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Lord's prayer
Pictured is the Right Honourable The Lord Dubs; HE Adrian O Neill, Irish Ambassador to the UK; and Mark Henry, Tourism Ireland, at the St Patrick’s reception in the House of Lords in London co-sponsored by Tourism Ireland.
Dates announced for CATEX 2021
2021 sees the return of Ireland’s biggest foodservice event, CATEX, to the RDS, Simmonscourt.
Attended by foodservice and hospitality industry professionals, the flagship event, organised by the Irish Foodservice Suppliers Alliance (IFSA), will be taking place from Tuesday 16th – Thursday 18th February 2021.
With a new look and fresher approach, next year’s show will be widening its attractions to ensure that all the needs of exhibitors and visitors, alike, are catered for. The threeday event will become a major hub for trend spotting, sourcing new products, meeting suppliers, and learning from industry experts in a series of masterclasses and debates.
Home to all those who operate within the foodservice sector, CATEX is not to be missed in 2021.
For more information visit www.catexexhibition.com and for details on exhibiting at the show, contact Margaret Andreucetti on +353 (0) 1 846 0020 or email margaret.andreucetti@eventhaus.ie.
Supports for businesses impacted by coronavirus
The Minister of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, has announced details on the package of supports she has put in place for businesses impacted by COVID-19. The department has put a range of supports in place, including a €200m Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) Working Capital scheme for eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19. Loans of up to €1.5m will be available at reduced rates, with up to the first €500,000 unsecured. Applications can be made through www.sbci.gov.ie Also available is a €200m Package for Enterprise Supports, including a Rescue and Restructuring Scheme, available through Enterprise Ireland, for vulnerable but viable firms that need to restructure or transform their business. The maximum loan available from MicroFinance Ireland will be increased, from €25,000 to €50,000, as a measure to deal with exceptional circumstances that micro-enterprises are facing. Applications can be made through www.microfinanceireland. ie, or through your local LEO. The Credit Guarantee Scheme will be available to COVID-19 impacted firms through the Pillar Banks. Loans of up to €1m will be available at terms of up to 7 years. The minister highlighted a number of other supportive measures for firms experiencing trading difficulties and shortterm shocks.
Cork Airport takes off
Cork Airport Hotel has been awarded a National Quality Employers Award of Distinction by the Irish Hotel Federation, in recognition of excellence in human resource management. Last year, the Cork Airport Hotel won a National Quality Award.
Pictured lending their support to Cystic Fibrosis Ireland’s 65 Roses Day, which takes place on April 10, are TV chef and cookbook author, Adrian Martin, and cystic fibrosis patient ambassador, Aoife Rafter. You can support 65 Roses Day by volunteering to sell purple roses for €2 in shopping centres, and Dunnes Stores outlets nationwide, by undertaking a 65 Roses Challenge, or by donating online. Sign up now to support 65 Roses Day at 65RosesDay.ie
Dublin-headquartered, international hospitality giant PREM Group has launched an initiative called PS LIFE, designed to bring extra home comforts to guests staying at their serviced apartments which operate under the Premier Suites brand. There are 16 Premier Suites located in Ireland, The UK, Holland and Belgium, which offer guests an alternative to traditional hotel accommodation. The product offering is geared toward long stay business guests. Pictured is Jim Murphy, PREM Group CEO, who said, “The extended stay sector is growing globally, with increasing numbers of travellers seeking a more flexible and spacious alternative to traditional hotel accommodation.” For more information: www.premiersuiteslife.com
Pleased to meat you
BWG has completed the acquisition of Heaney Meats, a large supplier of premium meat products to the foodservice sector in Ireland. Leo Crawford, Group CEO, BWG Group, said: “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Heaney Meats which will expand and enhance our meat offering and further strengthen our market leading position in the +€2 billion foodservice sector."
Stable relationships
John Rooney, managing director, Flogas Ireland (2nd left) presents a trophy to Rich Ricci, owner of Faugheen, winner of the 2020 Flogas Novice Chase, at Leopardstown. Also pictured is jockey Peter Townend and trainer Willie Mullins.
Spanish travel agents pictured with Susan Bolger, Tourism Ireland (front, right), during their visit to Slane Castle, Co Meath.
January arrival stats lift spirits
Tourist arrival figures for January 2020 indicate a slight increase of +0.5% over the last year. Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Arrivals from North America grew by +2.9% in January, an extra 3,100 US and Canadian visitors. Arrivals from both Mainland Europe (+0.2%) and Britain (+0.1%) were flat on January last year; and arrivals from long-haul markets declined by -1%."
