Greenwashing & food waste more pervasive than consumers realise says Irish Food Writers’ Guild
Winners of 32nd Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards announced with sustainability and ethical food production a common thread
4 March 2025: “When sustainability is merely used as a marketing tactic, consumers are misled, and the credibility and reputation of true sustainable producers is undermined,” said Paula McIntyre, chair of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild (IFWG), who was speaking today at the presentation of the 2025 IFWG Food Awards.
“Greenwashing has infiltrated the food and drinks sector in ways many of us don’t even realise,” Ms McIntyre continued. “Offending brands use vague buzzwords, deceptive green packaging, and even dubious certifications to take advantage of consumers’ efforts to shop and eat more sustainably – without making any real environmental impact. Meanwhile, truly sustainable Irish producers work tirelessly to uphold the highest ethical and environmental standards, often without the recognition or support they deserve.
“For more than three decades the IFWG has been spotlighting many of these outstanding producers, with sustainability a consistent thread linking our annual award winners. And this year is no different.”
Now in their 32nd year, the winners of the 2025 IFWG Food Awards were announced today. With no applications or submissions allowed – with the exception of the Community Food Award, for which the Guild invites nominations – all eight winners were chosen based solely on quality, integrity, and commitment to genuine sustainable practices.
Winners of the 2025 IFWG Food Awards:
- Food Award: Sneem Black Pudding – Peter O’ Sullivan Butchers, Co. Kerry. A traditional blood sausage with a smooth, mousse-like texture, crafted in small batches using locally sourced ingredients including fresh blood and a recipe passed down through generations, resulting in a rich, earthy flavour with subtle seasoning and exceptional provenance.
- Food Award: Murphy’s Ice Cream, Co. Kerry. Crafting award-winning ice cream with a focus on local, inventive flavours, Murphy’s Ice Cream uses milk from the Kerry Cow and ingredients sourced from nearby farms, creating indulgent, high-quality treats that celebrate the best of County Kerry.
- Food Award: 40 day aged Côte de boeuf – Higgins Family Butcher, Co. Dublin. Known for their dry-aged expertise, Higgins Family Butchers’ 40 day aged Côte de boeuf is a standout, expertly aged to enhance its rich, tender flavour and exceptional texture, making it a must-try for meat lovers and a signature offering in their acclaimed range.
- Irish Drink Award: Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur – Mourne Dew Distillery, Co. Down. The Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur combines rich, nutty flavours with hints of vanilla, chocolate, and cream, offering a smooth, innovative twist on traditional poitín. Recognised for its exceptional quality, it’s a standout among Mourne Dew’s renowned range of spirits.
- Notable Contribution to Irish Food: Moy Hill Farm, Co. Clare. A vibrant regenerative farm that blends sustainability and community spirit, Moy Hill Farm nurtures nutrient-dense organic produce while promoting biodiversity and teaching future generations the art of holistic farming.
- Environmental Award: Master Chefs Ellan Farm, Co. Limerick. A pioneering initiative by Master Chefs, this organic farm blends sustainability and zero-waste practices to supply high-quality, locally grown food to Ireland’s catering industry. Their farm-to-table-back-to-farm approach sets a new standard in ethical, community-focused food production.
- Community Food Award: Irish Seed Savers Association, Co. Clare. A beacon of sustainable agriculture, Irish Seed Savers works tirelessly to conserve Ireland’s food crop heritage, ensuring the protection of genetic diversity in our food systems. Their efforts to safeguard plant genetic resources are crucial to the future of food security and biodiversity.
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Jane and Louis Grubb of Cashel Blue, Co. Tipperary. In 1984 Jane and Louis Grubb introduced Cashel Blue, Ireland’s first native blue cheese, made with milk from their family farm. Their legacy continues, blending tradition with innovation, producing award-winning cheeses like Cashel Blue, Crozier Blue, and Shepherd’s Store. Their dedication to quality has made them a cornerstone of Ireland’s cheesemaking industry.
