Destination restaurants are often associated with a hotel brand and viewed as a must visit culinary experience. Despite significant investment restaurants in Northern Ireland hotels often get overlooked as ‘go to’ locations being viewed a lesser cousin to their stand-alone competition. To showcase the wealth of innovative culinary talent that exists within Northern Ireland’s hotel sector the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation (NIHF), in partnership with Cater2 and Rational, is launching the ‘Signature Dish’ competition on Instagram.
Discussing the move, Eddie McKeever, NIHF President said: “The Federation firmly believes the standard of food on offer in hotel restaurants makes them ‘destination’ worthy. Hotels are experts at catering for a diverse spectrum of tastes and needs, offering everything from brunches to banquets. Industry chefs have an extensive skillset and a desire to remain at the forefront of innovation.
“The Signature Dish competition delivered in partnership with Cater2 and Rational will give hotels the opportunity to promote a signature dish from their menu via the NIHF’s Instagram page. The sharing and amplification of these posts will generate increased awareness of hidden culinary gems that exist within Northern Ireland’s hotel network. The public will then vote for their favourite dish, with the dish that receives the most likes being the winner. The competition prize is a trip to Oktoberfast 2023 in Germany and a tour of the state-of-the-art Rational factory.”
Mr McKeever continues: “Food is an integral part of a hotel’s business model, and the sector has invested heavily in creating modern contemporary dining spaces and tantalising menus that support local producers while showcasing local produce. This Signature Dish competition forms part of our commitment to profiling the culinary side of our industry!”
Encouraging hotels to take advantage of the opportunity Richard Cassells, Commercial Director, Cater2 added: “We’re delighted to be working with the NIHF and industry leader Rational on this project. It’s great to be able to help raise the profile of hotel restaurants and collectively celebrate all that is good about the sector, and of course provide a great prize.”
Welcoming the competition launch Sandy Thomassen, Sales Director at Rational said: “As one of the world’s leading brands, we are keen to not only support the sector but to help it grow by providing sustainable, cost-effective solutions. As a business we are invested in Northern Ireland and committed to strengthening our offering in the coming year. We are looking forward to welcoming the Signature Dish competition winners to our factory in Germany and enjoying time with them at Oktoberfest 2023.”
The NIHF Signature dish competition is open to all NIHF members, and the winner will be announced on 1st June 2023.
