This article is from page 10 of the 2011-06-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
BALLYVAUGHAN is Ireland’s new capital of cuisine after Gregan’s Castle dominated the prestigious Irish Restaurant Awards in Dublin last week. In an unprecedented sweeps of awards, the North Clare hotel took three of the top eight awards back to the Banner county – the most successful haul of Clare winners in the history of the awards.
More than 800 industry professionals turned out to the Burlington Hotel to see Gregan’s Castle chef Mickael Viljanen scoop the much coveted Best Chef in Ireland Award, while Gregan’s Castle also won the Best Hotel Restaurant and Best Customer Service Awards.
Located at the foot of Corkscrew Hill, Gregan’s Castle is operated by husband and wife team Simon and Frederieke Haden. Although they have won numerous national and international awards in recent years last week’s three victories is by far and away the biggest competitive success that has been won by any Clare eatery in recent years.
Finnish chef Mickael Viljanen has been cooking up a storm in Gregan’s Castle for more than three years now. He also beat fellow semi-finalist Kevin Thornton on his way to the overall crown.