12/03/2020
March 2020: Ireland’s Blue Book is delighted to announce wins for Newforge House, Bishops Gate Hotel and Castle Leslie at the Ulster Regional Finals of the Irish Restaurant Awards 2020 which took place on Tuesday 10th March at the Slieve Russell Hotel, Co. Cavan.
Over 600 restaurant owners and staff celebrated their hard work and achievements at the Awards, which saw many well-known restaurateurs of Leinster turn out to see if they had won one of the prestigious awards.
The Snaffles Restaurant at Castle Leslie achieved the Best Wine Experience Monaghan.
Newforge House took the awards for Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant Armagh, with Bishops Gate Hotel and Snaffles Restaurant at Castle Leslie taking the award for Derry and Monaghan respectively.
Speaking at the awards early this evening Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, said; “Now in their 12th year, the Irish Restaurant Awards continue to showcase the incredible food that is on offer in the cafes, pubs and restaurants of Ireland, as well as recognising the teams behind these establishments and the hard work and dedication that they put in. With well over 100,000 nominations received from the public this year, the standard for the judging process was higher than ever.
All the county winners now compete for the Regional and All Ireland Titles, which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards. These will be held on Monday 18th of May 2020 in the Clayton Hotel.
About the Irish Restaurant Awards
Public Nominations: In the first stage of the Irish Restaurant Awards, members of the public voted to nominate their favourite restaurants, hotels and hospitality personnel. These nominations were independently assessed by BDO, and the nominees go forward to their respective Regional Judging Panel. Judging Panel: Our judging panel, made up of industry experts, food writers, culinary academics and critics, then narrow down the list of nominations to our final regional winners.
About Ireland's Blue Book
Ireland's Blue Book is a collection of Irish Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, Castles and Restaurants. Located throughout the island of Ireland these charming and stylish hideaways are the perfect choice for your romantic escape or weekend retreat. Activities vary from golf, fishing, spas and cookery schools or just relaxing in warm and comfortable surroundings. Also included in the collection are five of Ireland’s finest Michelin star restaurants.