Irish Quality Food Awards

On Oct 18th in the Clayton Hotel, many food producers got together for the Irish Quality Food Awards. I was delighted to attend the event as a judge.

Winning a 'Q' is a fantastic endorsement of a product and a powerful marketing tool. During the summer months the panel of judges taste and debate thousands of products to decide who the winners will be. Each product receives feedback from the panel of judges in a number of areas, including taste and packaging.

Here are some products that won awards that I think you should look out for in the supermarkets! The full list of winners are also available.

Value Q - Lidl Emotionali Butterscotch Sweets / Sweet Tec
Christmas Q - Dunnes Stores Simply Better Handmade All Butter Mince Pies / Foods of Athenry
Overall Q - Meere’s Gourmet Sausage Roll - Chorizo and Smoked Paprika

Cheese - Tesco Finest Gruyere, Camembert & Gorgonzola all won.
Cereals - Aldi Kavanaghs Organic Porridge / Whites Speedicook
Oils & Vinegars - Dunnes Stores Simply Better Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP Balsamic Vinegar of Modena / Del Gusto
Steaks - Tesco Finest won for Ribeye , striploin and Fillet and Aldi Speciality for Angus Sirloin.
Meat pudding - Meeres square black pudding
Game - Lidl Fresh Irish Duck Breast with Garlic & Pepper Marinade / Silver Hill Foods
Coffee - Tesco Finest Ristretto Capsules / Percol

Drinks Q

Red wine under €10 - LGI Wines Levalet Malbec IGP Pays d'Oc 2017 and Tesco Finest Argentinian Malbec / Catena

White wine under €10 - LGI Wines Levalet Marsanne Viognier IGP Pays d'Oc 2017

Champagne - Tesco Finest Vintage Champagne / O Moore & Co

Red wine over €10 - Tesco Finest The Trilogy Malbec / Catena

White wine over €10 - Tesco Finest Alsace Gewurztraminer / Arthur Metz

Beer - Tesco Rye River Brewing Solas Brown Porter / Rye River Brewing Co

Gin - Lidl Distilled Irish Gin / West Cork Distillers (under €25)

There were so many award winners and you should see the 'Q' sticker on the products in-store soon. Weeks of testing has gone into deciding these winners, I suggest you take the tip and try them out yourself!