Celebrity chef Neven Maguire has been named best chef in Ireland in the 2014 Irish Restaurant Awards, while Kilkenny's Campagne claimed the title of best restaurant.
The best chef award is further recognition of Maguire's work, with his decorated Cavan venue MacNean House and Restaurant having previously received restaurant of the year accolades from Georgina Campbell in 2007 and Food and Wine Magazine in 2008.
Campagne, opened by Garrett Byrne and Bríd Hannon in 2008, was itself a Georgina Campbell award winner in 2010, and the French restaurant also added a Michelin Star to its string of achievements in 2014.
Speaking on the awards, Restaurant Association of Ireland president Pádraic Óg Gallagher paid tribute to the high standards attained by this year's entrants.
“This year’s awards have been the biggest, brightest, and the best. They are the awards with which everyone wants to be associated, with over 19,000 nominations for Ireland’s favourite restaurants, chefs, gastro pubs, hotel restaurants, restaurant managers and ‘foodie towns’ throughout the country,” said Mr Óg Gallagher.
The Chop House was one of a trio of notable award winners in Dublin as it was deemed best gastro pub, while Etto claimed the title of best casual dining experience, and Forest Avenue restaurant was named newcomer of the year.
Dingle cemented its reputation as an up-and-coming gastronomic location as it was named best foodie town in Ireland, with Fenton's of Dingle given the "best value dining" honour.
It’s estimated the Irish restaurant industry employs 64,000 people, generating about €2 billion worth of revenue to the economy each year.
The awards, sponsored by the Sunday Independent’s Life magazine, also recognised the environmental efforts of Ireland’s eateries, with the best practice in energy management and sustainable restaurant of the year titles going to The Ocean Restaurant and West @ The Twelve respectively.
