As the winners of 'foodie oscars' are announced today, Louise East finds out what makes a winning restaurant, and asks how those eating out can benefit from the awards

It's unlikely there'll be a bank of paparazzi when the winners of the 2002 Bushmills Malt Irish Restaurant Awards are announced in Dublin this afternoon. Yet the Restaurant Association of Ireland, which organises the awards with Irish Distillers, still likes to call them the "oscars" of the foodie world. In a way, the analogy isn't a bad one: a recent MRBI/Bord Glas survey highlights the fact that almost half of Irish consumers eat out once a week; a figure that surpasses even cinema attendance.

But once the gongs have been handed out and the satisfying back-slapping concluded, just what role do restaurant awards play in the industry, and who are the real winners?

"It's a nice tip of the hat from your peers, a bit of appreciation for what you do," says Ross Lewis, chef/proprietor of Chapter One, who has been nominated in the best chef (Dublin) category, for the first time this year. "It's very important to have credibility with your peers. It's a tough business, and those that survive are usually the ones who have the support of others in the trade."

It's the element of peer approval which has earned these awards particular kudos. As Ray Byrne of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (and an RAI award winner) points out: "There's a lot of awards floating around, but in some cases, you're not quite sure how restaurants are nominated or what the criteria are. So we decided to give our own awards."

As all RAI members are sent a voting form, the nomination and selection process is carried out solely by those in the trade. Such a process is also an interesting insight into what a restaurateur respects about another's business.

Dan Mullane, proprietor of The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge in Ballingarry, Co Limerick - twice winner of best restaurateur (outside Dublin) - and has a nomination for best restaurant this year, has no doubts. "A restaurant with long-standing members of staff always gets respect. An establishment who are serious about what they do will always have a good core personnel."

As for the effect of the awards: "As a restaurateur, it keeps me on my toes. It makes me work harder and look at what I'm doing - not to win, but because people will be coming in with very high expectations and it's even worse if we disappoint after winning an award."

Such a belief in high standards may be common in the restaurants short-listed, but it's in short supply elsewhere. The increase in eating out has led to a rash of restaurants offering mediocre food and service at inflated prices, while the trade is plagued by an inability to find committed staff.

Ross Lewis believes the awards help to improve a restaurant's staff: "As a restaurateur, awards act as a kind of publicity in attracting young people who want to work for me. Instead of having to take anything off the street, I get young chefs ringing up who want to work with me. That's hugely beneficial."

Dan Mullane agrees: "There's a lot of people in the restaurant trade who just don't bother to put in the effort to achieve high standards. I have staff who are with me solely because of the standards we have. Awards reward their effort."

Yet Mullane has little time for the gripe of many Irish restaurant-goers - the cost. "We live in an expensive country. I get angry with the argument people trot out about being able to get a chicken breast in the supermarket for €2 and why does it cost €20 in a restaurant? In my restaurant, we pay €19,000 a year insurance premiums, as well as all the labour costs and so on. By the time you divide your €20 by all those expenses, your chicken breast is nearly burnt."

One group of restaurateurs nominated in the new best newcomer section believe they have reaped the benefits of a reasonably priced menu. Having set up the first Lemon Grass in Naas in May 2001, they opened the second in Maynooth in January and there are another two on the cards. "Most restaurants try to enter at the high end of the market, whereas we felt there was a gaping hole in the middle," says one of the four, Brian Fallon.

"We found we were immediately getting a huge repeat clientele who were eating with us twice a week because they could afford to." Both he and Dan Mullane point out that a nomination is a reward for their regulars as much as themselves.

"The locals think they have a gem on their doorstep," says Fallon proudly. "A nomination really strengthens that belief."

So, is it all good news for restaurants and customers or is there a downside to awards? Lewis points out: "It would be a mistake to put too much emphasis on looking for awards and forget what your customers actually want. Some people stretch for headlines and ignore in-house PR with the customer base they already have."

Dan Mullane admits he sometimes feels other restaurants deserve a break and, certainly, the same names (The Mustard Seed, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Derry Clarke at L'Ecrivain, Neven Maguire in McNean's Bistro in Cavan) crop up repeatedly. This year, two new categories - best newcomer and best ethnic - have been created to ensure that less-established restaurants get a look in.

In fact, the only thing likely to add a slight tarnish to the winner's gold plaque is an absence rather than a presence. In the lists of past winners, no mention is made of Kevin Thornton, the chef/proprietor of Thorntons, one of only two establishments in the country which is two-Michelin starred (the other is Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud which is nominated in four categories this year).

Thornton, it turns out, is not a member of the RAI (which incurs an annual fee), so is not eligible to vote or be nominated. If nominations come in for Thorntons they are simply ignored. Thornton says simply: "If I get an award, I want it to be purely on merit, not because I've paid a fee."

But doesn't such an omission reflect badly on the awards? "Every competition has to run along certain guidelines, and this one is for RAI members. In fairness, I would say that most of the restaurants that would be contenders are members anyway," says Lewis.

There are more than 500 members of the RAI in the Republic. In truth, the only way you can really be certain that the right people are getting the awards is to start a culinary exploration yourself. You'll be assured of some pretty superb meals but, be warned, it's going to cost you rather more than the price of a ticket to the cinema.

Dublin

Best Restaurant

Browne's Brasserie & Townhouse

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud

The Commons

Best Chef

Ross Lewis - Chapter One

Derry Clarke - L'Ecrivain

Colin O'Daly - Roly's

Best Restaurant Service

The Commons

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud

Shanahans on the Green

Best Wine List

King Sitric

L'Ecrivain

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud

Best After Dinner Drinks

Chapter One

Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud

The Commons

Best Newcomer

Kish

Pearl Brasserie

The Blue Orchid, Blackrock

Best Ethnic

Restaurant Diep le Shaker

Montys of Kathmandu

Wongs

Ireland AM/TV3 Viewers 

Choice - Dublin and

provincial finalists

Roly's, Ballsbridge

Outside Dublin

The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge, Ballingarry, Co Limerick

Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co Cork

The Byerley Turk at the K Club, Co Kildare

Best Chef

Rory O'Connell, Ballymaloe House, Co Cork

Raymond McArdle, Nuremore Hotel, Co Monaghan

Nevin Maguire, McNeans Bistro, Co Cavan

Best Restaurant Service

Castle Gates, Co Galway

Jacobs on the Mall, Cork

The Park Hotel, Kenmare, Co Kerry

Best Wine List

The Byerley Turk at the K Club, Co Kildare

Jacques, Phoenix Street, Cork

Lovetts, Douglas, Co Cork

Best After Dinner Drinks

The Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge, Ballingarry, Co Limerick

Smugglers Creek, Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal

Manifesto, Athlone, Co Westmeath

Best Newcomer

Fishy Fishy Cafe, The Gourmet Store, Kinsale, Co Cork

Knights, Roscommon town

Lemon Grass, Naas and Maynooth,Co Kildare

Best Ethnic Restaurant

Ambassador, Cork

Jade Garden, Dundalk, Co Louth

Tulsi, Galway city

Ireland AM/TV3 Viewers Choice provincial finalists

Ulster: McGrory's of Culdaff, Co Donegal

Connacht: Quay Street restaurant, Galway

Munster: Isaacs Restaurant, Cork

Leinster: Lemon Grass Restaurants, Naas and Maynooth, Co Kildare