Event: Guinness & The Liberties Food Tour for the Liberties Festival

I'm very excited to announce that I've teamed up with the most famous Irish brand and Ireland's top attraction, Guinness Storehouse for the Liberties Festival. The Liberties festival is one of Ireland’s oldest and longest running festivals and will take place from the 15th to the 22nd of July 2017 with a series of family-friendly, sporting and community events celebrating one of Dublin's most historic neighbourhoods.

Event: Blogwriting workshop in Cavan with the Irish Writers Centre

As you may know I've been running blogging workshops in collaboration with the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin since last year and I'm delighted to take part in their series of courses in Cavan this July.

Event: Blog it! Panel discussion at the Irish Writers Centre

Hello friends!

I'm not sure if you know but I've been teaching a blogging course at the Irish Writers Centre for the last few weeks. The final session of the course is on Wednesday 8th of March, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. It will be a panel discussion chaired by yours truly, so I thought I'd share the info here.

The Bizarre Bloomsday Brunch & Brunch at Brother Hubbard

If you are not already subscribed to Happenings' newsletter, do yourself a favour and do it now. These guys organise pop up cultural events that make our city even more exciting. I've been a few times to their outdoor cinema screenings and really enjoyed them. They also do yoga classes in parks, gigs and other things that always sound exciting.

I don't know how it happened but I actually didn't get to buy a ticket for 'The Bizarre Bloomsday Brunch' before it sold out, and the funniest is that I mentioned it in my June events article. The event was part of Bloomsday festival and took place last Sunday.

I was so mad at myself but still decided to bring Mr. FFID and Ms. E to North Great Georges Street on Dublin's north side to have a look. This street is one of my favourites in Dublin and is proof that there are some real gems on the Northside too. The James Joyce Centre is there, which is a good excuse to come to have a look.

I took a few pictures while walking around and was very envious of the people who had secured themselves a ticket for the Bizarre Brunch and were sitting at the long tables.

The food was provided by the guys from Dublin Pop Up who impressed me a while ago at the surprising Secret Garden. 

There was a lovely atmosphere, music, a few food stalls and people dressed up for the occasion. You put bunting and vintage lampshades around and I just can't resist!

After a stroll around we headed to another gem on the north side of the city, Brother Hubbard (one of the first places I blogged about) for the most delicious brunch. 

The beans and pulled pork special for Mr. FFID...

Moroccan zalouk for Ms. E...

...and a pulled pork sandwich for yours truly.

Sundays on the Northside can be true bliss!

June Food Events: French Foodie's Picks

I can't believe it's June already. Well the sun might not yet be shining but here is a selection of events chosen by yours truly which I think may be worth checking out (including some shameless self-promotion).

Bloomsday Festival

Bloomsday is a festival in honour of Thursday 16th of June 1904, the day famously depicted in James Joyce's Ulysses. There are some food related events that sound like fun including 'Feast of Epiphanies' on Thursday 11th of June, a high tea and a discussion on how to make James Joyce's work more accessible to a modern audience. There will also be a Georgian High Tea on Saturday 13th of June in the James Joyce Centre and a Joycean Pub Crawl on Sunday at 6pm. I love it when culture and food combine!

More information here.

Taste of Dublin 2015

Taste of Dublin will take place in the Iveagh Gardens from the 11th of the 14th of June. Many well-know Irish and International chefs will give cooking demos and restaurants will sell tasting portions of their dishes. If the weather is nice it's quite fun and the atmosphere is great. I suppose it's good for people who don't eat out too often and want to try as many dishes as they can from places they haven't visited yet. I blogged about Taste of Dublin back in 2013 and shared my tips.

More information here.

The Merrion Hotel Intelligent Afternoon Tea

I've been to the Merrion Hotel for their Art tea a while back and I really think it's the best in Dublin. In June the Merrion Hotel is doing a special afternoon tea to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Irish poet W. B Yeats. Pastry chef Paul Kelly has created some very special pastries for this 'Intelligent Afternoon Tea' which is priced at €38 per person.

More information here.

Summer Rising at the IMMA

Summer Rising is a festival that takes places at the Irish Museum of Modern art between the 4th and 14th of June. There will be some family-friendly food workshops, food related discussions, foraging, butchering, food fermenting and much more. They also have 'picnic bindles' full of goodies which can be pre-booked and are made for two people to share for €25.

More information here.

Meet the producer - Craft Beer

Keith Bohanna from Biabeag hosts a series of discussions during which Irish food and drink producers share their stories and passion. The next one is going to be on craft beer with members of the panel being Caroline Hennessy (8 Degrees), Barry O'Neill (O'Brother Breweing) and Daire Harlin (Brú Brewery). The event will take place at Cooks Academy on Monday 15th of June from 6 to 8 pm and is priced at €15.

More information here.

Social Media for Food Businesses Workshop

I am running a 3 hour workshop on social media for food businesses on Monday 15th of June from 2pm to 5pm in Brooks Hotel. I will show attendees how to promote their food business, increase their following and engage with their audience across various social media platforms during this three hour workshop.  

More info here.