About the IFWG Food Awards: The IFWG Food Awards are unique in that no business or individual can enter, nor do they know if they have been nominated for an award. The Guild is the sole nominating and decision-making body – with the exception of the Community Food Award, for which the Guild invites nominations. Guild members nominate and anonymously buy products for tasting. Proportional representation voting is undertaken at a Guild tasting meeting. Winning products must be produced in Ireland and the main ingredient must be Irish grown or produced.
Paula McIntyre continued: “We know that for the most part Ireland’s food and drink industry is committed to playing its part in tackling climate change. But we cannot allow greenwashing to go unchecked and ultimately, consumers rely on producers to be honest and transparent in how they communicate and promote their produce.”
The IFWG’s chairperson called on regulatory bodies to adopt a more proactive and vigilant approach to tackling the issue of greenwashing and for environmentally conscious consumers to be even more discerning. “Unfortunately, when it comes to sustainable practices, we cannot simply accept a brand’s claims at face value. We must interrogate claims more carefully to ensure authenticity and while this can be challenging, it’s critical if we are to protect the integrity of our world-class food sector, and the vibrant and hard-working producers who make it so. I’d like to commend the work being done by Bord Bia to support Irish producers through collaboration and education, helping them navigate sustainability challenges with integrity and authenticity.”
Una Fitzgibbon, Director of Marketing for Bord Bia said:“Bord Bia is proud to support the Irish Food Writer’s Guild and its annual awards, which celebrate the excellence and integrity of Irish food producers. These awards are a testament to the dedication and hard work of producers who uphold the highest standards in quality and sustainability. Bord Bia values the opportunity to collaborate with the Guild in recognising and promoting these outstanding contributions to the Irish food sector. The IFWG plays a vital role in highlighting the achievements of these producers, and we commend this year’s eight recipients for their leadership and commitment to sustainable food production.”
The IFWG Food Awards took place at ANANDA Restaurant in Dublin, chosen for its consistent use of high quality Irish produce, where guests enjoyed a lunch featuring the winning produce, which was created by chef Sunuraj Thadiyil Kuttappan and Conor Spacey, who won a 2024 IFWG Food award for his notable contribution to Irish food.
The Guild is grateful to the team at ANANDA and Bord Bia together with Liberty Wines and Teeling for their continuous support of the awards.
About the Winners
Food Award: Sneem Black Pudding – Peter O’ Sullivan Butchers, Co. Kerry.
Sneem black pudding is made in South Kerry’s Iveragh Peninsula by Peter O’Sullivan, who runs a third-generation family-operated craft butchers where he personally sources stock from local farmers and processes them in his own abattoir.
Sneem Black Pudding is a traditional blood sausage, using fresh blood, with a mousse-like consistency that is quite unlike the coarser, rustic texture of most Irish black puddings. This unusual style of Irish black pudding has been made in the village of Sneem for several generations and is continued today by Peter and his neighbouring butcher Kieran Burns, both to different family recipes but in a similar style.
With the help of Michael Gleeson of Gleeson Rural Development, in 2019 Peter and Kieran secured Protected Geographical Indication status for Sneem Black Pudding. That PGI status guarantees a pudding free from artificial colours, flavours, bulking agents and preservatives; and made with sheep, cow or pig blood together with beef or lamb suet, oatmeal, onions, seasoning and spices. It is handcrafted in small batches, and gently tray-baked in blocks rather than boiled in a casing and is commonly sold in blocks.
Both butchers make their pudding to their own family recipes. Peter describes his rich, earthy yet subtly seasoned pudding as having “a flavour not unlike the smell one gets when walking in the heather mountains and pastures where the animals graze”. He sells it in un-cased blocks that, when sliced and cooked fast over a high heat, produce a crisp crunchy exterior encasing a smooth yielding interior. The result is a pudding with exceptional flavour, texture and provenance, which can be found in local shops and craft butchers as well as on menus in restaurants and hotels around the island.
Food Award: Murphy’s Ice Cream, Co. Kerry.
