Recipes from Kildare natives win awards in national food awards

placeholder image — Aoife Flood (left) and Cynthia Wong

12-year old Aoife Flood, from Rathangan, has Ireland’s best banana recipe, having been chosen the overall winner in the recent nationwide search by banana importer Fyffes to find Ireland’s most imaginative meal-makers.

Leading the search, once again, was well-known television cook, Donal Skehan whose previous collaborations with Fyffes led to the discovery of Ireland’s most creative banana bread bakers and banana dessert makers.

This year, Skehan broadened his search to find the most delicious dish, from first to final course, savoury or sweet, in which a banana is the key ingredient. Describing the quest, Skehan called it “a challenge to mums, dads and the younger generation to create an appetising recipe that will demonstrate the versatility of bananas as an ingredient, whether in meals that are cooked, baked, boiled, blended and everything in between.”

Youngest of three girls, Aoife is beginning secondary school at Ardscoil Rath Iomgháin. Having first developed her passion for baking at the start of the pandemic, she has now reached the stage where she is baking cakes to order.

In creating her prize-winning ‘banoffee cupcakes’, Aoife combined a delicious mixture of caramel drizzle and fresh bananas, topped off with chocolate flakes.

In further success for the county, Monasterevin-based food photography and styling enthusiast, Cynthia Wong, topped the ‘best breakfast’ category for her ‘French brioche toast’. In creating her winning recipe, Cynthia combined a mouth-watering mixture of caramelised bananas, Greek yogurt and maple syrup.

Congratulating Aoife and Cynthia on their success which she says ‘demonstrates the obvious dedication and enthusiasm they put into their culinary creations’, Fyffes head of marketing, Emma Hunt-Duffy went on the praise all those who entered the competition, adding “it was particularly pleasing to see the incredible levels of skill and creativity amongst those who took part, not least the younger, next generation of home baking enthusiasts”.

Other category winners in the competition are: 10-year old Savanna Pascoe, from Rathnew (Best Junior Baker under 12 years); 14-year old Rachel Hanley from Lanesborough (Best Junior Baker aged 13 – 17); 14-year old Elliott Stokes from Caherconlish (Best Savoury); Kiera Stewart from Dripsey (Best Dessert); Harini Sonpal from Churchtown (Best Non Bake) and Alline Isense Dalpiaz from Cahersiveen (Best Vegan).

Further details of each category winner and their winning recipes can be viewed on www.facebook.com/ FyffesIreland/