Blas awards lit up by Cork producers

We all know that Cork is a hotbed of culinary production and the most recent Blas na hÉireann awards confirmed that with no less than 36 producers from County Cork winning.

The Cork winners came across a variety of areas from seafood to cheese to biscuits and cider.

The 2024 awards took place earlier in October in Dingle, celebrating the very best of Irish food and drink.

The winners from Co. Cork are: McCarthy's of Kanturk, Kepak, Gloun Cross Dairy, Clona Dairy Products Ltd, Irish Yogurts Clonakilty, Coolea Farmhouse Cheese, Bandon Vale Cheese Ltd, Carbery Group, The Lost Valley Dairy, Macroom Buffalo Cheese Products Ltd, Keohane Seafoods, On The Pigs Back (La Charcuterie Irlandaise Ltd), Cully & Sully, The Good Fish Company, Sage2go Ltd, M & T O’Donovan, Ryes & Shine, Hassetts Bakers & Confectioners Ltd, Clonakilty Gluten Free Kitchen, Second Street Bakeshop, The Sibly Food Company, Regale Biscuits, Fudge Delights, Velo Coffee Roasters, Follain, St Patrick's Distillery Ltd, Beara Distillery Ltd, Rebel City Distillery, Original 7 Beverage Co, Stonewell Cider, Barry and Fitzgerald Butchers Ltd with Folláin awarded Best in County.

“We are delighted to be part of these awards once again this year. We are very fortunate to have so many good successful food producers as clients of the Local Enterprise Office and we are very proud of their achievements,” said Joe Burke, Cork LEO.

“Participating in these awards represent another key milestone on their journey and to benchmark their success against other food producers nationwide. We would like to congratulate all county Cork finalists at this year’s event.”

Blas na hÉireann Chairperson, Artie Clifford said: “We are once again delighted to celebrate such deserving winners at Blas na hÉireann 2024. After 17 years of these awards, it’s inspiring to witness the continued innovation and quality in our food and drink industry here on the island of Ireland. Every year, the standard is raised even higher, and it’s an honour for myself and the entire Blas team to showcase these exceptional products and the dedicated producers behind them to a wider audience.”

Blas na hÉireann 2024 saw the return of the Blas Village where this year’s finalists got the opportunity to showcase their products, engage with customers and meet key industry buyers. The festival focused market Eat Ireland in a Day was back for a third year and included a brand new Meet the Maker stage.

The Backyard at Blas, in partnership with Bank of Ireland delivered an impressive lineup of key industry speakers once again, both in person to the attendees and live streamed. Lucy Ryan, Head of Food and Beverage Sector, Bank of Ireland said: “The growth of Blas na hÉireann each year is testament to the strength of the indigenous food and drink industry, with the ever-expanding number of producers continuing to innovate, and impress the judges with the range of their ambition.”

Blas na hÉireann saw another strong year across all categories along with many new producers entering the awards for the first time this year. During the judging, which took place throughout June and July, over 3,000 entries were judged. Products from every county in Ireland were entered to win bronze, silver or gold awards in over 170 food and drink categories as well as key awards. See www.irishfoodawards.com.