Angel Pirev, head chef at the Mustard Seed in Ballingarry, Co Limerick has been named as Chef of the Year at the 2023 Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards.
Georgina Campbell described the long-time Mustard Seed head chef as “a quietly ambitious miracle worker in the kitchen who leaves no stone unturned to ensure a wonderful experience for guests and to keep the offering fresh. John Edward tells a nice story about Angel, who likes to make regular visits to Dublin to check out new plates. Going up together one time they got onto all kinds of topics that there never seemed to be time to cover, and so these trips soon became an enjoyable way of brainstorming ideas for the restaurant. The house tradition of excellent modern Irish cooking suits his style and, while not showy and with flavour always the priority, Angel’s consistent precision and attention to detail are a pleasure and clearly appreciated by guests, many of whom return often for special occasions. Each dish has its own thoughtfully considered garnish and the way that garden produce is showcased feels more modern with each passing year. A talent to treasure.”
Georgina Campbell’s Ireland’s operates a rigorous programme of anonymous assessment visits, an all-year-round process, and winners are nominated solely by an independent assessment team.
The Blue Book property has won countless awards since it opened its doors almost 40 years ago. Commenting on this latest one, proprietor John Edward Joyce said,
“Angel is richly deserving of this prestigious accolade and we are very proud to have him at the helm in the Mustard Seed kitchen. He continuously strives to create new and unique dishes using ingredients from our kitchen garden as well as Irish artisans and his flavour combinations are always well-received by our guests.”
Celebrating 25 years in their current incarnation, the independent Georgina Campbell Awards are Ireland’s longest-running food and hospitality awards. They recognise and honour Ireland’s standard-bearers in food and hospitality in Ireland with a particular focus, this year, on genuine hospitality, consistency, innovation and good value.