Reasons to be chipper

Cork’s got to be the best in the country for chippers! That certainly seems to be the case after a recent awards where Cork restaurants picked up first and third place in the overall chipper awards, while another picked up silver in the Munster chipper awards.

Overall, Cork had the most chippers receiving an award at the ninth annual Just Eat Awards.

Three Cork restaurants were acknowledged across two categories overall at the awards with O’Reilly’s Fish & Chips & Pizza marking their debut by taking home Gold in the Best Chipper category.

The awards, which celebrate and recognise Ireland’s favourite restaurants and takeaways, were hosted by TV presenter and podcaster, Muireann O’Connell at Dublin’s Mansion House.

A total of 150 restaurants were nominated under 16 categories, with shortlisted representatives from all over the country in attendance at the event.

Over 35,000 votes were cast for local and independent takeaways across Ireland in recent weeks.

O’Reilly’s Fish & Chips & Pizza are a chain of Cork chippers. O'Reilly’s have focussed on getting the small things right, such as offering the freshest catch and perfectly seasoned chips. O’Reilly’s also have a range of signature dishes. Their fish is battered and cooked fresh from Union Hall and their burgers are 100% Irish beef.

Following closely behind O’Reilly’s was Dino’s, Douglas, who scooped the Bronze Award in the Best Chipper category.

The Best of Munster category featured some fierce competition which saw Cork favourite, Lennox’s of MacCurtain Street pick up the Silver award for their delicious takeaway menu. Lennox’s is a traditional chipper located in the heart of Cork city, serving loyal Corkonians for decades.

Sambros in Limerick has been named Best of Ireland at the ninth annual Just Eat Awards. The restaurant also scored the top prize in the Best of Munster category.

New to this year's award categories is the Sustainability award which recognises restaurants who are continuously driving environmentally friendly initiatives and working towards a more sustainable future for our people and planet.

Camile Thai took home the top accolade in this new category for discovering innovative ways to promote sustainable practices in their restaurants.

Camile Thai has introduced a wide range of sustainability initiatives to minimise food waste and carbon emissions in their restaurants. Camile Thai was the first restaurant in Europe to give each individual menu item a carbon rating, and they have robust recipe policies in place that significantly reduce the amount of food waste in their kitchens. Alongside this, all Camile Thai packaging is 100% compostable, which saves over 27,000kg of packaging from landfill every year. Camile Thai has established themselves as the leader in food delivery sustainability, setting the benchmark for environmentally friendly solutions.

Just Eat Managing Director, Amanda Roche-Kelly commented: “These awards not only recognise but celebrate all the amazing restaurants, takeaways and eateries around the country who continuously deliver a little slice of joy to their customers all year round.

“On behalf of Just Eat, I would like to congratulate all our winners from this week’s awards ceremony and commend them for their outstanding achievements to date. Every year, we are inspired by the resounding talent in the room, and the continued commitment to success and quality of service that we envision growing well into 2023 and beyond.”