Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards, announce 2026 finalists. Cork well represented.

press release

Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards,

announce 2026 finalists

The finalists for Blas na hÉireann, The Irish Food Awards 2026, have been announced, with 51 exceptional producers from Co. Cork making it through to the final stage of Ireland’s most prestigious food awards. 

The countdown is now officially on for the return to Dingle this autumn, where the very best of Irish food and drink will be celebrated from Thursday 1st October to Sunday 4th October, with the Blas Village, Showcase, Eat Ireland in a Day market and the awards themselves will be announced on Friday 2nd October.

Now in its 19th year, Blas na hÉireann continues to grow, with more than 3,000 entries submitted from across the island, and a record number of new producers taking part. The number of food and drink categories has also increased from 170 to over 200 this year. Bronze, silver and gold awards are presented across the food and drink categories, alongside major accolades including Supreme Champion, supported by Bord Bia and Best Artisan Producer, supported by the LEO Network. The judging, which took place over June and July in partnership with UCC and TU Dublin, is blind-tasted and scored by a network of expert judges, including chefs, buyers, academics, restaurateurs, and industry leaders. Only the top entries from each category make it to the finalist stage, which is a huge achievement in itself.

The finalists shortlisted from Co. Cork across a wide range of categories are Alternative Christmas Pudding Co., Bandon Vale Cheese, Bantry Bay Mussels, Barry & Fitzwilliam, Bia Beirut, CakeWheelers, Clóna Dairy Products Ltd.,Clonakilty Food Co., Clonakilty, Gluten Free Kitchen, Coastal Trading, Cully & Sully, Dripsey Castle Estate, Durrus Cheese, Eight Degrees Brewing, Five Farms, Folláin, Garveys SuperValu Cobh, Hassetts Bakers & Confectioners ltd., Hyde irish Whiskey, Hyde Ltd, Irish Yogurts Clonakilty, K O'Connell Fishmongers, Keohane Seafoods, Kepak Ltd, Leahys Open Farm produce, Macroom Buffalo Cheese, McCarthy's of Kanturk, Niks Tea, O Flynns Gourmet Sausage Co.,OGAM Foods Limited, O'Keeffes Bakery/ Irish Country Cuisine, On The Pigs Back, Rebel City Distillery, Regale, SAGE 2 GO, SAGE by, Kev Aherne, Salt of Kinsale ltd, Saturday Pizzas, Second Street Bakeshop, Sibly Food Co., Silverpail, Skeaghanore West Cork Farm, Spice O' Life, St Patricks Distillery Ltd, Stonewell Cider, The Cultured Food Company, The Good Fish Company, Toons Bridge Dairy, Velo Coffee Roasters, West Cork Distillers and Wildberry Bakery.

"We are delighted to see so many Cork City food businesses shortlisted for the finals in Dingle. Recognition from Blas na hÉireann has been invaluable for growing food enterprises." said Niall O'Keeffe, Head of Enterprise, Cork City Council.

"It’s been another exceptional year for Blas na hÉireann," said Blas na hÉireann Chairperson Artie Clifford. "The quality and creativity of this year's entries have been outstanding, showcasing the talent, innovation and dedication of food and drink producers across Ireland. Blas is all about celebrating these producers and giving them the recognition they deserve, and we look forward to welcoming them to Dingle this October."

This year’s Blas na hÉireann weekend will see the return of the hugely popular Eat Ireland in a Day market and the Blas Village, where 2026 finalists can showcase their products, connect with buyers, and meet with fellow producers, media and food lovers from across the country. With producer education and growth at the forefront once again, this year’s event will continue to build on its community support for producers and support a more conscious future for Irish food.  

Continuing this focus on education and collaboration, The Backyard at Blas, supported by Bank of Ireland, will return this year as an integral part of the Blas experience. Bringing together inspiring speakers and fellow producers, it offers a dedicated space for learning and networking.

Making it as a finalist is no small achievement. The competition intensifies every year, and the producers shortlisted really do represent the crème de la crème of Irish food and drink. The Blas na hÉireann awards weekend in Dingle is a celebration of great food, and of the people, passion and place that make Irish food so special. 

