Tullamore Restaurant wins two accolades in prestigious Irish Restaurant Awards

Tullamore's The Blue Apron Restaurant was celebrating after scooping two main Offaly awards at the Leinster Regional Final of the Irish Restaurant Awards 2022.

The Blue Apron won the overall Best Restaurant award for Offaly, whilst chef Kenan Pehlivan was crowned the best chef. Some 14 other Offaly restaurants shared the remaining prizes in the 16 different categories.

The awards took place in the Knightsbrook Hotel, County Meath on Tuesday, August 16.

Over 900 restaurant and hospitality business owners and staff celebrated their hard work and achievements at the awards ceremony which saw many well-known restaurateurs of Leinster turn out for the prestigious event.

Speaking at the Leinster Regional Awards, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Adrian Cummins, said: “Now in their 13th year, the Irish Restaurant Awards returns after the 2020 awards were cut short. The awards are an opportunity to celebrate the existing and up and coming talent in the sector and are a reminder that hospitality is nothing without the dedicated and passionate staff in the industry. The awards continue to showcase the incredible food that is on offer in the cafes, pubs and restaurants of Ireland. With well over 100,000 nominations received from the public this year, the standard for the judging process was higher than ever.”

Food outlets were nominated under the categories of Local Food Hero, Best Free From, Best Emerging Irish Cuisine, Best Restaurant Manager, Best Wine Experience, Best Café, Best World Cuisine, Best Newcomer, Pub of the Year, Best Casual Dining, Best Hotel and Guesthouse Restaurant, Best Customer Service, Best Gastropub, Best Chef, and Best Restaurant and finally a new award category for 2022 Best Sustainable Practices.

All of the county winners now compete for the Regional and All Ireland Titles, which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards All-Ireland Final on Monday, September 19 in the Convention Centre, Dublin.

The full list of Offaly winners in each category is as follows: Local Food Hero - Wild Food Mary, Mary Bulfin in Clareen, Birr, Best Sustainable Practices - Woodfield Cafe and Garden Centre in Birr, Best "Free From" - Sirocco’s Italian Restaurant in Tullamore, Best Emerging Irish Cuisine - Lukers Bar in Shannonbridge, Best Restaurant Manager - Captain House Restaurant, Arif Soysal in Kilcruttin, Tullamore, Best Wine Experience - Townsend House Tapas Restaurant in Birr, Best Café - The Loft Cafe in Birr, Best World Cuisine - Shishir Thai and Indian Restaurant in Tullamore, Best Newcomer - Browne’s Bistro in Tullamore, Pub of the Year - Giltraps Pub in Kinnitty, Best Casual Dining - The Thatch Crinkill in Birr, Best Hotel & Guesthouse Restaurant - Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore, Best Customer Service - Balcone Italiano Restaurant in Tullamore, Best Gastro Pub - Hennessys Gastro Pub in Ferbane, Best Chef - The Blue Apron Restaurant in Tullamore, Kenan Pehlivan and Best Restaurant - The Blue Apron Restaurant, Tullamore.

For more information on the Irish Restaurant Awards visit irishrestaurantawards.com.