Three local food producers earn Blas na hÉireann awards

Three local food producers earned prestigious Blas na hÉireann in Dingle recently.

Do Me A Flavour, Oliver Carty; Oliver Carty & Family and Waldron Family were awarded a range of medals, whilst Waldron Family was also awarded Best in County Roscommon.

This year’s finalists and winners got to experience the Blas Village for the first time.

Located in the heart of Dingle, this pop-up village was built for producers across the country to come together and celebrate the very best of Irish food and drink for Blas’s first in-person event in three years.

As well as the awards being held there, finalists and winners had the opportunity to showcase their products, engage with customers and meet key industry buyers.

Finalists and winners showcased their produce in a new tented market — each tent highlighting a province in Ireland — also a new addition to the festival.

Suitably named Eat Ireland in a Day, visitors were able to enjoy the high calibre quality of food and drinks that reached the finalist stage.

Speaking after the announcement of the winners, Artie Clifford, Chairperson and founder of Blas na hÉireann said: “As well as the excitement of the awards, it has been an intense and fantastic few days of focused networking, catch-ups and creating new connections and I am delighted that we have been able to showcase this exceptional produce to both regular visitors and industry experts in such an approachable and enjoyable way. What a great few days to welcome our Blas family back to Dingle.”

Now in their 15th year, Blas na hÉireann saw a huge increase in entries with almost 3000 products and many new producers entering the awards for the first time.

Products from every county in Ireland were entered to win bronze, silver or gold awards in over 150 food and drink categories, as well as key awards like Supreme Champion and Best Artisan Producer.