Blas na hÉireann 2025 winners announced in Dingle. Thirty three producers from Co. Cork take home awards

Blas na hÉireann 2025 winners announced in Dingle.

Thirty three producers from Co. Cork take home awards

Skeaghanore West Cork farm win Best in County, proudly supported by Cork LEO. 

Dingle. Pic by AllenKiely

 

 
All roads led to Dingle on Friday 3rd October for the eagerly anticipated finals of Blas na hÉireann, The Irish Food Awards, now in their 18th year and firmly established as the largest and most influential food awards on the island of Ireland. 

 

This year, 40 producers from Co. Cork were shortlisted across a wide range of categories, with 32 of them taking home coveted Blas awards. The bronze, silver and gold winners from the county include: 

Alternative Christmas Pudding Company, Bandon Vale, Bandon Vale Cheese, Bantry Bay Seafoods, Blacks Brewing & Distilling, Clona Dairy Products Ltd., Folláin, Foxway Co T/A Silver Pail Dairy, Hassetts Bakers & Confectioners Ltd., Hyde Ltd., Irish Yogurts, Irish Yogurts Ltd., K O'Connell Fish Merchants, Keohane Seafoods, Kepak, Kinsale Mead, Leahys Open farm, McCarthy's of Kanturk, Mella's Fudge, Nohoval Drinks Company Ltd. T/A Stonewell Cider & Nohoval Apple Wine, North Cork Creameries, Nua Asador, O Donovan's Enniskeane, O'Flynn's Gourmet Sausage Company, O'Keeffes Bakery/Irish Country Cuisine, Ogam Foods Ltd., On The Pigs Back (La Charcuterie Irlandaise Ltd.), Scally's of Clonakilty, SuperValu, Second Street Bakeshop, Velo Coffee Roasters, West Cork Distillers and Wildberry Bakery. 

Skeaghanore West Cork farm was awarded Best in County, proudly sponsored by Cork Local Enterprise Office. “We extend our warmest congratulations to the Cork County Winner - Skeaghanore West Cork Farm - at this year’s Blas na hÉireann awards,” said Kevin Curran, Head of Enterprise at LEO Cork North & West. “This accolade is a testament to the exceptional quality and creativity of our local Cork food producers. Their success not only brings pride to Cork but also showcases the incredible food talent and potential within Cork. The Cork County LEO's are thrilled to see their hard work and vision recognised on such a prestigious Irish Showcase of Food".

 

2025 marks another record year for Blas na hÉireann, with over 3,000 entries across more than 180 categories, reflecting the strength and diversity of Irish food and drink. 

Second Street Bakeshop, who make this Gourmet Toffee Popcorn,
were among the winners.

 

Pic by AllenKiely

This year’s finalists and winners had the opportunity to showcase their products at the Blas Village and the popular Eat Ireland in a Day market, both of which returned to Dingle alongside the annual Backyard at Blas panel discussions supported by Bank of Ireland. The weekend offered producers a chance to connect with buyers, industry experts, media, fellow producers, and food lovers, while also celebrating the people, and the talents, that make Irish food so special. 

Speaking after the announcement, Artie Clifford, Chairperson of Blas na hÉireann, said “Every year the standard rises, and 2025 has been no exception. To see such talented producers from Co. Cork represented on the shortlist, and now to celebrate the winners from that county, is a real testament to the skill, creativity and resilience of Ireland’s food producers. Making it to the finalist stage alone is a huge achievement, and to win at Blas is something of which to be incredibly proud. Irish food and drink continues to go from strength to strength, and it is a joy to celebrate that strength and that community here in Dingle.”  

The Blas na hÉireann awards weekend ran from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th October in Dingle, with a packed programme of events shining a spotlight on the very best of Irish food and drink. Sustainability once again remained a key focus, with the event continuing to build on its waste-free commitments and support a more conscious future for Irish food. 

