family with Italian chefs from Sardinia, the aim is to offer an authentic and affordable Italian dining experience, suitable for families and diners seeking reasonable prices and in comfortable surroundings.
According to chief executive of the Restaurant Association of Ireland, “the awards cast a spotlight on the brightest and best players on the Irish restaurant scene.
“Restaurateurs are entrepreneurs, and that is reflected in the fact that the restaurant sector is the biggest employer within the hospitality industry. We provide employment to 64,000 people and the industry has annual sales in excess of € 2 billion; tonight, everyone is a winner.”
Nominations for the awards were made by members of the public online for the first time. All nominees were then assessed by regional judging panels, made up of industry experts across the region. Votes from the consumer, members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the regional judges are independently assessed by KPMG who give the County Winner in each category.