Blas na hÉireann Kildare finalists for 2024 announced

Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards, have announced the finalists for 2024 – and it’s another strong year of producers from Co Kildare.

Now in its 17th year, Blas na hÉireann saw another record-breaking year across all categories along with many new producers entering the awards for the first time this year.

During the judging, which took place in June and July, over 3,000 entries were judged, testament to the number of brilliant producers across the country.

“We are delighted to see 11 finalists in this year's Blas na hÉireann and are proud to be sponsoring, for the very first time, Best in Kildare to celebrate the food provenance, taste and above all the passion and talent of our Kildare food & drink producers,” said Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise at Kildare Co Council.

The 11 finalists shortlisted from Co Kildare across a range of different categories are Bird's Eye, Coghlans Bakery, Couverture Desserts Ltd, Daisy Desserts, Firecastle, Killadoon Milk, O'Brien Fine Foods, Pro-Bars Ltd, Rye River, The Brown Bread Guy and Wild Women Bitters Ltd, trading as Beara Bitters.

The countdown is now on for another exciting and joyous awards weekend in the scenic seaside town of Dingle. The three-day event will take place from Thursday 3 to Saturday 5 October. The excitement is already building and the Blas team are hard at work preparing for the arrival of food and drink producers from across Ireland to celebrate the very best of Irish.

This year's focus will be on sustainability with a commitment to encourage zero-waste throughout the three days of the awards in line with the Dingle Food Festival ethos. One new element at Blas will be the removal of any single use cups and the introduction of the first electric van delivering food and drink to the awards from across the country.

With over 3,000 products entered in this year’s Blas na hÉireann, making it as a finalist is a huge achievement and one to be very proud of. The competition ramps up year on year, meaning those producers who are shortlisted as finalists really are the crème de la crème of Irish food and drink.

Well done to all the finalists from Kildare!