#pressrelease Updated 09.10.25

Entries are now open for Blas na hÉireann 2025, the Irish Food Awards

Calling all food and drink producers, entries are now open for Blas na hÉireann 2025, the Irish Food Awards

Calling all food and drink producers in Cork — entries are now open for Blas na hÉireann 2025, the Irish Food Awards, with Best in County supported by Cork LEO. 

Now in their 18th year, Blas na hÉireann is the largest competition for quality Irish produce on the island of Ireland, created to recognise and celebrate the very best of Irish food and drink. Entries are now open for producers across all categories and the deadline for all entries is the 15th May. 

 

“It’s an exciting time when we begin our annual process again,” says Artie Clifford, Blas na hÉireann Chairman. “Every year for the past 18 years we have gone into the competition looking forward to discovering new products and welcoming new producers participating, right across the island, and every year our expectations have been exceeded. With over 3,000 entries in 2024, this year’s bar has been set very high, but we have every confidence in the innovation, talents and commitment of our food producers, and no doubt there will be much to excite and delight in Blas na hÉireann 2025.” 

The Blas awards are the biggest blind tasting of produce in the country, and the criteria on which the product is judged as well as the judging system itself, which was developed by Blas na hÉireann with the Food Science Dept of UCC, is now recognised as an industry gold standard worldwide. The tasting takes place throughout June and July, building towards the biggest celebration of Irish food and its producers when the awards are presented in the Blas Village in Dingle in October.  

Last year over 3,000 products from every county in Ireland were entered to win bronze, silver or gold awards in over 170 food and drink categories, as well as key awards such as Supreme Champion and Best Artisan Producer. Winning at Blas makes a significant business difference to winners, with research showing that the Blas accreditation has the highest recognition amongst Irish consumers. Seeing the award logo on packs guarantees shoppers a top-quality Irish product. 

For full rates and further details, please visit www.irishfoodawards.com  

  

Entries now open for Blas na hÉireann - the Irish Food Awards

Entries now open for Blas na hÉireann 

- the Irish Food Awards

Take time out to visit Slea Head on the stunning Dingle peninsula.

Entries for Blas na hÉireann 2024, the Irish Food Awards, are now open. Blas na hÉireann is the largest blind-tasted food awards on the island of Ireland, designed to recognise and celebrate the very best Irish food and drink. Entries are open to producers across all categories of food and drink with the early bird discounted rate for entries running until April 3rd. 

Entries will finally close for this year’s awards on May 16th, with judging happening over the summer months and the awards announced on Friday 4th of October. After a wonderfully successful year in Dingle in 2023 celebrating Irish food and drink producers, the excitement for the upcoming awards this October is already building. 

“The Cork City & County Local Enterprise Offices have always been champions of the local food & drinks sector and have been involved in providing a range of business, training, advisory and financial supports to the many food producers in Cork over the last 30 years.” said Deirdre O'Mahon of Cork LEO. “We are delighted to partner with Blas na hÉireann, the Irish food awards, the largest food awards on the island, which celebrates the range and quality of local food, to sponsor the Best in Cork award, and we would encourage all local Cork food & drinks businesses to enter the competition this year.”

“It’s hard to believe we are now in our 17th year running the awards,” says Artie Clifford, Blas na hÉireann Chairman. “Looking back to when we started and had just under 400 applications to where we are now with nearly 3,000 entries last year, it is testament not only to the fantastic food and drink producers of Ireland, but also to the measurable impact these awards have on small artisan businesses. Since creating the Blas village, we have seen even more momentum and opportunities for producers with high engagement between them and key industry buyers. We are very much looking forward to seeing what this year brings and welcoming new producers participating right across the island.”

Together with the Food Science Dept of UCC and the University of Copenhagen, the team at Blas na hÉireann have developed a blind-tasting judging system that is now recognised as an industry gold standard worldwide. 

Winners and finalists are always the best Blas ambassadors — something to which many hundreds of small producers, farmers, growers, bakers and artisan food makers who have won a Blas na hÉireann award and proudly put the winner’s sticker on their product can attest. Research has shown that the Blas na hÉireann accreditation has the highest recognition among Irish consumers and having the award logo on products encourages shoppers to buy – it is a recognised guarantee of a top-quality Irish product.

