Dundalk's Crowne Plaza hotel shortlisted for porridge awards

The Crowne Plaza in Dundalk has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Flahavan’s National Porridge Awards 2022.  

Nine hotels, located across the country, have been shortlisted for the innovative and creative ways their culinary teams have elevated the breakfast experience and incorporated locally- sourced Irish oats into their breakfast offerings.  

The shortlisted finalists include the Crowne Plaza.

“The standard of entries to the National Porridge Awards has been excellent and we are delighted to announce this shortlist, showcasing the ‘best of the best’ in hotel breakfast experiences that incorporate our world-class Irish wholegrain oats into their offerings.” said Shane O’Hanrahan, Flahavan’s Foodservice Business Development Manager.

For the final stage of judging, Eunice Power, well-known chef and food writer, will visit each of the shortlisted hotels, along with a representative from Flahavan’s, to experience their porridge offerings and select a winner for each of the competition categories: Best Classic Porridge, Most Innovative Porridge and Best Promotion of Porridge.

“I’m very excited to get on the road on behalf of Flahavan’s and visit each of the shortlisted hotels.  

"I’m looking forward to experiencing first-hand the quality of the porridge on offer” said Eunice Power,

“In my review of the porridge in each of the shortlisted hotels I’ll be looking out for key features that make a great porridge - including texture, flavour, presentation and origin of ingredients.

"As breakfast is such an important meal in any hotel experience, I’ll also be considering how creative each hotel has been in optimising their guests’ porridge experience in terms of toppings; accompaniments and presentation.  You cannot judge these awards without also considering the typical guest profile of the establishment– corporate vs leisure guests; and ensuring the breakfast offering is correctly tailored to guests’ needs.” 

A winner will be announced in each of the three categories with an overall winner chosen from these.

Category winners will be awarded €500 each for their culinary teams, while one overall winner will be named “National Porridge Awards Champion 2022” and will receive an additional €500 (i.e. €1,000 total) for a big team night-out!