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Inspirational chef wins Local Food Hero award
CHEF AWARD: Chad Byrne won the Kerry and All-Munster Local Food Hero award at the Irish Restaurant Awards. Photo: Michelle Crean
By Michelle Crean
One inspirational chef has won a Local Food Hero award at the Irish Restaurant Awards.
Chad Byrne, Head Chef at The Brehon Hotel, won the Kerry award and the All-Munster award last week in the Strand Hotel Limerick, for his Chef Collab initiative which encourages and mentors aspiring young chefs.
He will now be going to the All-Ireland Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) awards in Dublin this May.
“The award was on behalf of the work I do in the food industry promoting young chefs, with a popup venture called Chef Collab, this is a side line to my job at The Brehon Hotel, who have been very supportive,” Chad told the Killarney Advertiser this week.
“Just two weeks ago we did an All-Ireland event for the Irish Hotel Federation at the Gleneagle with local junior chefs from Killarney been mentored.”
At Chef Collab we pair commis chefs just starting out and eager to improve with the most elite chefs in the country and overseas, he explained.
“Each junior chef goes away to work with his or her mentor for a few days to learn and design a course that they will use for the Chef Collab pop up event. The events highlight talented chefs of the future and all the good aspects of our industry. We keep the events as close to cost price as possible, keeping it accessible for all. We also try to incorporate as many local and indigenous suppliers as possible making it a very holistic approach to food.”
The next Chef Collab event takes place in Killarney on May 26, he added.
“Look online for tickets as they usually go within a few hours of release.”