Kai Restaurant’s pork ramen with Bord Bia quality assured eggs has been announced as the winning dish in the ‘Eggs for Anytime’ chef competition. The competition, run by Bord Bia and the Irish Egg Association, invited chefs from around the country to embrace the culinary versatility of eggs and create an eggciting recipe with Bord Bia quality assured eggs that would feature on their restaurant menu, separate to breakfast and brunch.
Galway restaurant Kai scooped the overall award for its pork ramen with Bord Bia Quality assured eggs, and the award was accepted by chef and owner Jess Murphy. “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this award today,” she said. “We take great pride in our high-quality produce, that is sourced locally and cooked inventively, so when it comes to choosing eggs, we always ensure we use Bord Bia’s quality assured eggs.”
Following a rigorous judging of entries by Bord Bia along with food and hospitality writer, Georgina Campbell, four restaurants were selected as the regional runners up along with the overall winner.
Café Rua in Castlebar was named Connacht regional winner for its Scotch egg made with Kelly’s black pudding. Viewmount House in Longford was crowned Leinster winner for its six minute egg and Jerusalem artichoke. In Ulster, Lemon Tree in Letterkenny was awarded the prize for its confit Irish duck leg with fried egg and crispy onions. The Blue Haven Hotel in Kinsale, Co Cork, was the regional winner in Munster for its shakshuka, eggs poached in a spicy tomato based sauce.
Maureen Gahan, food service specialist at Bord Bia, said: “It’s very exciting to see restaurants nationwide getting creative with Bord Bia’s quality assured eggs. Not only are eggs nutritious and delicious, they are also hugely versatile and offer both restaurants and consumers a great value alternative for a lunch or dinner menu offering.”
John Mohan, chairman of the Irish Egg Association, added: “We were delighted to support this competition aimed at encouraging and inspiring chefs to offer additional egg-related meals throughout the day, and not just as part of their traditional breakfast menu. It’s our hope that the diverse and delicious recipes created by the winning chefs will inspire more chefs and consumers around the country to get creative with eggs.”
