Honest Kevin scoops top Jameson award
Top Irish chef Kevin Thornton collected the Restaurant of the Year award in Dublin last week for his restaurant Thornton's in the Fitzwilliam hotel - then qualified for another prize for candour, as he answered criticism about rising prices.
"Food in restaurants is expensive, I accept that," he admitted, "but the prices reflect the costs of maintaining top quality and service. Insurance is sky high, together with rapidly increasing manpower and material costs."
The reality, he added, was that menu prices had risen because of hefty increases in the cost of running an Irish food business.
The Jameson Restaurant of the Year award was a timely boost for Thornton, one of the few Irish chefs to have won two Michelin stars. He recently moved his much-praised restaurant from Dublin's Portobello Road to the city centre Fitzwilliam hotel, as a replacement for Conrad Gallagher's ill-fated Peacock Alley, which closed early this year.
Irish tourism minister John O'Donoghue, who was present at the awards ceremony, used the occasion to stress concerns about prices. The problem should not be underestimated by the industry, he warned, as revenue of €4b (£2.5b) a year could be at risk if tourists felt they were not getting value for money and stayed away.
Georgina Campbell, editor of the Jameson Ireland Guide, echoed the minister's sentiments. "Quality, value for money and hospitality are three qualities which should be central to the psyche of every hotelier, restaurateur and innkeeper in the country," she said.
In all, 19 Jameson awards were handed out at the ceremony. Among the main winners were: Restaurant of the Year, Thorntons, Dublin; Hotel of the Year, Cashel House hotel, County Galway; Guesthouse of the Year, Killeen House, County Galway; Pub of the Year, Café en Seine, Dublin; Seafood Restaurant of the Year, Ty Ar Mor, County Cork.
by Anthony Garvey
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 31 October - 6 November 2002