BWG Foodservice has announced that it will sponsor the ‘Chef of the Year’ category at this year’s Irish Restaurant Awards. This is the 13th year of the awards, which ceased midway in early 2020, due to the pandemic. The hosts of this year’s awards look forward to celebrating the best of hospitality, now that the sector has reopened. As in previous years, the Irish Restaurant Awards process begins with an online public vote hosted via The Irish Times. This is followed by the judging process of national experts, followed by regional events in the four provinces, at which county winners and a Dublin shortlist will be announced, culminating in the All-Ireland Irish Restaurant Final. There are 21 categories in total, with the BWG Foodservice-sponsored ‘Chef of the Year’ category always the most hotly contested. Commenting, Ricky O’Brien, BWG Foodservice director, said, “As we warm up for the summer months, it is opportune to celebrate our wonderful industry and, in particular, the extraordinary chefs who are the true stars of the foodservice industry. At BWG Foodservice, we are delighted to have the opportunity to publicly pay homage to their craft. It is rare you get the opportunity to make a statement as public as we believe sponsoring the Chef of the Year award does. One of our driving motivations is to provide chefs with the best of raw materials and ingredients, so that they weave their magic and create spectacular dishes for their customers. We understand all that goes into this, and through sponsorship of this prestigious award, we can show that support in a public and meaningful way.”
Sustainable products dominated the list of retailers that won the 2022 International Salute to Excellence Awards from PLMA, for innovation and quality in private-label food, wine, and non-food categories. “The large number of sustainable and environmentally friendly products demonstrates the commitment of retailers to a greener planet,” said Peggy Davies, president of the Private Label Manufacturers’ Association, reports ESMMagazine.com. The 78 award-winning food and non-food products were selected by international panels of judges, including former retailers, chefs, nutritionists and journalists. Nearly 450 products introduced in the past year, by 51 retailers in 20 countries, were submitted for consideration. Out of the 78 awards, 27 went to retailers in Germany (14) and Italy (13), while France and the Netherlands won eight awards each. The remaining 35 awards were divided between retailers from Ireland, Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula, Türkiye, South Africa and China.
Retailer X5 Group has expanded its logistics infrastructure in central Russia with a new distribution centre for its Perekrestok chain in the Voronezh region, reports ESMMagazine.com. The new centre has a total floor area of 14,000 square metres and features seven storage zones for fresh and ultra-fresh products, fruit and vegetables, frozen foods, fish, dry goods, and alcoholic beverages. At full capacity, the centre will service 60 Perekrestok stores in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Orel and Tambov regions. It will process 1,000 tonnes of products per day, with operations supported by 110 employees and 64 vehicles. In each product zone, there is a specific temperature band, best suited to keep products fresh. The launch of the new distribution centre will enable the region’s manufacturers to reduce their transportation costs and expand the geography of their sales. When operating at full capacity, the logistics facility will be able to handle products from about 400 suppliers.
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. For more retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
