2021 Award Winners SUSTAINABILITY AWARD 2021

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD 2021

HOTEL: Gregans Castle Hotel Ballyvaughan Co Clare

Simon and Freddie Haden’s quietly luxurious and restorative country house hotel is known for simple West of Ireland joys like warming turf fires and views across the Burren landscape - and, of course, it is one of Ireland’s top food destinations with gifted chef Robbie taking enormous pride in showcasing the wonderful foods of the locality in a memorable dining experience. The calm ambience belies a ferocious energy under the surface however, fuelling a constant drive to do things right, and do them better. This particularly relates to the environment and it is worth taking time to browse the Gregans website, which details the hotel’s policy, The Green Hospitality Programme, Leave No Trace Ireland and the Burren Ecotourism Network, of which they are founding members (and Simon Haden is a member of the Board of Directors). When the first lockdown struck, continental staff who had just arrived for the season were stranded but, always one to find an opportunity in adversity, Simon banded everyone together to keep spirits up and came up with projects that resulted in a field transformed into a productive garden and orchard, as well as walking trails. Chef and staff also devised one of the earliest take-away schemes and the initial tentative offering in this rural area was immediately over subscribed, within a short time necessitating pick-up points in surrounding towns. A wonderful destination.

RESTAURANT: BuJo Sandymount Dublin

Burgers have seemingly been on every menu of late but not all burgers are equal and the exceptionally tasty burgers at Bord Bia ‘Just Ask’ winner BuJo burger joint at Sandymount and Castleknock are in a league of their own. Owner Michael Sheary and Culinary Director Gráinne O’Keeffe are firmly committed to using exceptional Irish produce, including 100% Irish grass-fed beef, in their burgers, which are cooked to perfection over an open grill. BuJo also scores highly with its responsible sustainable credentials - using 100% compostable packaging and green renewable energy, for example – and they were early adaptors to the pandemic. Gráinne O’Keefe – a Euro-Toques Young Cef of the Year winner who made her mark at Clanbrassil House, Dublin 8 and has since opened her own restaurant, Mae – very quickly devised an excellent burger kit with nationwide delivery and they have continued to evolve as the situation has changed.

PRODUCER: Seagull Bakery Tramore Co Waterford

When Covid-19 struck everyone took up bread baking, bringing a much wider appreciation of the value of sourcing the few basic ingredients needed with care, and – as it was sourdough rather than our own traditional soda bread that caught the public imagination - allowing the time required to produce a wholesome, naturally fermented loaf. But not everyone baked regularly at home and, once the therapeutic and general health benefits of making and eating sourdough were embraced and the taste for the flavour and texure of sourdough bread acquired, the next step for most was to seek out an artisan baker - and Sarah Richards and Conor Naughton’s (already popular) little Seagull Bakery bakery in Tramore was an ideal destination. So much so in fact that – like other artisan bakeries across the country – demand for their unique range of wild yeast sourdough breads soon outstripped supply and, in spring 2021, a new branch opened at Patrick Street in Waterford City, soon followed by another at Dunmore East in the summer. A geat Covid success story.

FOOD TRUCK: The Salty Buoy by Niall Sabongi Dublin

Even before Covid there was no stopping the irrepressible Niall Sabongi of Sustainable Seafood Ireland, The Seafood Café and and Klaw, but since the pandemic simultaneously shuttered his own restaurants and closed off his restaurant seafood sales his entrepreneurial skills have been going full tilt. There were some extremely imaginative and successful collaborations, for example, notably teaming up with Dublin’s most talked-about chef, Mickael Viljanen – who then went on to stun the hospitality world with the opening of Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen (see Restaurant of the Year) – to create an exceptional (and fairly priced) seafood meal kit for home delivery. A more enduring collaboration with chef Karl Whelan saw the opening of Saltwater Grocery in Terenure, a chef-led fishmonger and speciality food shop which champions a host of artisan food and drink producers as well as Niall’s beloved sustainable fish and seafood. And then there was the cheeky little food truck, The Salty Buoy, with its imaginative collaboration with Dublin distillery Roe & Co - and it continues to delight when it pops up in locations around Dublin.