News Blog - Hotel and Catering Review

Ballygarry House takes the green path

Above: Ballygarry's Green Team leaders. Tralee's Ballygarry House Hotel is among the businesses across the country and around the world taking steps to reduce the environmental damage caused by pollution. Small steps including the introduction of paperless checkouts and refillable soap dispensers have been augmented by the hotel's dedicated Green Team overseen by Deputy General Manager Tadhg McGillicuddy. The team comprises members from every department at [...]

The social side: Getting started on social media

Hotel & Catering Review spoke to BoomMedia’s Rob Tierney to discover his top tips in setting up a social media presence for your business. In this day and age, people look at you strangely if you don’t maintain a presence on social media. After all, brands of all shapes and sizes across the globe target their specific audience via digital platforms – a useful method of connecting [...]

Hard Rock International announces first Dublin hotel

Above: An artist's impression of the upcoming Hard Rock Hotel Dublin. Image: Digital Aspect Hard Rock International has announced plans to expand its portfolio to Ireland, with Hard Rock Hotel Dublin set to open in 2020. The organisation is working in collaboration with Tifco Limited on the project, which will be located in the city centre on Lord Edward Street. The impending hotel will comprise two [...]

Irish chef awarded Freedom of the City of London

Above: Sodexo chef David Mulcahy (right) receiving the Freedom of the City of London from Murray Craig, Clerk of the Chamberlain’s Court at Guildhall, London along with fellow chef Steve Munkley. David Mulcahy, Food Innovation Director with Sodexo UK and Ireland, has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his contribution to the hospitality industry and culinary excellence in the UK. [...]

Met Eireann launches Mount Juliet weather station

Above: Met Eireann launches one of their Climatological Automatic Weather Stations at Mount Juliet Estate. Pictured with Siobhan Ryan, RTÉ weather presenter, are Pat O’Reilly, Estate Manager and Matt Sandercock, Director of Golf. Photo: Patrick Browne Mount Juliet Estate will be keeping an even closer weather eye on the horizon from now on, having recently played host to the launch of one of Met Éireann's Climatological [...]

National Off-Licence Association calls for State support

Ninety-eight per cent of National Off-Licence Association (NOffLA) members believe that the government isn't doing enough to protect Irish SMEs, while 37 per cent would hire more staff if excise duty on alcohol is reduced by 15 per cent. Those and other statistics have been unveiled as part of NOffLA's pre-Budget submission to the Department of Finance for Budget 2019, resulting from an annual survey of [...]

Hoteliers predict strong summer

Ireland's hoteliers and guesthouse owners are forecasting a positive summer for the sector, according to the latest industry survey by the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF). The majority (70 per cent) report that business has increased year on year, with a boost from staycations and overseas markets including continental Europe and North America, though 49 per cent noted a drop in UK business. Improving business levels have [...]

Giant 13lb Jägermeister gelato sundae created to launch #DessertFSTVL

Above: Katie Mythen Lynch, Johnny Lynch, Ernest Cantillon, and Eimear McCarthy from FSTVLR launching #DessertFSTVL. Photo: Domnick Walsh This summer, Ireland will be celebrating all things sweet with #DessertFSTVL, the first-ever national dessert festival. From July 23rd to 29th venues nationwide will participate in the festival, showcasing of their most delicious and indulgent desserts and hosting events for the public to enjoy. To launch the festival, [...]

Ireland moving up in global golf tourism leaderboard

Above: John McLaughlin, CEO, North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland. With the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Ballyliffin concluded for another year, one of Ireland’s leading golf marketing companies has claimed that the tournament’s resurgence in recent years, aligned with a proactive global marketing drive, is providing a real boost for golf tourism across the island. North & West Coast Links Golf Ireland has almost [...]

Royal visit to provide tourism boost

Photo: iStock Tourism Ireland is anticipating a boost in tourism numbers thanks to this week’s royal visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan Markle. During their two-day visit, which began yesterday, the couple will visit Croke Park, Trinity College and the Book of Kells, as well as EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum. A large media contingent has travelled [...]

The rise of Irish charcuterie

Above: Rob Krawczyk. Photo: Rob Durston This month, Irish chef and charcuterie master Rob Krawczyk will host a meat curing and whiskey masterclass designed to showcase how we can combine hugely popular homegrown products to create something amazing by simply embracing Ireland’s native produce, ingredients and recipes. Creating definitively Irish cured meats in a field dominated by our continental neighbours is no mean feat, but Rob [...]

#BlackBushStories unveils charcuterie masterclass

Photo: Rob Durston Bushmills' #BlackBushStories collaborative event series continues this summer with Cork chef and charcuterie master Rob Krawczyk set to host a masterclass later this month. Krawczyk, whose father Frank made charcuterie in West Cork for 25 years and taught his son how to cure and smoke meat, will run a meat-curing class at Dublin's Drury Buildings on Wednesday July 25th, in association with Bushmills Irish [...]

Safety first at Bloomfield

Above: Members of the Bloomfield Team receiving their AED training certs. According to the HSE, around 5,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest each year in Ireland, the majority of which occur outside of hospitals. For every minute that passes, the victim's chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest drop by between seven and ten per cent. However, if you can access a defibrillator nearby you [...]