Irish brothers Sean and Kieran Murphy were born in New York City and started Murphy’s Ice Cream in Dingle, County Kerry in the year 2000. Their goal was “to make the best ice cream in the world.” Over the next two years their business quickly grew, the ice cream became more refined, and customers from outside of Kerry became more insistent on having Murphy’s Ice Cream closer to home. In 2005, Murphy’s Ice Cream opened a second shop on Main Street in Killarney. In 2010, they scooped up the old Haagen Daz café space on Dublin’s Wicklow Street. Twenty years later, they have a total of six outlets and an arsenal of twelve core flavours, plus seasonal options, and a few of those flavours are also available in specialty grocers.
In support of one of Ireland’s oldest indigenous breeds, Murphy’s Ice Cream only uses milk from the Kerry Cow farmed by Colm Murphy in West Kerry. Murphy’s Ice Cream flavours have always been inventive; pioneering ingredients which are nearly all locally sourced, from free-range eggs supplied by local farmers to sea salt harvested off the Dingle coast, locally grown seasonal fruits, honey from the Sheehy beekeepers in Camp, County Kerry, McCambridge’s Brown Bread, Dingle Gin and Teeling Whiskey. The Murphy brothers are also cookbook authors — in 2008, the “Book of Sweet Things” composed of gorgeous Murphy’s ice cream recipes was published by Cork’s Mercier Press. Murphy’s Ice Cream has won numerous awards and accolades over the years, but what Sean and Kieran have always really been interested in is exciting and delighting their customers. This passion shines through when you step into any of their cafés, or indeed in the simple delight of a sumptuous spoonful of Murphy’s Ice Cream.
Food Award: Côte de boeuf – Higgins Family Butcher, Co. Dublin.
Higgins Family Butchers was established by Thomas Higgins in Kildare way back in 1880. For well over a century, Thomas, Tom, Tony and Rick Higgins have been Master Butchers and have become one of Ireland’s leading distributers of premium meat to the retail, restaurant and food service industry.
The Northside of Dublin is lucky enough to have Higgins Family Butchers at Sutton Cross. Now headed up by Rick Higgins, who himself has over 25 years’ experience in the craft. A dry aged specialist he now mixes age old traditions with modern techniques including uniquely Irish charcuterie. As one of the most renowned Master Butchers in Ireland Rick insists on dry aging all their produce on the bone. A nose to tail butcher, full carcasses can always be found hanging in their ageing chambers.
The shop sources from small farms across Ireland bringing the best meat and poultry for their customers – many of these suppliers are exclusive to Higgins’ butchers. Many of you will be familiar with the Higgins’ name from numerous successful restaurants where the name sits proudly on their menus as an imprimatur of quality. Mamo in Howth is a good example where, apparently, their customers won’t let them remove Higgins ingredients from the menu as it is so consistently popular.
Nothing is too much trouble for Rick and the Higgins family business, the shop in Sutton is a spectacular example of how a butchers can look. A huge amount of pride and passion goes into dressing the meat counter, no less than 2 ½ hours every morning. Customers can pick up a coffee, select a bottle of wine before deciding what they fancy from the extensive range of gourmet sausages, free range pork, dry aged lamb, Regan’s Farm organic chickens, difficult to source fine meats and of course some of the best beef this country has to offer. When the beef delivery is made each butcher hand selects every individual piece, to ensure only the highest quality cuts are used. The meats are then tagged with the date and weight and placed into their aging rooms, where the magic begins.
In the aging rooms, the natural enzymes break down the fibres and connective tissues while evaporating most of the water weight. What’s left behind is a beautiful, bright cherry-red piece of beef that’s ready to cook. Their côte de boeuf, which is dry aged for 40 days, is an outstanding piece of meat and a worthy recipient of an IFWG food award.
Higgins blend innovative, state of the art facilities with age-old techniques and excellent customer service. You will be glad to note that they also offer a great online presence offering free delivery on orders over 80 euro. Rick himself will be known to many from his witty online presence, always interacting with customers and happy to impart his extensive cookery knowledge.
Irish Drink Award: Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur – Mourne Dew Distillery, Co. Down.
Donal Farrell used to be a barrister and some 14 years ago was involved in a trial containing DNA evidence which had been obtained by vacuum distillation in a forensic laboratory in such a way as to avoid damaging the delicate and complex DNA molecule. He became fascinated with the subject and it inspired him to apply this laboratory technique to the commercial distillation of spirits.
