Three businesses from Galway-West of Ireland, European Region of Gastronomy 2018 featured among the winners of Georgina Campbell’s guide 2019 Awards in the newly created category Spirit of the European Region of Gastronomy.
The winning trio – The Twelve boutique hotel, Beechlawn Organic Farm, and Gannet Fishmongers – shined for excellently demonstrating “collaborating and working together in action, showing how an inspired hospitality business teaming up with the best local food producers and suppliers can create memorable experiences that educate and delight in equal measure,” as reported on Georgina Campbell’s website.
Fergus O’Halloran’s The Twelve boutique hotel works under the motto “True to The Region, True to The Season.” Counting with excellent local producers and suppliers, including Beechlawn Organic Farm and Gannet Fishmongers, its Chef Martin O’Donnell offers seasonal menus based on high-quality local produce.
Beechlawn Organic Farm is “famed for the range and quality of their produce” reports Georgina Campbell’s website. A National Organic Demonstration Farm, it “is run in a very visitor-friendly way” by Padraig Fahy and Una Ní Bhroin and is nowadays “one of the most highly respected organic producers in Ireland.”
Finally, Gannet Fishmongers offers high-quality, locally-sourced fish and supplies many hotels and restaurants in the area of Galway. According to the guide, owner of Gannet Fishmongers, Stefan Griesbach “is among the few to treat fish as a seasonal food and to educate customers about it” as he did during Food on the Edge in 2017, where he talked “about all other types of fish that we should be eating, not just those that are well known.”
The three businesses perfectly illustrate the cross-sectoral and multi-stakeholder approach advocated by IGCAT through the European Region of Gastronomy Award, nurturing fruitful synergies among different actors in the region.
Georgina Campbell’s is Ireland’s leading independent food and hospitality guide specialised in Irish food, hospitality and travel. Family-run, the guide counts with a team of food writers and other qualified hospitality professionals who travel every county in Ireland visiting establishments in incognito to ensure independent assessment. Georgina Campell Guide Awards are the longest-running independent hospitality awards in Ireland and are highly coveted by establishments all over the country.
About the European Region of Gastronomy
Candidate and awarded Regions of Gastronomy from Europe, guided by IGCAT, are working together to raise awareness about the importance of their cultural and food uniqueness and share the long-term aim to: promote a better quality of life in European regions; highlight distinctive food cultures; educate for better health and sustainability; nurture creativity; improve tourism standards; and stimulate gastronomic innovation.
About IGCAT
IGCAT is a non-profit institute established in 2012, working with regional stakeholder consortiums in the fields of gastronomy, culture, arts and tourism. It counts on the expertise of a worldwide network of experts and works in partnership with specialised intergovernmental organisations.
IGCAT aims to empower local communities by guiding, facilitating, and supporting leaders in regions to understand the potential of their distinct food, culture, arts and sustainable tourism assets.
IGCAT provides the Region of Gastronomy Award and is the official secretariat for the European Region of Gastronomy Platform. Furthermore, the Institute has developed the European Young Chef Award the Local Food Gift Challenge, the Top Food Experiences of the Year and the Food Film Festivals project.