Derry is celebrating after coming second in the prestigious Foodie Towns competition.
The city was pipped by Burren to the title.
The competition, organised by the Restaurants Association of Ireland, was held to find Ireland’s best food destinations.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion, said she was delighted the city had been among the front runners to win the coveted title.
She said: “I think we put in a fantastic effort and to be placed second is a great endorsement of Derry as an exciting new food tourism destination and one that will really raise the city’s profile in terms of the quality of our restaurants and our local produce.
“Council has been working closely over the past few years with food industry professionals and suppliers to significantly raise the standards of what’s on offer locally to meet the growing expectations of our international visitors.
“Securing second in the Foodie Town of Ireland is a huge step towards securing our goal of being one of the best locations in terms of food provenance and culinary talent.”
Mary Blake, the council’s Tourism Officer, who attended the announcement in Dublin, said she was “absolutely thrilled” at the city clinching the runners-up spot especially given the profile of the entrants.
She added “I know that our local restaurants and producers are delighted at the acknowledgement and it reflects a significant shift in the food tourism market north of the border, with both Derry and Belfast hitting the headlines in the past month. We have been working hard to build the city’s profile through events such as the Legenderry Food Festival and the Flavours of the Foyle Seafood Festival, as well as our newly launched SAINT programme, and those efforts are clearly paying off.
“I want to thank everyone who voted and congratulate all those who have been working so hard to create new and exciting food experiences here in the North West.”
The outcome of the competition was decided by both an online public vote and the Restaurants Association judges, both having equal weighting in the final decision.
Following the awards the Restaurants Association paid tribute to the local campaign tipping the city as a big contender for next year’s awards, and confirmed that Derry had gained the biggest number of public votes in the competition.
Photo shows Mayo Cllr Elisha McCallion receiving the award for second place in the Foodie Town of Ireland competition presented by RAI President Anthony Gray. Included is the council’s Food Tourism Officer Mary Blake, local restaurateur Sean Harrigan from the Sooty Olive, and Kevin Hickey owner of Tamnagh Foods.