Kilkenny has been announced as the Food County of the Year at the Bridgestone Megabytes 2010 awards.
Local Kilkenny business Highbank Orchards in Cuffesgrange also fared extremely well out of the awards when they were announced as the winners of the New Food of the Year award for the company's Highbank Orchard Syrup.
The accolade was praised by the Mayor at this month’s meeting of Kilkenny Borough Council who said that the award was a great achievement for Kilkenny.
In its praise of county Kilkenny as a food Mecca, Bridgestone judges commented, “They [Kilkenny] have one of the best food festivals, they have some of the very best artisan producers, their restaurants prize the local foods, their Foodcamp was a breakthrough experience in 2010, their LEADER company has woken up to the fact that strong local food economies are vital, they have kept foreign-owned multinational supermarkets out and, all-in-all, Kilkenny is streaking ahead when it comes to presenting a powerful, unified, county-based artisan food experience.”
Highbank Orchard also received particular praise from the prestigious guide with compliments aplenty in praise of the Highbank Orchard Syrup.
“’Ingredients: Irish Organic Apples. No Added Sugar. Suitable for Vegetarians. Free from Artificial Colours, Additives and Preservatives’. That’s what it says on the label of Highbank Organic Orchard Syrup, made in Kilkenny by Julie and Rod Calder-Potts. So, apples is what you get, and what they make is a syrup that is also a tonic. This is a great product, and it has already edged West Cork honey to the margins when it comes to the morning porridge here at Bridgestone Central. But it’s not just breakfast that benefits from Highbank Syrup: slug it on some ice cream, or a slice of warm apple tart, and you have orchard heaven,” they say.
