Michelin Stars Alone Do Not A ‘Food Island’ Make

Just how important is the world of the Michelin Star Awards to ours or any other country’s food offer? H&RT Investigates

Hotel & Restaurant Times delves into our culinary offer and some of the myths that seem to go hand in hand with culinary expectations, and asks the question: Are we on the right track or blindly following a mantra of others?

2026 is a big year for Irish food. The annual Michelin Star awards show for Britain and Ireland came to Dublin for the first time, underlining Ireland’s perceived position as an attractive food destination. Meanwhile, Fáilte Ireland are prioritising their ‘Food Island’ initiative; something that will cement this great country of ours as a bright new shining star of culinary excellence.

That, at least, is the story we seem to be selling. But how close is this story to reality? Is it even realistic to have ambitions and culinary notions that are above our station or do we already have all the necessary ingredients to make this happen?

If the chairman of the organisation charged with the promotion of Irish food (Bord Bia) can see no conflict of interest in his food company importing Brazilian beef because, he says, his 1^st responsibility is to the shareholders of his company, then on what basis do we build our Food Island? Perhaps we’re heading for the gastronomic equivalent of a Donegal micra/pyrite home.

And just how important is the world of the Michelin star Awards to ours or any other country’s food offer? Is it actually relevant to building our food offer or just a case of adding a shiny roof to a building before checking the blocks for defects?

Michelin “razzmatazz” good for morale

In a recent article in the Irish Times, Director of the Little Museum and former food critic Trevor White nailed his colours firmly to the mast on the latter question. He described the Michelin “razzmatazz” as being good for morale at time when many restaurants “no longer make sense” as a business proposition.

Just how important is the world of the Michelin star Awards to ours or any other country’s food offer?

Is it actually relevant to building our food offer?

Or just a case of adding a shiny roof to a building before checking the blocks for defects?

The far more important story of food poverty draws far less interest

All of this focus on the practises of an elite minority glaze over, he says, “the unedifying reality of how we actually eat”, adding that a lot of the food we eat in this country is over-processed and cheap. While we’re drawn to the lights of the story of the Michelin stars, the more boring but far more important story of food poverty in this country, he argues, draws far less interest.

With the experience of someone such as White, it’s certainly a point worth taking on board. If we are suffering from food poverty in this country, then what do we have to offer the world? What will people fly to Ireland to experience?

Reading Fáilte Ireland’s literature that talks of developing Cork as a “world region of gastronomy”, citing its English Market as “an iconic experience”, one wonders how far off the mark we are when one considers that this is a market of the scale and grandeur that you’ll find in literally hundreds of modest-sized towns in France alone.

Understandable why people import vegetables from abroad

“We have superb produce in Ireland,” says vegetable grower Colum O’ Regan of Horizon Farm near Kinsale, County Cork, “but I can understand, to some extent, why people import vegetables from abroad: It’s easier. Ireland is a small market and some guy in Italy or Spain or wherever will have produce available. He can send a truckload off to Ireland, no problem. Five million people are fed with a particular product – just like that.

“Whereas at a latitude of 52 degrees, we’re in a tougher climate to grow and to produce. It’s not impossible, but for a buyer – whether it’s a supermarket chain or a restaurant – there are easier solutions (than buying local).”

Ensuring a true Irish food experience in our restaurants, Colum says, very much comes down to the choice made by the head chef of a particular kitchen; his/her willingness to get a seasonal menu to get that producer down the road who can supply.

Keeping the produce fresh and reducing air miles and lorry miles is the target to ensure a true experience of Irish food for visiting tourists and Irish diners alike. This is certainly the trend but it’s still not a reality in many restaurants, with a lot of them relying on the choices of their local suppliers, who may be supplying produce to them from a variety of sources outside of Ireland.

Horizon Farm – A model of what can be achieved by our food industry

In the case of Horizon Farm, it is a ‘fresh leaves’ food company that started small. Colum and Liz O’Regan began supplying local restaurants, mainly in Kinsale before expanding from that geographical base. This was an important symbiotic relationship that can serve as a model of what can be achieved by our food industry nationally; where diners can experience a truly Irish food experience with local produce, where restaurants can get what they need without having to rely on foreign imports and where local vegetable growers can grow their market locally and nationally.

