Galway city has been announced as one of top 10 finalists in the search for the ‘Foodie Town of Ireland’ which is being run by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, in association with Admailer.ie from An Post.
The competition, run in conjunction with Ireland’s largest food awards the Irish Restaurants Awards, will see towns and communities from all over the country being faced by judges and battling it out to win the public vote to be named Ireland’s premier foodie destination.
Galway city will be battling it out against Cork city; Dingle in Kerry; Howth, Dublin; Kilkenny; Kinsale, Cork; Lisdoonvarna - Gateway to the Burren, Clare; Loop Head Penisula, Clare; Sligo town; and Westport and Clew Bay area, Mayo.
Each of the 10 finalists will now receive a pre-arranged visit by a representative from the Restaurants Association of Ireland and a representative from An Post. Combined with a national public voting campaign taking place online at www.foodietowns.ie, both components will carry equal weight in the voting process.
The winning town will then be crowned ‘Foodie Town of Ireland 2014’ at the final of the Irish Restaurants Awards on June 9 in DoubleTree by Hilton, Dublin, and will receive a prize package worth €5,000 combining an Admailer.ie postcard marketing package and mentorship from senior An Post marketing executives to help raise the profile of their town. The nine runners-up will each receive an Admailer.ie prize package to value of €500 each.
The ‘Foodie Town of Ireland’ award recognises a destination that actively promotes itself through joint promotional activities such as food festivals, gourmet trails or farmers’ markets as well as great dining experiences. The winning Irish town will have established a local producer/supplier network which is utilised and promoted by local businesses. Plans for future growth and investment into the food and hospitality industry at a local level will also be taken into consideration by judges. Education, training, development and employment will be key components of the ultimate foodie destination.
Each of the 10 finalists will be canvassing the country during the national public voting campaign. Online voting will take place via www.foodiestowns.ie until Sunday May 18. Special Admailer.ie voting postcards will be sent out in each of the finalists’ local area and the closing date for this is Friday, May 16.
