Armelle and Kenny in food awards final

Kilcullen has a tradition of getting onto the national stage, and the latest such achievement is on Saturday when Armelle's Kitchen is a finalist in the Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards, writes Brian Byrne.

It's the first time Armelle and Kenny have entered any kind of competition and they are delighted, to say the least. "We have known for a few weeks but didn't want to say anything until all the adjudications were completed on Friday afternoon," Armelle told the Diary yesterday.

The Kitchen's entry is their famous Pistachio French Macarons. All the winners will be announced tomorrow, Saturday, in Dingle, and Armelle and Kenny will be travelling down in the morning 'with everything crossed'.

Their friend Cliona has kindly agreed to look after the shop on Saturday and the market stall on Sunday in Cabinteely, so there won't be any cake service disruption over the week end!