Sham Hanifa

Ireland as 'foodie' destination in new tourism plan The Government has announced a new plan to increase the number of tourists visiting Ireland by one million per year for the next five years. rte.ie/news/2025/1201…

▶️Listen to President Seán Collender’s thoughts on the new National Tourism Strategy and what it means for Ireland’s food tourism sector. The Restaurants Association of Ireland welcomes the new National Tourism Strategy and its strong emphasis on elevating Ireland’s food and culinary experiences. A dedicated Culinary Tourism Strategy will be coming as a key priority, alongside new regional food trails and themed experiences that mark meaningful progress toward positioning Ireland as a world class culinary destination. The hospitality sector is where visitors feel the real céad míle fáilte. It is great to see this recognised as a core pillar of our tourism offering and essential to creating unforgettable visitor experiences. The Restaurants Association looks forward to working with @peterburkefg, @Failte_Ireland, @TourismIreland, the @DeptEnterprise and all relevant stakeholders as the strategy moves into implementation.

Very important that Small independent food led businesses get the reduction in budget 2025 . Well done @SimonHarrisTD sticking to your principles & promises @FineGael @RAI_ie Tourism is down across the country it’s the lifeline we need come January. 🤛@Failte_Ireland @VFIpubs

It has been long stated by government and the Department of Finance that the reinstatement of the 9% VAT rate for food businesses would cost €545 million and not €1bn. The cost of one business closing could cost the economy up to €1.36 million. When the VAT rate was reduced between 2011 and 2014 the exchequer saved €443 million in social welfare payments alone. The promised reinstatement of the 9% VAT rate should be viewed as an investment to save jobs, businesses and communities.

@paddypower what a pity paddy power change the rules on best odds guaranteed for biggest race of the year. Cause the stress for the staff in the shop. Bad form!! @PPOffers @AskPaddyPower

#GE24 … our wish… that whoever ends up in the next government stands up & starts protecting small Irish businesses 🍽️🥩🍤 🍞☕️, and all the wonderful people who work in them 👨‍🍳💇‍♀️👨‍🌾👩‍🏭👨‍💼👷‍♀️They are the backbone of local communities. It’s not all high tech & data centres y’know…😉

Ambassador and all of us at the Embassy extend our congratulations to our own Malaysian Chef in Ireland, Chef @ShamHanifa of Taiping and his team at My Kitchen by Sham Hanifa for making it to The Irish Times' top 12 "great places to eat in Ireland".

📢 "Let's be clear, this isn't because of a lack of support from the consumer, or a lack of effort on our part - it's because the cost of doing business has spiralled out of control and the Government has refused to take meaningful action to address this." Today, Paul Lenehan, President of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, addressed the large crowd gathered to support the hospitality industry at our #HospitalityDayofAction #SMEDayofAction #VAT9

🚨Safe travels to all heading to Dublin for todays rally and protest. See you all at 1pm Pepper Canister Church, Mount St Upper, Dublin 2

To our political representatives: lots of speculation around #VAT9 in the media, but this is all very real for the 270,000 of us in hospitality/tourism. Businesses, jobs and communities are on the line. Tomorrow’s decision will shape our future. Please stand with our industry.

According to Ireland’s Minister for Tourism @cathmartingreen , Irish Pubs and Restaurants are “not part of the Department of Tourism remit “ What a load of nonsense !! In 30 years of working in the industry, I’ve never heard such rubbish. Roll on the General Election 🗳️ #iticconf24

'It's become incredibly difficult - the Government needs to do the right thing and reinstate the 9% VAT rate' Gina Murphy of Hugo's Restaurant, Carol Meenan of The Yellow Pepper Restaurant & Paul Sharkey of Artisan Café in Bray on restaurant closures. rte.ie/radio/radio1/c…

Euro-toques Food Awards - A unique event that brings together chefs and artisan producers from all over Ireland, an opportunity to meet and forge new connections. To join us BUY A TICKET here #tribe-tickets" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">euro-toques.ie/event/food-awa… SOUPported by @cullyandsully

Our Cookery Feature brings a taste of Malaysia with Agak-Agak by @ShamHanifa. "Agak-Agak" means to estimate—cooking with instinct, not measurements. Sham turns those instincts into dishes that reflect the Malaysian flavours he grew up with ireland-guide.com/article/cooker… @blastabooks

We support #NationalVAT9Day

Hundreds of restaurants, cafés and other food-led businesses have already taken to Instagram to show their support on #NationalVAT9Day! Have a look: instagram.com/restaurants_ir… @jackfchambers @Paschald @SimonHarrisTD @MichealMartinTD

Great to see Agak Agak by Malaysian chef @ShamHanifa is the No. 1 bestseller in hardback non-fiction this week! Sham describes the book as “The food of my childhood memories with the best Irish ingredients.' Out now from @blastabooks 👏🏻👏🏻✨🇲🇾🇮🇪

Go Sham 👏👏👏

@ShamHanifa @GastroGays Great review Sham and team well deserved 👏