Donal’s family has deep roots in the Mourne Mountains in County Down and in 2017 he set up his distillery in the village of Rostrevor and called it Mourne Dew Distillery.
Making spirits was in the Farrell family DNA as his ancestors were well known poitín makers going at least as far back as the 1870s. Donal’s aim has been to combine tradition with modern technology so as to produce spirits that are both novel and of the highest quality.
The Mourne Dew cold distillation process offers significant advantages over conventional hot distillation. Energy consumption is much less, chemical separation during distillation is much better thus yielding purer distillates and higher yields, molecular decomposition as a result of heat and pressure is practically eliminated so that distillates retain the fresh flavour of their original botanicals. These are the reasons why Mourne Dew has developed a reputation for the high-quality distillates that go into their finished products.
Their range includes vodkas, gins, whiskies, poitíns and liqueurs. The Pooka Hazelnut Poitín Liqueur has won the IFWG award for best drink. A Pooka is a mischievous spirit in Irish mythology and has had a long association with alcohol, hence the naming of the brand. Along with a rich nutty flavour, this poitín liqueur has notes of vanilla, chocolate and cream. Three Michelin starred chef Clare Smyth of Core restaurant in London features the Pooka on her cocktail menu.
Pooka Hazelnut Poitín won a silver award at the London Spirits Competition and was runner-up in the Blas na hEireann awards in 2019, being beaten into second place by another Mourne Dew product, their Pooka Poitín Blend No1!
Notable Contribution to Irish Food: Moy Hill Farm, Co. Clare.
Moy Hill Farm started as a small community garden in 2013, it was just half an acre, nestled into the hillside but completely overgrown and wild. It took Fergal and Sally Smith a full day to unearth the little entrance gate and create a way in….
Fergal came from a horticultural background. His dad was a pioneer in small scale horticulture in Co Mayo, but he had dreams of becoming a professional surfer and ended up making it a reality. He travelled the world surfing epic waves but at 24 had a ‘lightbulb’ moment and decided it was no longer sustainable for him, so he came back to Ireland to work the land. He completed a 10 day holistic management course and the Richard Perkins, 10 day intensive regenerative agricultural training.
Sally, from Cork, also spent many years travelling, sailing and surfing. She too felt drawn to the land, studied horticulture and Rudolf Steiner Kindergarten education. She is a mother of 3 who also helps on the farm, generally in the background. She has had many roles over the years, currently keeps the workers fed daily and does the weekly market.
Vegetable beds were gradually established, a small glass house was built in a sheltered area, fruit trees were planted with the help of a community of their friends, travellers, surfers, builders and gardeners.
Everything had to be done from scratch, a road onto the land, all the infrastructure required for a market garden – polytunnels, a packing shed as well as planting thousands of trees around the site.
The produce was sold in local markets, and a community supported agriculture (CSA) was set up to supply organic vegetable boxes to the local community.
A crowd funding campaign raised money to buy extra land, enabling them to create a mixed regenerative farm to integrate animals, Dexter cattle, poultry and Jacob sheep. An education centre is underway which will enable the training of new farmers in regenerative agriculture for the future. Meanwhile, they offer internships and host Farm Walks for visitors to learn about the farm and its activities.
Moy Hill farm has evolved over the last 12 years. They now own 67 acres and lease a further 50 acres. On my last visit to Moy Hill Farm, I was enchanted to see Fergal and Sally’s young daughter, Sunshine, confidently stirring Korean Natural Farming preparations. These precious concoctions are an essential part of the system, they activate the microbes in the soil and enhance fertility to grow healthy nutrient dense crops. How fortunate are the folks of West Clare to live close to this vibrant sustainable farm and community of passionate committed young people. They overcame many challenges over the years and worked so hard. They continue to pass on the skills, enhance biodiversity and produce nourishing organic produce for their local community.
Environmental Award: Master Chefs Ellan Farm, Co. Limerick.