Recycle, Repurpose, Reimagine
A new exhibition at Kilmainham Gaol Museum looks at the ways in which 15 objects from the museum's collection have changed, evolved and transformed throughout their history. Many of the artefacts featured were made by Irish political prisoners in the 1910s and 1920s, from items they found during their captivity, such as a bone harp made from the hip bone of a cow which was carved in Tintown Prison Camp in 1923. Others were repurposed from their original use, such as a set of blades made from some garden shears for use during the 1916 Rising. Pictured is a shirt collar. The exhibition runs at Kilmainham Gaol until May 3.
Conrad deemed great place to work
Conrad Dublin has been recognised as the 4th best medium-sized place to work in Ireland 2020 by greatplacestowork.ie, a workplace ranking website. “Winning the fourth position in “The best mediumsized company to work for” category is an incredible achievement for Conrad Dublin," said Martin Mangan, General Manager of Conrad Dublin. "We ranked closely behind corporations such as Cisco, Dropbox and JTl Ireland." Martin is pictured receiving the hotel's award.
Limerick launches first certified vegan course
Educator and caterer Ciara Brennan, founder of Happy Food at Home, has teamed up with Limerick College of Further Education to offer the first certified vegan course in Limerick. “Introduction to Plant Based Cooking” is taking place on Tuesdays, from 7pm to 9pm on the LCFE Mulgrave Street campus and will include demonstrations of affordable and uncomplicated plant-based dishes. The €90 course runs until April 28. For more details: www.lcfe.ie
Attending the Ultimate Wedding Retreat at Adare Manor were Arabella Dupont and Jessica Herbert from Bridal Beauty Festival.
Chef takeover
A showcase of a year's of hard work is on the menu when the final-year BA (Hons) in Culinary Arts students from Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) take over the kitchen of Bellissimo restaurant in Waterford for four nights. For more: www.cheftakeover.com
Speaker's corner
Pictured at Bord Bia’s Brand Forum is Ben Greensmith, one of the three guest speakers at Bord Bia’s quarterly event for Irish food and drink marketers. The forum brings together Irish food and drink companies to promote best practice in marketing and branding.
Room with a view
Sea Church Restaurant has opened in the old schoolhouse in Ballycotton, East Cork. The 82-seater restaurant overlooks the Atlantic coastline. It is part of a multi-million euro two year renovation by local businessman Pearse Flynn, which included a transformation of St Colman’s Church of Ireland into an iconic event space. The restaurant, which is adjoined to the church by a glass atrium, retains the schoolhouse’s architectural structure.
Fit for a king
Ashford Castle is the only Irish hotel to be included in Forbes 2020 honours list. The hotel in Mayo joins an elite group of luxury hotels around the world that have earned a Five-Star Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) ranking.
Titanic economic impact
Kerrie Sweeny from Titanic Foundation Limited, Judith Owens from Titanic Belfast are pictured with Jackie Henry, NI Office Senior Partner, Deloitte, as they announce the leading tourist attractions economic impact and its investment into Gallery Refreshment. The attraction has welcomed 6m visitors, from over 145 different countries, and generated £319m additional expenditure in the local economy over 7 years.
Ingredients for success
Nedine Blount, Croke Park Chef, has been named Aramark’s Chef of the Year Ireland at the annual competition, which took place at Food and Bev Live in the City West Convention Centre.
iNua Hospitality PLC has announced the appointment of Chris Austin to the Board of Directors. Chris Austin is currently Director of Operations of iNua Hospitality’s iNua Collection of nine regional Irish hotels. Chris joined iNua from Tifco hotel group, where he was Regional Operations Manager for seven years, managing a diverse portfolio of leisure hotels & resorts, business hotels & golf clubs.
Prior to this he was Director of Operations at The Shelbourne for three years and at Marriott Druids Glen Resort for two years. He also worked internationally with Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts in Dubai.
Chris joined The iNua Collection in January 2019 as Director of Operations.
Lisa Toomey has become Director of Operations at Ashford Castle. Toomey joined Ashford Castle in 2017 as Director of Food & Beverage having spent a number of years working on teams at the Hyatt Regency and the Connaught Hotel, in London.
Toomey is one of three new appointments at the Castle. Christopher Murphy has joined as the new Director of Food & Beverage and Paul Fogerty is the appointed Head Sommelier.
On merit alone
Ballygarry House Hotel & Spa walked away with a merit of Excellence Award at the 30th annual event held in Christchurch Cathedral. The CIE Tours International Awards of Excellence are presented based on feedback received from over 25,000 customers surveyed throughout the year. Each of the CIE Tour partners, who qualified for an award, achieved a customer satisfaction rating of over 92%.
