News Blog - Hotel and Catering Review

Adare Manor scoops global award

Above: Paul Heery, General Manager, Adare Manor and Anita Higgins, Director of Business Development, Adare Manor. Photo: Robert Stanzione Great news for Adare Manor – the recently rejuvenated hotel has won Hotel of the Year 2018 at the renowned Global Virtuoso Best of the Best Awards. The awards ceremony, which took place in Las Vegas on Thursday, marked the 12th annual awards, recognising Virtuoso Hotels and [...]

3Arena hosts one of the largest-ever sit-down catered events

Dublin's 3Arena hosted one of Ireland's largest sit-down dinners this week, with more than 2,240 international corporate tourists enjoying a gala dinner as part of their four-day trip. The large-scale event was managed by the 3Arena's Operational team, led by Cormac Rennick and Virginia Fortune, working with the team behind Odyssey International (which arranged the tourists' visit) and catered for by Eunice Power – the 3Arena's [...]

Irish Guild of Sommeliers announces World Contest candidate

Julie Dupouy-Young, the Irish Guild of Sommeliers' Best Sommelier of Ireland for 2018, will represent the Guild at the ASI World Sommelier Contest in Antwerp, Belgium next year. The announcement was made by the President of the Irish Guild Oliver Murtagh. Dupouy-Young has held the Irish Guild’s title of Ireland’s Best Sommelier since 2009. The deputy candidate Tomasz Szczepanski was also named for the contest. Dupouy-Young [...]

#BlackBushStories series joins Irish whiskey and leather craft

Above: Jason Karayiannis. Photo: Rob Durston If you've got an interest in whiskey and leather, you're in luck. The next event in the #BlackBushStories series will be hosted by Irish leatherworker Jason Karayiannis, in the form a hands-on workshop at Dublin's Drury Buildings in Dublin on Wednesday August 29th. Jason is the driving force behind Father's Father, a Belfast-based business that produces handmade leather goods combining quality [...]

Say I do with Deliveroo

The wedding catering business has got some new competition. Delivery service Deliveroo has joined the fray, working with restaurant partners to cater for couples' big day and offering a wide range of cuisine to suit all tastes and requirements. The company's wedding service will work outside of the app, with clients receiving a dedicated account manager to help them go through their options. Prospective couples are [...]

Airfield hosts food festivities

The annual Airfield Festival of Food returns to Airfield Estate in Dundrum on September 8th and 9th. Now in its fourth year, with over 15,000 people expected to descend over both days, the festival has been expanded to include a mindful and nature area, food demos, craft beers, a music stage, gardening zone (this year they're looking for the hottest chilli) and much more. This year's event [...]

Drumshanbo Gunpowder creator among EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalists

Above: Pat Rigney. Photo: Fennell Photography PJ Rigney, the creator of the internationally-acclaimed Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, is among the finalists of the prestigious EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The 24 finalists were shortlisted from over 110 nominations from across the island, selected by an independent judging panel. The finalists are provided with the opportunity to connect, learn from and do business with the EY [...]

Chef Network Skillnet announces autumn schedule

Photo: Julia Dunin Chef Network Skillnet, the training arm of Irish professional chef community Chef Network, has announced a series of 34 training events taking place across the country this autumn. The events, which will be peer-led, will be designed to address key challenges across the hospitality and foodservice sectors. A focus will be placed on personal and leadership skills, business skills and culinary skills through [...]

Irish gold

Main image: Miss Mels Photography Peter McCloskey, founder of Collar of Gold, chats to Conor Forrest about how his natural Irish vegetable oil is making waves. For the most part, chefs have a choice of one of two edible oils – those that are chemically extracted and chemically refined (e.g. regular cooking oils), and those extracted using physical processes (cold-pressed oils and their extra-virgin equivalents). The [...]

Beating Brexit

With the date for Britain’s exit from the EU fast approaching, Hotel & Catering Review examines the current state of play in Ireland’s hospitality sector and assesses what those businesses should be doing to prepare beforehand. Although there is less than a year to go until the UK exits the EU, no definitive account of what Ireland’s relationship with our nearest neighbours will look like has [...]

Ballygarry House takes the green path

Above: Ballygarry's Green Team leaders. Tralee's Ballygarry House Hotel is among the businesses across the country and around the world taking steps to reduce the environmental damage caused by pollution. Small steps including the introduction of paperless checkouts and refillable soap dispensers have been augmented by the hotel's dedicated Green Team overseen by Deputy General Manager Tadhg McGillicuddy. The team comprises members from every department at [...]

The social side: Getting started on social media

Hotel & Catering Review spoke to BoomMedia’s Rob Tierney to discover his top tips in setting up a social media presence for your business. In this day and age, people look at you strangely if you don’t maintain a presence on social media. After all, brands of all shapes and sizes across the globe target their specific audience via digital platforms – a useful method of connecting [...]