Master Chefs’ Ellan Farm is what happens when an Irish catering company looks to address some of the big issues we see in publicly procured food service operations. Set amidst 20 acres of the Ballyneety, Co Limerick countryside, the farm is the brainchild of Master Chefs CEO Pat O’Sullivan, who launched Master Chefs in 2000 and has been providing high end catering throughout Ireland ever since.
Master Chefs’ approach to large-scale catering saw the creation of Ellan Farm in 2021. Their ultimate vision for the organic farm is to provide sustainably produced food to their clients with a zero-waste ethos. Aside from growing and producing food on the farm, they also plan to re-process compostable packaging and food waste to fertilise the soil. To be able to provide year-round ingredients, they have trained their chefs in fermentation and preservation and hope the farm will become a centre for education in addition to providing a significant proportion of the ingredients used in their day-to-day business.
This is a serious undertaking in an industry where the lowest price on offer is – nine times out of 10 – the winning catering contract. Ellan Farm is setting a new standard for catering in Ireland with their farm-to-table-back-to-farm approach and, in such uncertain times for hospitality, agriculture and climate, we should celebrate a business which is intentionally placing community, environment, nutrition and flavour before profit.
Community Food Award: Irish Seed Savers Association, Co. Clare.
Our interconnected food systems are in crisis due to climate change, biodiversity loss and poor agricultural practices. Nature already holds a solution in the form of genetic diversity. That origin of that solution may be closer to home than you think.
Agriculture significantly contributes to biodiversity loss, including the depletion of ecosystem diversity, of species diversity and of genetic diversity within species.
Changes in land use, increased urbanisation, land degradation, the use of chemicals, the availability of high yield varieties, changes in market preference and the impact of climate change are increasing the risk for loss of crop diversity. It is estimated that 60% of the world’s traded seed is owned by four Agri-Chemical giants.
The loss of genetic diversity or genetic erosion, within our food crop varieties increases vulnerability and is a threat to food security. Irish Seed Savers Association is the leading non-governmental organisation working for the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in Ireland. Their efforts are vital, and the Irish Food Writers’ Guild today recognises that work by awarding the Irish Seed Savers Association the Community Food Award.
What began as a small farm in Co. Carlow in the early 1990’s has evolved into a thriving 20-acre organic farm in East Clare, a testament to the enduring spirit of preserving and propagating Ireland’s agricultural legacy. Today, Irish Seed Savers stands as a beacon of sustainable agriculture, safeguarding the diversity of seeds and Irish heritage apple trees and ensuring the conservation of Ireland’s food crop heritage for now and for generations to come. Congratulations to the Irish Seed Savers Association.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jane and Louis Grubb of Cashel Blue, Co. Tipperary.
When Jane and Louis Grubb first launched Cashel Blue in 1984 it was made – eight cheeses at a time – in a repurposed 80-litre copper brewer’s vat using milk from the family farm at Beechmount, near Fethard, County Tipperary. This small beginning was to be followed by great things. By taking first-class grass-fed milk and introducing it to Penicillium Roqueforti during the cheesemaking process, the Grubbs created something very special: Ireland’s first native blue cheese. Over the last 41 years, Cashel Blue has won numerous awards and plaudits while production has expanded to keep up with demand at home and abroad. By carefully blending tradition and technology with the best of local milk this family-run business has managed to become bigger and better without losing the focus on quality and authenticity. It continues to be one of the best known of the Irish farmhouse cheeses.
In 2003, Jane and Louis’ daughter, Sarah, and her Italian husband Sergio Furno, joined the business, working to ensure that the Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers future is sustainable on all levels.
Well-balanced, rich and creamy with a delicious tang, Cashel Blue – what John McKenna called “a monstrously wonderful cheese” back in 1989 – is most democratic. It can be found across supermarkets, cheese counters and delicatessens or used by chefs on high-end restaurant menus and café sandwich boards. That is why most Irish people’s first experience of blue cheese is, quite simply Cashel Blue. It always brings something special to the table, along with its Cashel Farmhouse fellows: an organic version of Cashel Blue, and sheep milk cheeses Crozier Blue and Shepherd’s Store.
