Tom and Siobhan Murphy at the awards

by Brian Byrne.

The recent winning of the national Cookery School of the Year 2023 by Kilcullen’s Kalbarri Cookery School has thrilled both the enterprise’s team and their legion of happy customers alike. The award was presented at an event last week at the Food Awards Ireland 2023 in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry in Dublin.

“It’s a recognition for the hard work by everyone here,” says the business’s founder Siobhan Murphy. “It has been a long journey, but something like this shows that it’s worth it, and also makes you appreciate the value of the people around you who got you here.” Saying that being presented with the award on the night had put everybody concerned onto a high, Siobhan noted that ‘it was back with the apron the next day’ — “but we’re still on that high.”

Kalbarri was established in 2014 by Siobhan and her family team as a place where adults and children could have a close up and personal experience on how to achieve good and nutritious cooking. It subsequently developed into a premier cookery school, occasions restaurant, and a Friday and Saturday mornings place to be for brunch.

Among a number of accolades, the school was presented with a Local Food Hero award last summer at the Leinster Finals of the Irish Restaurant Awards 2022.

This is the sixth year of Food Awards Ireland.