A one-stop-shop for FSTVLR-goers

Above: Johnny Lynch, Ernest Cantillon, Katie Mythen Lynch and Eimear McCarthy from FSTVLR. Photo: Domnick Walsh There's a new player in town with Irish broad range of festivals firmly in its sights. FSTVLR is a recently-launched business that runs themed festivals across the country and connects businesses seeking to host food and drink events with consumers through its online platform FSTVLR.ie. FSTVLR aims to provide businesses with [...]

Simply Better steaks recognised at London awards

Above: The bronze winner from the Simply Better collection. Good news for the Simply Better collection from Dunnes Stores – the range has been recognised with a gold medal at the 2018 World Steak Challenge in London. A total of 22 countries participated in these awards, which judge steaks from around the world based on appearance, aroma, colour, marbling, and consistency of fat trim. The Dunnes [...]

CATEX to return in 2019

Above: The CATEX launch. Photo: Colm Mahady/Fennells CATEX, Ireland's largest foodservice and hospitality event, is set to return to Dublin's RDS next February. The biennial trade show provides thousands of visitors with products, services and solutions aimed at meeting the demands faced by the hospitality and foodservice sectors, with Ireland's biggest players and membership organisations coming together under the one roof over three days. Created by [...]

Eddie Rocket’s scoops burger award

Above: Tobi Lukaschek, George Bertram and Michael Moneeram from Eddie Rocket’s accepting the award for Best Burger in a National Fast Food Chain as part of National Burger Day. It's official – Eddie Rocket's has one of the best burgers in Ireland. The restaurant chain took home the award for Best Burger in a National Fast Food Chain as part of National Burger Day last month. [...]

Freshii opens new N7 outlet

Photo: Vincenzo Pistritto Healthy eating restaurant chain Freshii is opening its fifth outlet today, located at Applegreen Motorway Service on the N7 at Rathcoole. The outlet joins those further down the M7 just outside Portlaoise, at Enfield Motorway Services on the M4 westbound, and two at the M1 at Lusk. "Freshii is delighted to make tasty, convenient and affordable nutritional food available to people on the [...]

Overtourism backlash captured in new documentary

Above: A still from the documentary. A new documentary claims that the issue of overtourism has reached a critical point. Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism was produced by activist travel company Responsible Travel, and documents the experiences in popular holiday destinations (such as Venice and Barcelona) from the perspective of local people. The short but insightful documentary comes hot on the heels of a recent [...]

Lough Erne Resort named Wedding Venue of the Year

Above: Wynn Penton, Wedding Journal, Joanne Walsh, Rachel Holland & Michelle McGarrity, Lough Erne Resort, Enniskillen. Photo: Phil Smyth The five-star Lough Erne Resort took home two gongs at this year’s Wedding Journal Reader Awards – Ireland’s Wedding Venue of the Year and Wedding Venue Co-Ordinators of the Year for their in-house wedding planning team (Laura Browne and Michelle McGarrity). These accolades come after a significant [...]

The Ivy Dawson Street opens reservations

Above: General Manager Jamie Belton and Head Chef Nick Lentini. Photo: Leon Farrell Reservations have been opened for The Ivy Dawson Street, following an announcement that Dublin's latest restaurant will open its doors on Tuesday July 24th. The first international brasserie from The Ivy Collection will be located at 13-17 Dawson Street in the landmark One Molesworth building, lead by General Manager Jamie Belton. The team [...]

Tourism Ireland focuses on Spanish growth

Pictured: An outdoor ad on the busy Gran Via in Madrid. Tourism Ireland has partnered with Iberia Express to grow Spanish tourism in the south of Ireland. Flights from Cork to Madrid are being promoted to tourists in a campaign highlighting Cork Airport as a key gateway to both the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland's Ancient East. Millions of potential 'culturally curious' Spanish visitors are being [...]

Lord of the Manor

Above: Adare Manor. Photo: Jack Hardy Hotel & Catering Review checked in to a new-look Adare Manor to discover a prestigious property that comes with plenty of grá. When one of Ireland’s most luxurious resorts closes its doors for a 21-month period to undertake an extensive restoration programme, you know the results are bound to be special. That’s exactly what took place at Limerick’s Adare Manor [...]

Ballygarry says farewell to Cathal Nugent

Above: Cathal Nugent (second from left) with Ballygarry House colleagues. Tralee's Ballygarry House bid farewell to a long-serving member of staff this week as Cathal Nugent retired from his post as Deputy General Manager. Originally from Tyrone, Cathal moved to the Southwest in the 1970s to work in Innishannon in Cork, before taking up a position with The Brandon Hotel in Kerry for many years. Before [...]

The Dough Bros take student inspiration

Primary school students from Scoil Ide in Salthill, Galway, have prompted The Dough Bros to take a more sustainable approach to their pizza business. The students were looking at sustainable business practices and wrote to some of their favourite Galway eateries in an attempt to encourage them to use biodegradable napkins, cutlery, pizza boxes and brown bags. Included on that list was the well-known pizza joint, [...]