The Irish Restaurant Awards is proud to announce Alison Crean of Terrace Restaurant at Abbey Hotel as La Rousse Foods Best Chef in Co. Roscommon 2016.
The prestigious title was revealed at the Irish Restaurant Awards Connaught regional event which took place in The Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo recently.
Sponsored by La Rousse Foods, the Best Chef title is considered to be one of the highest accolades in the annual Awards. This award represents the chef who demonstrates an immense passion for food – someone who is committed to quality and the pursuit of creative new dining experiences.
Speaking of the award, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins commented, “The Best Chef title is one of the most sought after titles in the Awards. To win this title, a Chef must be able to demonstrate superior knowledge of the culinary arts and have exceptional skills in the kitchen. These skills can be seen amongst our previous Best Chef winners. Their competence and passion is second to none.”
Crean will now go on to compete for the Connaught regional and All Ireland title which will be announced at the Irish Restaurant Awards final in the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, Dublin on Monday 16th May, 2016. The renowned event will see 900 guests sit down for a six course gala dinner cooked by five previous Best Chef county, regional and all-Ireland award winners. By winning the Best Chef Roscommon title, Crean is now eligible to be invited to cook at future award events.
There are three components to phase two of the judging process for the Best Chef title. Each element is independently assessed by BDO;
Mystery Guest Visit (55%) This component of the awards is conducted by Customer Perceptions Ltd, specialists in mystery shopping, consumer insights and customer satisfaction surveys. All County Winners and Dublin shortlists will receive a mystery guest visit throughout the month of March, April or May.
National Awards Academy (35%) Our National Awards Academy is made up representatives from each of the regional judging panels and will meet in early May to judge the County Winners. The Academy members include food writers, journalists, bloggers, culinary academics and hospitality magazine editors.
Menu Judging (10%) All County winners and the Dublin Shortlist in each category are asked to submit a copy of their food menu and wine list for judging.