Revealed: Ireland’s top food and drink products and people for 2023

Brothers Seamus and Kevin Sheridan, who are behind one of Ireland’s best known cheese brands, have been awarded a lifetime achievement award for their outstanding contribution to Irish food.

Almost 30 years after they started selling Sheridan’s cheese at Galway’s Saturday market in 1995, the pair have been honoured by the Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG).

Eight awards were presented on Tuesday at Suesey Street restaurant in Dublin, with a lunch created by head chef Deniss Lasenko, featuring the winning produce.

The Sheridan brothers have developed strong relationships with Irish producers over the years and built a brand with its green, white and gold packaging synonymous with quality.

Three Irish food awards were also presented to Velvet Cloud Sheep’s Milk Yogurt, which is produced from an almost 400-strong flock on a family farm near Claremorris, Co Mayo; Ballylisk of Armagh with its range of cheeses including its flagship Triple Rose, which is a white mould-ripened, single-herd, triple-cream cheese; and Smoked Lough Neagh Eel, made from a select few of the 220 tonnes of protected eels farmed each year from a unique habitat that produces a remarkable flavour and texture.

This year’s Irish drink award was presented to Béal Bán from Beoir Chorcha Dhuibhne. Adrienne Heslin was the first woman to found and manage a brewery after setting up Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne in west Kerry. Béal Bán, a golden ale, is produced with just an 800l-kit using water from 150ft below the site.

Beal Bán from Beoir Chorcha Dhuibhne; Ballylisk Triple Rose, balsamic caviar, pan de cristal; and Aran Island cranberry honey goats' cheese, balsamic bramley apple chutney at the Irish Food Writers Guild Awards 2023. Photograph: Paul Sherwood

Gabriel Faherty of Aran Islands Goats’ Cheese was awarded the notable contribution to Irish food award. An Aran Islander, Faherty began producing Cáis Gabhair Árann after buying a herd of goats. In 2021, he set up Aran Food Tours to combine his knowledge of cheese and the history of Inis Mór.

A family-run farm in the Boyne Valley, Co Meath, is home to free-range pork charcuterie business The Wooded Pig. The business earned the environmental award for the ethical methods it uses. Owner Eoin Bird practices regenerative agriculture to ensure a nature-friendly farming network. The pigs roam freely among ash, oak and beech trees, allowing them plenty of shade in the summer and endless mud in which to bathe and dig when it rains.

Selection of Sheridans' Cheese, Crackers & Chutney at the Irish Food Writers Guild Awards 2023. Photograph: Paul Sherwood

The community food award was presented to Field of Dreams, a project set up by the Cork branch of Down Syndrome Ireland in 2017 to support the learning needs of adults with Down syndrome in horticulture. From seed to plot to plate, participants work together to grow and harvest food, learn about good nutrition and how to cook. IFWG said it is “a perfect example of how food and community come together”.