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Coopershill House Venison Wins 2011 Food Writers Guild Award
Now in its 17th year, the Irish Food Writers Guild (IFWG) Food Awards promote and reward the highest quality produce and have been described as the most important food awards in Ireland. The awards focus on recognising and rewarding indigenous, independent producers that are the lifeblood of the food industry in Ireland.
We have been rearing fallow deer on the 500 acre estate at Coopershill since 1995. The deer lead a natural, free range life and graze on Sligo grassland which contributes to the unparalleled quality, complex flavour and tenderness of Coopershill House Irish Venison.
Coopershill were awarded for the complex flavour and tenderness of our range of venison products.
The selection process for the winners begins with the 40 members of the Food Writers Guild of Ireland each bringing two Irish food products that they rate highly to a blind tasting event. From those 80 high quality products, the very best 5 are chosen by vote by the members of the Guild.
In describing the selection process for the shortlist of award winners, Ms Broderick said: “We are not confined by the size of the company nor indeed product categories. What’s important and unique about these awards is that no food producer can enter for an award. No company ever even knows that it is being considered for an award until the judging is complete and we make contact with the winners. Our criteria is strict but straightforward - the products, traditional or innovative, must be produced in Ireland and the main ingredients must be home produced.”
Ms Broderick concluded by thanking Bord Bia for its continued support of the Awards and the work it does for the industry in Ireland and abroad. The Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards were presented by one of Ireland’s best known chefs, Darina Allen.
Other winners on the day:
Janet Drew for Janet’s Country Fayre Beetroot Blush (Wicklow);Pat O’Neill for O’Neill Foods’ Dry Cured Rashers, Bacon and Ham (Wexford), with a special Environmental Award going to John Flahavan of Flahavan’s (Waterford). Artisan baking innovator, Derek O’Brien, was honoured with the Guild’s seldom-awarded Lifetime Achievement Award.
Reviews
. . . .a fabulously comfortable place where time stops when you have afternoon tea. Ms. McCauley's food - Garden Spinach Soup; Smoked Estate Venison in a Salad; Rack of Lamb; Donegal Hake; a sublime Cauliflour Gratin that touches the perfection which is reached by a Gooseberry Tart served with Gooseberry and Elderflower Ice Cream, a pudding that was one of the great dishes of 2010.
The Bridgestone Guide 100 Best Places to Stay in 2011
Cross the door, enter a delightful haven of peace, sink into the roll-top bath, and lose yourself in luxury; wander around the croquet lawn and admire the peacocks strutting around.
Fodor's Guidebook Review
Set on a 500-acre estate of farm and woodland, this Georgian mansion lets you forget the world outside. Elegance is a virtue here, with candlelit dinners served with the family silver. Along with the open log fires there are modern comforts, and peacocks wander through the garden.
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