Writing with a bite

It’s about time the art of food writing in Ireland got the recognition it deserves, and a new awards initiative is about to do just that.

Entries are now open for the very first Irish Food Writing Awards which was triumphantly was launched this week.

This inaugural year will see the awards being held exclusively online with a virtual event in September.

Once restrictions allow, the annual Irish Food Awards will adopt a more traditional format of judging meetings and a gala awards ceremony each autumn.

Ireland’s food writing diversity will be reflected in the numerous awards categories including restaurant writing, cookery writing, features, and drinks writing.

There will also be awards for online content such as photography, podcasts and audio, writing on sustainability in Irish food, and investigative writing.

The brain behind the awards, journalist and food author Suzanne Campbell says she had always wanted to see an awards initiative for food writers in Ireland on par with journalism awards in other sectors.

“The aim is to reward excellence in food writing. It’s quite a diverse field; paid journalism is under threat but content is more popular than ever. So, we wanted to highlight the best content out there,” says Suzanne.

The Irish Food Writing Awards recognises writing from throughout the island of Ireland and is accepting entries up until 31 May.

For more information and to enter, visit irishfoodwritingawards.ie.