Waterford food businesses win big at industry awards
Grow HQ were praised for their sustainability practices.
Two Waterford food companies were celebrated at the recent Good Food Ireland Awards ceremony.
Grow HQ were presented with the Sustainability Award for Tourism Hospitality, while artisan ice cream producer Freezin’ Friesian was awarded Dairy Producer of the Year.
The winners were selected through a process of inspections and assessments approved by Good Food Ireland.
The shortlist was conducted by a judging panel made up of industry insiders and experts including Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland Margaret Jeffares, former Good Food Ireland Operations Director Susan Kerr, journalist John Wilson, hospitality consultant Tom O’Connell, lecturer in the School of Hospitality Management & Tourism at TU Dublin Dr Detta Melia, Executive Chairman and Owner of Odyssey International Kevin Shannon, and previous chef and hotelier Maurice Keller.
Founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland Margaret Jeffares said: "To say that deciding on the winners from our magnificent shortlist of businesses from across the island of Ireland has been tough this year would be a huge understatement.
"We’ve seen a notable rise in confidence in the tourism and hospitality industry to prioritise Irish ingredients due to customers being far more vocal about wanting to see Irish produce on the menu."
Margaret continued: "So many of our winners this year are second or third generation family-run businesses who make up the very foundation of what’s so special about Ireland’s food and drink. We’d like to congratulate every single one of this year’s worthy winners and thank them for their incredible service in promoting Ireland’s wonderful food and drink scene.”
The team at Grow HQ were clearly delighted with the nod, commenting: "This award is a huge testament to the dedication and passion of our incredible team, who work tirelessly to build a movement of GIYers and promote food empathy at the heart of GROW HQ here in Waterford."
Kilmacthomas-based Freezin' Friesian began their farm-to-table production in 2018.
