Thyme to celebrate: Irish Examiner writers pick up tasty Irish Food Writing Awards
Kate Sherwood Mcnamee, Joe Michelle Williams Rachel Team: Leslie Examiner Ryan, Irish Darmody, Picture: Paul Martin Hennessy, The Caroline And
Irish Examiner Weekend magazine food columnist and restaurant reviewer, Joe McNamee, has been named best restaurant critic at the Irish Food Writing Awards.
He was one of two writers from this newspaper to scoop accolades at the prestigious event, with columnist Caroline Hennessy being recognised for writing on sustainability in Irish food.
More than 90 award finalists throughout the island of Ireland were competing for the 21 awards on offer in categories covering Irish food and drink journalism. This included cookbooks, feature writing, blogging, photography, podcasting and social media.
Organisers said there was an unprecedented number of submissions received for a newly-expanded list of categories, including a new award for Writing on Irish Seafood.
The leading lights of the Irish food world enjoyed an awards dinner at the RDS followed by a drinks reception at the Merrion Hotel's Cellar Bar. They were joined by international chefs and writers including BBC journalist Dan Saldino, ITV Drinks journalist Andy Clarke and Hello Magazine's Charlotte Pike.
Other well-known foodie faces on the night included Rene Redzepi, Tom Parker Bowles, and Fiona Beckett.
Categories were open to all journalists and writers who promote Irish food across a multitude of platforms including Instagram and TikTok.
Irish Examiner Weekend Magazine food columnist and restaurant reviewer, Joe McNamee, took home the accolade for the Best Restaurant Critic Award in a competition judged by Xanthe Clay and Tom Parker Bowles. He says it was a very proud moment.
"Genuinely very proud to receive such a great award, especially from two such internationally renowned judges. Last night in the RDS was a great occasion thanks to Suzanne Campbell and Paul O'Connor who have built the Irish Food Writing Awards into something very special in just a few short years. I also want to take the opportunity to thank my editors, particularly Vickie May and Jillian Bolger (and before Jillian, Ciara O'Donnell) who have always been so supportive and kind."
columnist Caroline Hennessy scooped her award for Writing on Sustainability in Irish Food, in a category judged by Catherine Mack.
Found of the Irish Food Writing Awards, journalist Suzanne Campbell said they were overwhelmed with the amount of entries.
"It's been a great experience again working with our international judges and Irish food and drink sponsor companies without which the awards couldn't have happened. Myself and colleague Paul O'Connor set this up in 2021 to recognise excellence and the hard work of writers and food media."
Other winners on the night included The Spice Bags Podcast which won in the Irish Food or Drink Podcast category, and trio Maria Delaney, Geela Garcia and Louise Lawless of Noteworthy.ie was awarded the prize for Investigative Writing. John and Sally McKenna were honoured for Outstanding Achievement in Food Writing and the Cookbook of the Year was awarded to by Denis Cotter.
The awards specifically celebrate the high quality of food and drink writing from throughout the island of Ireland, across print, broadcast and online.
In all categories, entries were accepted from the nominees themselves, by a third party and were open to writers, journalists, bloggers and photographers.
You can see the full list of winners here.