Irish Times restaurant critic Corinna Hardgrave , who died earlier this month , was awarded the top honour at this year’s Irish Food Writing Awards, held in Dublin on Thursday evening. Paying tribute to Hardgrave, awards founder Suzanne Campbell said she was “a rigorous restaurant critic and writer, whose knowledge of international food and wine was as extensive as her passion for small producers and farmers”.
Noting that Hardgrave had won restaurant critic of the year at the awards three times in the past five years, Campbell said her reviews had been a highlight of Irish Times food coverage. Hardgrave was, she said, also “kind, encouraging, enthusiastic and wonderful company”.
The Food Writing award, accepted by Hardgrave’s husband Steve Hardgrave, was given for a Saturday Magazine cover story on Ireland’s bakery boom , which judge Hannah Twiggs, food and drink editor of The Independent (UK), said contained “extensive” reporting and “excellent” detail.
“She clearly knew the industry inside out,” Twiggs said. She also praised Hardgrave’s foodie guide to Co Clare from late last year, saying it told a story about “farming, food and place”, leaving the reader feeling as if they were exploring with her, “smelling and tasting everything along the way”.
Irish Times features journalist Sylvia Thompson was also a winner at the event, taking an award for her writing on Irish food producers. She entered articles on women in farming and food producers working to strengthen local food systems .
Drinks writer Shamim de Brún took the drinks writing award for an article on building an exclusively Irish drinks cabinet published in The Irish Times and other work published in Image.
Other Irish Times nominees included John Wilson for wine writing, Niamh Browne in the emerging writer category and Úna McCaffrey for editing food magazine pages. In the food writing category, Aideen O’Flaherty was nominated, as was Ali Dunworth, whose work in Guzzle was also recognised. Dunworth was nominated in the critic category too.
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Hardgrave was also nominated in the restaurant critic category, which was won this year by Conor Stevens for work in the Sunday Times.
The outstanding achievement award was taken by food writing veteran Máirín Uí Chomáin.
Shamim de Brún for work in The Irish Times and Image
Conor Stevens for work in Sunday Times Ireland
Janine Kennedy for Food Island, produced with UCD and Farmers Journal
Kitty Corrigan for essays published in The Irish Kitchen
Dee Sewell for Saved and Savoured; celebrating Carlow’s food without the waste
The Irish Kitchen by Cherie Denham, Kitty Corrigan and photography by Andrew Montgomery
Roxana Manouchehri for This is not a Cookbook