Entries for Blas na hÉireann 2024 are now open and there is an early bird fee of €70 (ex VAT) until 3rd April. For full rates and further details, please visit www.irishfoodawards.com  

Entries closing this Wednesday (17th) for Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards

 

Entries closing this Wednesday (17th) for Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards 

Entries for Blas na hÉireann 2023 are now open. Last year, following a two-year hiatus from an in-person event, the much-anticipated return to Dingle was a moment of magic as friends, colleagues, producers and makers finally got together again to celebrate, and the excitement for this September is already building. 

Blas na hÉireann is the largest blind-tasted food awards on the island of Ireland, designed to recognise and celebrate the very best Irish food and drink. Entries are open to producers across all categories of food and drink with the early bird discounted rate for entries running until 5th April. Entries will finally close for this year’s awards on May 17th.

“Being back together in person again last year reminded us all how important these awards are on so many levels,” says Blas na hÉireann Chairman, Artie Clifford, “creating a sense of community and support, as well as a feeling of pride and ownership in that community. The judges were blown away by the quality of the produce last year and the winners and finalists were genuinely so happy to be back in a room together again, celebrating their own wins and each other’s successes. I am looking forward as ever to seeing what this year has to bring, as well as discovering new products we haven’t seen before. We were particularly thrilled last year with the new addition of the Blas Village and Eat Ireland experience which we are bringing back again this year.”

This is the 16th year of Blas na hÉireann and last year saw a huge increase in entries to over 3,000, the highest on record, with many producers entering the awards for the first time. Together with the Food Science Dept of UCC and the University of Copenhagen, the team at Blas worked to develop a blind-tasting judging system that is now recognised as an industry gold standard worldwide. 

Winners are always the best Blas ambassadors, something to which over a decade’s worth of small producers, farmers, growers, bakers and artisan food makers who have won a Blas award and proudly put the winner’s sticker on their product can attest. Research has shown that the Blas accreditation has the highest recognition among Irish consumers and having the award logo on products encourages shoppers to buy – it is a recognised guarantee of a top-quality Irish product.

Entries for Blas na hÉireann are open and there is an early bird fee of €70 (ex VAT) until 5th April. The full entry fee, applicable from 6th April to 17th May is €90 per entry (ex VAT).

www.irishfoodawards.com 

press release

Mayo Food and Drink Showcase is a fitting finale

Mayo Food and Drink Showcase is a fitting finale

 

Beer vobiscum. Killian O'Morain the Mescan Monk!

The hugely successful final event of the Mayo Food and Drink Programme, a Showcase and Meet the Buyer event, exceeded all expectations of both producers and buyers. Both were there to do business and it was clear from the outset that this event was exactly what was needed to make the vital connections between artisan producers and both distributors and retailers as well as agencies offering essential support. Enthusiastic networking was interspersed with relevant and interesting panel discussions and a keynote speech from Blás na hÉireann founder Artie Clifford. The event took place at Breaffy House Hotel on Thursday 23 June 2022 and was attended by 75 producers and buyers.

Artie Clifford Blas na hEireann

 

Programme Manager Oonagh Monahan acted as MC and first introduced Artie Clifford who had travelled from Dingle for the event. His engaging presentation covered his own chequered history as a small food producer, not hiding the pitfalls nor glossing over the challenges of the business. He wryly recalled falling into the trap of retail buyers early in his business life, embarrassed to admit he didn’t understand the terminology and accidently agreeing to impossible discounts. Perhaps because of this, his main message for fledgling producers is to have belief in themselves and their products. He urged artisans not to be afraid to admit when they don’t know acronyms or how the system works but to be confident enough to speak out. The Blás awards grew from his surprise that there was no formal awards system recognising quality in food and drink. He founded it 14 years ago and it has increased exponentially in both scope and size every year since.

