Maisons Restaurant has been announced as Newcomer of the Year at the prestigious 2016 Georgina Campbell Awards, Ireland’s longest-running food and hospitality awards.
Located in the small coastal village of Rostrevor, County Down, the award-winning Maisons opened at the end of June and is owned and run by Raymond McArdle, one of Ireland’s most highly regarded chefs. This is the second award received by Maisons in the space of just a few weeks. The coveted Georgina Campbell Award follows hot on the heels of the ‘Best Place to Eat Award’, clinched by the new Rostrevor restaurant at the recent Greater Newry Area Business Awards.
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Raymond McCardle receives his award from Georgina Campbell at the Guide Awards 2016 held at the Bord Bia offices in Dublin. (Photos by Paul Sherwood.)[/caption]
Representatives of the very best in Irish hospitality gathered at Bord Bia in Dublin (30 September 2015) for the highly respected award announcements, in association with Georgina Campbell’s Ireland independent hospitality guides and Ireland’s most popular independent hospitality and travel website:
A delighted Raymond McArdle, who is back on his home patch in Rostrevor, said: “If you’re in Georgina Campbell’s good books you really know you’re doing something right. We’re totally thrilled and honoured to receive the Newcomer of the Year accolade from Ireland’s most trusted food guide.
“At Maisons we have set out to prove that amazing, memorable food can be found beyond the big city lights. The restaurant opened in Rostrevor just three months ago and I’m very proud to help put my home town on Ireland’s destination dining hotlist.
“Maisons offers a new breed of flavoursome, smart-casual dining and promises a heady combination of quality, well-priced food in an amazingly beautiful setting. I get great inspiration here in County Down with such a wealth of top-notch local produce right on our doorstep.
“The team I have gathered around me has done great things in a short time… good food can only happen with the passion of talented people, they deserve every drop of praise. We’re all delighted to be recognised as an exciting new entrant on the all-Ireland dining scene.
“Our Newcomer of the Year achievement is another win for the 2016 Year of Food in Northern Ireland. It’s fantastic to see the real fervour behind our province’s food celebrations. I’m delighted that our award-winning new restaurant can add to Northern Ireland’s growing reputation for excellence.
“We have so much more planned at Maisons. It’s our ambition to tempt visitors from home and abroad off the well-worn tracks to explore true local food and hospitality and enjoy the breath-taking landscape that yields it.”
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Maisons award winning restaurant in Rostrevor.[/caption]
The Georgina Campbell Guide, fondly known as the ‘Glovebox Bible’, is highly respected for its completely independent approach and is compiled annually, with expert assessors combing the length and breadth of Ireland to seek out the best food and hospitality experiences.
Establishments are selected for recommendation on merit alone, using the respected and trusted method of anonymous assessment by experienced mystery diners, who pay their bills like anyone else and only pass on recommendation for the best establishments visited, with no commercial charges of any kind.
Speaking at the prestigious awards ceremony, Ms Campbell said: “Newcomer of the Year is always one of our most exciting awards – and the ‘short list’ is anything but short. Recent openings have mainly been in cities, especially Dublin, so it is particularly pleasing to give recognition to an excellent new small town restaurant, opened by a talented and experienced team that’s headed up by a well-known and very dedicated owner chef.
“Maisons is a magic spot for an outing and although Raymond is a classically trained chef, known primarily for exquisitely executed fine dining, he understands very well the appeal of informality, relaxed dining and good value at his smart two-storey operation at Maisons. Thanks to the arrival of Raymond McArdle’s super new restaurant, Rostrevor is becoming a place that’s earning its stripes as a food destination. Congratulations to the Maisons team and to all our very worthy award winners.”
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