Hard Rock International announces first Dublin hotel

Above: An artist's impression of the upcoming Hard Rock Hotel Dublin. Image: Digital Aspect Hard Rock International has announced plans to expand its portfolio to Ireland, with Hard Rock Hotel Dublin set to open in 2020. The organisation is working in collaboration with Tifco Limited on the project, which will be located in the city centre on Lord Edward Street. The impending hotel will comprise two [...]

Irish chef awarded Freedom of the City of London

Above: Sodexo chef David Mulcahy (right) receiving the Freedom of the City of London from Murray Craig, Clerk of the Chamberlain’s Court at Guildhall, London along with fellow chef Steve Munkley. David Mulcahy, Food Innovation Director with Sodexo UK and Ireland, has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his contribution to the hospitality industry and culinary excellence in the UK. [...]

Met Eireann launches Mount Juliet weather station

Above: Met Eireann launches one of their Climatological Automatic Weather Stations at Mount Juliet Estate. Pictured with Siobhan Ryan, RTÉ weather presenter, are Pat O’Reilly, Estate Manager and Matt Sandercock, Director of Golf. Photo: Patrick Browne Mount Juliet Estate will be keeping an even closer weather eye on the horizon from now on, having recently played host to the launch of one of Met Éireann's Climatological [...]

National Off-Licence Association calls for State support

Ninety-eight per cent of National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) members believe that the government isn't doing enough to protect Irish SMEs, while 37 per cent would hire more staff if excise duty on alcohol is reduced by 15 per cent. Those and other statistics have been unveiled as part of NOffLA's pre-Budget submission to the Department of Finance for Budget 2019, resulting from an annual survey of [...]

Hoteliers predict strong summer

Ireland's hoteliers and guesthouse owners are forecasting a positive summer for the sector, according to the latest industry survey by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF). The majority (70 per cent) report that business has increased year on year, with a boost from staycations and overseas markets including continental Europe and North America, though 49 per cent noted a drop in UK business. Improving business levels have [...]

Giant 13lb Jägermeister gelato sundae created to launch #DessertFSTVL

Above: Katie Mythen Lynch, Johnny Lynch, Ernest Cantillon, and Eimear McCarthy from FSTVLR launching #DessertFSTVL. Photo: Domnick Walsh This summer, Ireland will be celebrating all things sweet with #DessertFSTVL, the first-ever national dessert festival. From July 23rd to 29th venues nationwide will participate in the festival, showcasing of their most delicious and indulgent desserts and hosting events for the public to enjoy. To launch the festival, [...]

Ireland moving up in global golf tourism leaderboard

Above: John McLaughlin, CEO, North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland. With the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Ballyliffin concluded for another year, one of Ireland’s leading golf marketing companies has claimed that the tournament’s resurgence in recent years, aligned with a proactive global marketing drive, is providing a real boost for golf tourism across the island. North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland has almost [...]

Royal visit to provide tourism boost

Photo: iStock Tourism Ireland is anticipating a boost in tourism numbers thanks to this week’s royal visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan Markle. During their two-day visit, which began yesterday, the couple will visit Croke Park, Trinity College and the Book of Kells, as well as EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum. A large media contingent has travelled [...]

The rise of Irish charcuterie

Above: Rob Krawczyk. Photo: Rob Durston This month, Irish chef and charcuterie master Rob Krawczyk will host a meat curing and whiskey masterclass designed to showcase how we can combine hugely popular homegrown products to create something amazing by simply embracing Ireland’s native produce, ingredients and recipes. Creating definitively Irish cured meats in a field dominated by our continental neighbours is no mean feat, but Rob [...]

#BlackBushStories unveils charcuterie masterclass

Photo: Rob Durston Bushmills' #BlackBushStories collaborative event series continues this summer with Cork chef and charcuterie master Rob Krawczyk set to host a masterclass later this month. Krawczyk, whose father Frank made charcuterie in West Cork for 25 years and taught his son how to cure and smoke meat, will run a meat-curing class at Dublin's Drury Buildings on Wednesday July 25th, in association with Bushmills Irish [...]

Safety first at Bloomfield

Above: Members of the Bloomfield Team receiving their AED training certs. According to the HSE, around 5,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest each year in Ireland, the majority of which occur outside of hospitals. For every minute that passes, the victim's chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest drop by between seven and ten per cent. However, if you can access a defibrillator nearby you [...]

A one-stop-shop for FSTVLR-goers

Above: Johnny Lynch, Ernest Cantillon, Katie Mythen Lynch and Eimear McCarthy from FSTVLR. Photo: Domnick Walsh There's a new player in town with Irish broad range of festivals firmly in its sights. FSTVLR is a recently-launched business that runs themed festivals across the country and connects businesses seeking to host food and drink events with consumers through its online platform FSTVLR.ie. FSTVLR aims to provide businesses with [...]

Simply Better steaks recognised at London awards

Above: The bronze winner from the Simply Better collection. Good news for the Simply Better collection from Dunnes Stores – the range has been recognised with a gold medal at the 2018 World Steak Challenge in London. A total of 22 countries participated in these awards, which judge steaks from around the world based on appearance, aroma, colour, marbling, and consistency of fat trim. The Dunnes [...]