“For the Bastion restaurant in Kinsale, for example, they asked us to start growing Radicchio di Castelfranco winter chicory for them this winter. It’s a very specific product that’s normally grown in the Veneto region in Italy and up to now, it had been imported.”

In these days of an increasingly liberalised international market and with the Mercosur trade deal as good as a done deal, the options for the Irish government to encourage the usage of Irish produce are limited but Colum for one believes that more should be done. Ultimately, however, it will be down to the chefs and the wholesalers.

The more local suppliers you use, the more sustainably we’ll all operate.

“It’s very important that we have Irish ingredients in our food offer as much as possible,” says Eamon Crowley from West Cork, who is one of very few successful onion growers in the country. “Obviously, there are certain crops and certain vegetables that we can’t grow because of our climate… but it’s important to reduce our carbon footprints and the more local suppliers you use, the more sustainably we’ll all operate.”

For recently-retired Michelin-starred chef Derry Clarke, he acknowledges that there is some way to go for Ireland to become a culinary destination, particularly when compared to many other countries in Europe. He is hopeful, however, and believes that we do have a number of strengths to play on.

As for Michelin stars, while they are divorced from most people’s reality, he sees them as another important component in the overall picture, particularly in terms of attracting international attention.

JP McMahon – A key driver for food tourism in Galway and a realistic ambition for the rest of the country

“Food is major tourist attraction now across Europe and the world and I definitely think that we’re getting there and we have it (something to offer). If you look at what someone like JP McMahon is doing – he’s a real leader and driver in that area.”

Clarke credits McMahon with almost single-handedly inspiring Galway to become a food destination. Therefore, he argues, it makes it a realistic ambition for the rest of the country and with more and more tourism products such as food tours springing up around Ireland, it’s slowly becoming a reality.

“We have great small producers and there’s definitely an opportunity to incorporate them more into our tourism offer.

“If you look at the likes of France, Italy or Spain, for example, they have a food culture and solid ‘building blocks’ going back centuries. Our food culture was always more about having food to survive never to enjoy – it’s part of our DNA.”

“But I think that we’re coming out of that and coming to realise that we have the land, the coastline and a lot of small producers around the country.”

The perception from abroad not a reflection on the reality

The perception from abroad, Clarke says, is that Ireland is a ‘bad’ food destination, but it’s not a reflection of the reality, he insists, with most of those naysayers not having experienced the current Irish food offer.

“When I travel around the country now, even I’m still surprised at how good the food is… and when any tourists come to a place, they nearly always want to eat something local, because food produced in a particular area always tastes of the area. And we have that – we definitely have it… Not too long ago, lasagne was the staple choice when you went to a pub or restaurant somewhere. Now, you get local fish or prawns or beef or potatoes.

“The building blocks are there, but in terms of a sophisticated food culture, we don’t have it yet. We’re still a bit young in that end of it.”

Michelin stars – an important building block in our overall culinary offer in Ireland

As for Michelin stars, Clarke can see the benefits of the glittery end of the business, having had the experience of it for approximately 20 years himself at his Dublin restaurant L’Écrivain.

“It was great for business – it genuinely was and it was particularly important for international business. Overseas visitors actively look for Michelin stars. It might sound crazy and I wouldn’t do it, but people do that.

“When I was in the Michelin Guide, there usually weren’t any of the roadshows or any of the razzmatazz – you were simply announced on a list and that was that. For most people, Michelin stars are irrelevant, but I think that it’s an important building block in our overall culinary offer in Ireland.”

A driver of quality food if we get the basics right

He cites the city of San Sebastian in Northern Spain as a destination that has become almost defined by the fact that it has the greatest density of Michelin stars per head of population of any other city.

“That was an important building block for them and because of that, they became known as a culinary centre, which attracted more chefs to work there and tourists to visit. So the more Michelin stars you have in a particular place, the more it attracts more quality… it’s a driver in quality food.

”On the face of all of that, it seems that turning towards local ingredients suppliers is to be encouraged for ensuring that our food offer is truly of this island. Even taking its powerful sustainability argument, it’s surely something that can be encouraged at political level.

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