 

Padraig Gannon Croagh Patrick Seafoods (left), Dean Diplock Exec Chef Breaffy Resort

“This is a fitting finale to a busy year of training and networking”, said Oonagh Monahan, “The Mayo Food and Drink Programme is all about helping producers to do business and it was rewarding to see that in action today. The feedback has been overwhelmingly good”.

 

Four lively and informative discussion panels consisted of chefs, distributors/wholesalers, retailers and food tourism representatives. The common thread carrying through every discussion was the importance of communicating clearly and regularly. Suppliers must talk to chefs, distributors and retailers keeping them informed of what’s happening and potential issues which arise. In this arena silence is most definitely not golden.

 

The Mayo Food and Drink Programme is a LEADER funded response to the challenges and opportunities identified in the Mayo Food & Drink Strategy 2025. It puts into action the specific priorities identified by producers and is totally food and drink focused. This was the final networking event but training continues for another month with some online classes and one-to-one specialised training and mentoring all of which is free of charge and available exclusively to Mayo food and drink businesses. Booking for these free courses is through the website www.mayofood.ie or Eventbrite and links on social media (@mayofoodanddrink).

The Mayo Food and Drink Networking and Training Programme is supported by South West Mayo Development Company and Local Enterprise Office Mayo. 

Blas na hÉireann, the ultimate Irish Food Awards, to be held again in Dingle this autumn. Entries for 2022 closing on 20th May

Blas na hÉireann, the ultimate Irish Food Awards, to be held again in Dingle this autumn.

Entries for 2022 now closing on 20th May

Entries for this year’s Irish Food Awards, Blas na hÉireann, will close on Friday 20th May and this year all roads lead to the pretty seaside town of Dingle as it gears up to host the first in-person Blas na hÉireann awards event in two years. Regarded by many as a key event in the Irish food industry’s calendar, Blas na hÉireann, like so many others, celebrated their finalists and winners online over the past two years leaving a significant gap in the food and drink calendar. This year will see the welcome return of this important weekend of celebrations, with the great and good of the Irish food and drinks scene descending on Dingle once more for the weekend on Friday 30th September.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be planning our awards in Dingle this year,” says Blas na hÉireann Chairman, Artie Clifford. “We were lucky to have been able to move quickly in 2020 and while we were in a position to run our judging throughout the summer months in the last two years, we weren’t able to welcome everyone together for the networking and awards. We are proud of the celebrations that we hosted online, and the awards were a huge success, managing to highlight the best of Irish food and drink during a really difficult time. However the one thing that was said over and over to us was that people really missed being in Dingle, so we can’t wait to welcome our Blas family home this year and celebrate our 2022 finalists in person.”

 

This year is the 15th year of Blas na hÉireann with last year seeing a huge increase in entries and many new producers entering the food awards for the very first time. The blind- tasting judging system which was designed by The School of Food and Nutritional Science at U.C.C. under the supervision of Prof. Joe Kerry and the team at Blas is now recognised as an industry gold standard worldwide.

Winners are always the best Blas ambassadors. Something 15 years worth of small producers, farmers, growers, bakers and artisan food makers who have won Blas awards can attest to. Research has shown that the Blas accreditation has the highest recognition among Irish consumers and having the coveted winner’s sticker and award logo on products really does encourage shoppers to buy – it is a recognised guarantee of a top-quality Irish product.

"In 2021, Blackwater Honey won Gold in the Honey category of the Preserves competition. On receipt of our award, our business immediately noticed a huge spike in sales and online enquiries. We received a huge response from small, medium and very well known large retailers contacting us directly seeking to source and sell our products. The exposure we got through social media as a result of winning was massive. So much so, that our following online doubled in a week, as a result of the win. Winning Blas na hÉireann has been fantastic. It has opened many doors for us and helped create fantastic opportunities for our business to grow and expand. Customers and retailers really do take notice when you win the Irish Taste Award!" Andrew Shinnick, Blackwater Honey, Co. Cork.

Entries for Blas na hÉireann 2022 are open until 20th May. The entry fee is €80 per entry (ex VAT).

 

http://www.irishfoodawards.com

 

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