Finalist 2021 – Helpful Information
Congratulations on reaching this stage, it is a fantastic achievement
The final results will be announced on Saturday 2nd October online.
Videos and results will be shared throughout the day. Find the timings and results page here
There are some really important notes below but as a quick checklist….
- Are you following us on social media? Remember to join in the conversation on #Blas2021
Fins us on Twitter / Facebook / Instgram - Have you celebrated that you are a finalist by sharing on your own website and social media? It’s a tough stage to reach so please do celebrate getting to the finalist stage
- Find your fellow finalists so you can support them online on Saturday 2nd and share their good news, find a complete list here
- Check how the awards are being distributed in your county, if you are a winner you will need to know how and where to collect our award Pick Up Points for Glass
- As part of our Blas Backyard this year we had some fantastic advice from mentors which you can listen back on….
Listen to Backyard highlights here or catch up on individual clips below
Annie Dunne – Choose the right channels for your brand – Listen here (11 mins)
Brian McDermott – Keeping well and the right mindset Listen here (11 mins)
Malachy O’Connor – Negotation tips Listen here (9 mins)
Sharon Noonan – Making the most of networking & collaborations Listen here (11 mins)
Vivienne Gleeson – PR advice Listen here (12 mins)
There are a few important notes;
Judging is complete – we do not need a second delivery for tasting
What does finalist mean? Finalist can be any one of the top entries in that category (generally there are just 5 finalists although in some cases if scoring is very tight there can be more). The finalist stage has always been a very tough stage to reach and producers have had success from promoting that they have reached this stage. As such, when we made the change in 2020 to a single tasting (which you can read more on here) we felt it was important to still celebrate our finalists.
In practical terms this means that between now and the awards you can promote your finalist accreditation and on the weekend of the awards these may be announced as a Gold, Silver or Bronze winner.
If you don’y have a copy of thew finalist label just email us to info@irishfoodawards.com and we can help
Awards – Winners will receive Dingle Crystal glass as always. This is specific to each county, please check so you can plan, if you are a winner, how you will get your award – Pick Up Points for Glass 2021
Showcase – Highlighting the very best of Irish food and drinks to buyers and media has been an integral part of Blas every year. While we may not be able to recreate the physical shop floor display we will be working to put the spotlight on each producer and their finalist products, bringing them to the attention of the buyers in an alternative format. We will be in touch by email to request details including company logo and images so that we can create an alternative showcase.
You can find our finalist guide here
We are also hoping to create a product showcase to buyers later in 2021, more details TBA.
Backyard at Blas Our virtual Backyard events in 2021 were a great success and the Backyard has become a very important aspect of the Blas weekend. You can find more details on these events which have taken place here or you can listen back to highlights on our podcast
Finalist labels
We have flash labels which you can use to promote your success, they can be ordered through our office by email to info@irishfoodawards.com or call 087 9029329. More details can be found here
We just want to say congratulations on reaching this stage, while we will not be able to gather together in person we will be maintaining our commitment to celebrating the very best in Irish food and drink and we look forward to working with you over the next few weeks to make the very most of reaching this stage.
Please keep an eye for emails from us with more updates and you can always reach us on info@irishfoodawards.com
