'Chapter One' wins five awards

Chapter One restaurant in Dublin had a virtual clean sweep in the Food & Wine magazine Restaurant of the Year awards, winning a total of five of the top prizes.

The Parnell Square eaterie was voted restaurant of the year and best Dublin restaurant, with its chef and joint owner Mr Ross Lewis taking the titles of Dublin chef of the year and overall chef of the year.

At an awards ceremony in the Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin,Chapter One was also recognised for the second time with the best service award, attributed to co-owner Mr Martin Corbett's attention to details and his friendly manner.

An overwhelmed Mr Lewis said that it was the culmination of almost 14 years' work.

"We started at the wrong end of Parnell Square in 1991 and for seven or eight years it was hard, hard work with very little reward," he said.

The chef, who has previously worked in New York, London and Geneva, said "if people in the industry acknowledge you, that's the greatest accolade you can possibly get and they will tell other people".

Paying tribute to the restaurant's staff, he said: "It's like in Church, it's the congregation not the building that counts and these awards are for the staff."

In the new national categories of the awards, Nick's Restaurant, Belfast, was noted for best value while Jaipur, the Indian restaurant in Dublin's South Great George's Street, won the best world cuisine restaurant award.

Macnean Bistro, Blacklion, Co Cavan, won the best Ulster restaurant award for the second year running and its cook, TV chef Mr Neven Maguire, won Ulster chef of the year, while Ms Mercy Fenton of Jacobs on the Mall, Cork, took the Munster chef accolade and Ms Cliodhna Prendergast, Delphi Lodge, Co Mayo, was awarded the Connacht chef title.

This is the fourth year of the awards, held in association with Evian water. Readers of Food & Wine are asked to nominate their favourite restaurants and a panel of 10 judges decides the winners.

"We went to great lengths to devise a judging system that would be seen as credible and fair and I believe we have succeeded to the extent where the awards play a significant role in maintaining and raising standards in the industry," said Ms Norah Casey, the magazine's publisher who was also one of the judges.

The 10 judges also included Mr Mr Paddy Moore, acting CEO of Bord Bia, Paolo Tullio, food critic, and writer Biddy White Lennon of the Irish Food Writers' Guild.