Dede at the Customs House won Restaurant of the Year: and Ahmet Dede chef of the year at the 2013 Food and Wine magazine awards. Mr Dede was born and raised in Ankara, Turkey, and his passion for cooking and Turkish cuisine was inspired by his mother’s food.
He moved to Ireland at the age of 25 to study Culinary Arts and gained experience in prestigious Irish restaurants such as Chapter One, Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, and The Greenhouse. He also worked at Moshik’s Place in Amsterdam and Maemo in Oslo.
Ahmet returned to Ireland in 2017 and became the Head Chef of The Mew’s Restaurant in Baltimore, West Cork. He earned the nickname “The Wild Chef” for his innovative use of hyper-seasonal local produce and his refusal to use olive oil and black pepper. He achieved his first Michelin Star in 2018 and retained it in 2019 before the restaurant closed. In 2020, he opened Dede at The Customs House, which received one Michelin star in its first year and was later awarded two stars. Ahmet’s restaurant showcases modern Turkish spiced-based cooking using the best of local Irish ingredients.
The full list of winners:
- Hall of Fame: Rory O’Connell
- Chef of the Year: Ahmet Dede
- Restaurant of the Year: Dede at the Customs House
- Café of the Year: Warehouse Food Market Café, Dublin (Highly commended: Izz, Cork)
- Customer Service of the Year: Big Mike’s, Dublin (Highly commended: Rúibín, Galway)
- Pastry Chef of the Year: Paula Stakelum (Highly commended: Orna Larkin)
- Young Chef of the Year: Aishling Moore (Highly commended: Attila Galambos)
- Newcomer of the Year: Homestead Cottage (Highly commended: Row Wines)
- Hotel Restaurant of the Year: Terre (Highly commended: The Bishop’s Buttery)
- Cocktail Experience of the Year: Bar 1661 (Highly commended: Hawksmoor)
- Innovator of the Year: Cork Urban Soil Project (Highly commended: Conor Spacey)
- Wine Experience of the Year: A Fianco
- Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year: St Francis Provisions
- Casual Dining Connacht: Ard Bia at Nimmos (Highly commended: The Fisherman’s Pub and Ranji Room at Ballynahinch Castle)
- Casual Dining Dublin: Fish Shop (Highly commended: Korean Table)
- Casual Dining Leinster: Dubh (Highly commended: Nine)
- Casual Dining Munster: St Francis Provisions (Highly commended: Goldie)
- Casual Dining Ulster: Stereo (Highly commended: Monad)
- Chef Connacht: Martin O’Donnell (Highly commended: Kevin Stirzaker)
- Chef Dublin: Damien Grey (Highly commended: Barry Sun)
- Chef Leinster: John Coffey (Highly commended: Gareth Naughton)
- Chef Munster: Ahmet Dede (Highly commended: Vincent Crepel)
- Chef Ulster: Stevie McCarry (Highly commended: Gemma Austin))
- Restaurant Connacht: Aniar (Highly commended: Lignum)
- Restaurant Dublin: Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen (Highly commended: Mamó)
- Restaurant Leinster: Keith Boyle at the Bridge House (Highly commended: Neighbourhood)
- Restaurant Munster: Dede at the Customs House (Highly commended: Terre)
- Restaurant Ulster: Ox (Highly commended: The Olde Glen)
- Wine Experience Connacht: Daróg (Highly commended: Éan)
- Wine Experience Dublin: A Fianco (Highly commended: Big Mike’s))
- Wine Experience Leinster: Kelly’s Resort & Spa (Highly commended: Ristorante Rinuccini)
- Wine Experience Munster: L’Atitude 51 (Highly commended: Paradiso)
- Wine experience Ulster: Frae (Highly commended: Noble)
