Calling all pubs and hotels, the Great Carvery of the Year competition is back with entries now being taken for the 2014 competition. What’s more, this year sees the exciting addition of a new category to find Ireland’s best ‘one-day-only’ carvery.
This category will search for the venue that serves the best carvery only one-day-a-week and will run alongside the established Great Carvery Public House of the Year and Great Carvery Hotel of the Year categories.
Launching this year’s competition, head judge Mark McCarthy of Unilever Food Solutions said: “Since 2010, we have received an overwhelming response from pubs and hotels across the island of Ireland, all vying for the title of best carvery. While we know that the industry is still under considerable pressure because of challenging economic conditions, we also believe that carvery is something truly unique to Ireland and we should be showcasing it as one of the Irish foodservice industry’s unique selling points.
“I’m also thrilled to announce a new category as part of this year’s competition. The new one-day-only category recognises the very best that is on offer from venues that only serve up carvery once a week and is a direct result of the growth we are seeing in this channel. I’m excited to see how venues respond to this new challenge and can’t wait to see what the competition serves up.”
Now in its fifth year, the nationwide Great Carvery of the Year competition is firmly established as the premier carvery competition on Ireland and Northern Ireland’s culinary calendar. Registration is now open to venues across the island of Ireland until the end of April – venues can register at www.greatcarvery.com. The public vote will be open from 12th May; people can vote for their favourite venue by text or online at www.greatcarvery.com/vote.
Once the public has determined its shortlist of venues, a team of mystery shoppers will travel the length and breath of the country to whittle this list down to the top three pub and hotel finalists from each province, and the top three ‘one-day-only’ venues in Ireland. The provincial winners and overall winners will be announced at an awards presentation in Dublin in September.
The overall winning venues will each receive PR to the value of €2,500 and marketing support valued at €2,000 for each venue. The winners’ prize also includes a specially commissioned wall plaque to remind customers that they are about to sit down and enjoy the best carvery in Ireland.