Delicious Dublin Tours

I'm delighted to announce my new venture 'Delicious Dublin Tours'. I am now running Irish food tours of Dublin every Saturday and bring small groups to some of my favourite cafes and food shops for tastings. It's a great way to spend a few hours (re)discovering your city through its food, learn a bit about Irish food history and discover Dublin's current food scene. Private tours in English and French are also possible during the week for a minimum of 4 people.

More info here.


Oh and not quite a food event, but I am running a Blogging for Beginners workshop next week, More info can be found here.

May Food Events: French Foodie’s Picks

There are some great food events happening in Ireland in May, here is my pick of the best:

Kerrygold Ballymaloe Litfest (15^th, 16^th & 17^th of May, Ballymaloe House and cookery school)

This food and drink literature festival is back for its 3^rd year and is an event not to be missed if you love food and food literature. Spread over three days it’s an opportunity to attend workshops, talks and amazing food events from some international legends of the food world and to eat and drink many delicious things!

More info here.

Appetite for Design: A Culinary Design Experience  (8^th of May to the 30^th of June, The National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny)

I probably won’t make it to Kilkenny to attend this but it sounds so interesting that it deserves a mention. It’s a food design exhibition that will “explore the design of methods and spaces where food is processed, distributed and consumed”. A series of events and eating experiences will take place during the time the exhibition is on.

More info here.

Banter: The Future of Food Shopping (20^th of May, 6-10pm, Twisted Pepper)

Banter is a series of panel discussions covering various different subjects hosted by Jim Carroll from the Irish Times. I was part of a panel last year and loved the concept. There will be a discussion about the future of food shopping on the 20^th of May in the Twisted Pepper where the panel members will be: 

Henry Dummer (Director of Marketing, Tesco)

Rachel Firth (General Manageer, Fallon & Byrne)

Joe Doyle (Founder, Donnybrook Fair)

Norman Rides (General Manager, Dublin Food Co-op)

More info here.

Sheridans Irish Food Festival (24^th of May, Sheridans Virginia Rd, Co. Meath)

I attended this festival last year and highly recommend it. This is an annual event organised by Sheridans Cheesemongers and showcasing Irish food producers including several cheesemakers. This is a family friendly event with free admission, live music, workshops and lots of food to purchase or taste.

More info here.

Bloom (28^th of May to the 1^st of June, Phoenix Park)

Even if technically Bloom is a gardening event it is one of the best festivals in terms of Irish food. There is a huge food village with lots of Irish producers and also a stage where well-known Irish chefs do cookery demonstrations. I have been before and really enjoyed it, you can read my review here.

More info here.

https://deliciousdublintours.com/

Bia Beatha: An Irish Supper Club

When I received an invitation to a supper club from Bia Beatha a few weeks ago the first thing I did was check their website as I’d never heard of them. I liked what I saw, a monthly Irish themed supper club during which attendees enjoy a 4 course meal while listening to a food historian between dishes. I was sold.

Also, I knew it’d be hosted by Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire, a chef and culinary art lecturer in DIT, who I was curious to meet in real life. A few years ago I stumbled across his PHD thesis (‘The Emergence, Development and Influence of French Haute Cuisine on public dining in Dublin Restaurants 1900-2000: an oral history’) online, so you can guess my curiosity was peaked.

On a Saturday evening Mr. FFID and I headed to the United Arts Club, a gorgeous Georgian building located on Fitzwillliam Street. 

We were first greeted with a hawthorn (I think) royale cocktail in an upstairs room where got to chat with some of the other guests.

Without being too rushed we were ushered into a gorgeous candle-lit, art filled room where we sat according to a sitting plan. The room was beautiful and small enough to create a comfortable, intimate atmosphere for the group.

Máirtín greeted us and gave us a brief introduction to Irish food history which was followed by a starter of Carlow Spiced beef with Cashel blue dressing, poached pear and toasted walnuts. 

This was my favourite dish of the night, simple yet nicely presented with perfect flavour combinations. We had a choice between two main courses (one fishy, one meaty), most of us at our table got the slow roast shoulder of Wicklow lamb with rosemary gravy, which came with a potato cake, wilted spinach and a side of potato gratin and carrots. No over the top sophistication, just wholesome uncomplicated food designed to be comforting and deliciously Irish. 

The dessert of buttermilk panna cotta was possibly a little bland for my palate, served with an apple compote (I might have preferred rhubarb given the season) but the shortbread biscuit was a lovely buttery accompaniment. 

In addition to the food, we were very generously served wine throughout the evening and ended the meal with either an Irish coffee or a nip of whiskey.

Between each course Máirtín talked us through the history of Irish food, which was so was captivating. He’s an amazing storyteller and speaker, his enthusiasm for Irish food and history is remarkable. We got to listen to him singing, recite poetry and just burst with Irish pride in the most delightful way. We also had a small musical interlude with a talented young flute player, which was definitely a lovely touch.

The meal was a great representation of contemporary Irish food combined with warm hospitality and a lovely down to earth atmosphere. The experience was much more than just eating Irish food and felt like a celebration of Irishness, enjoyed by visitors and locals alike.

I honestly had goosebumps several stages during the evening and when the Irish food matriarch Myrtle Allen and Ballymaloe were mentioned as being the epitome of Irish hospitality I even got a little teary-eyed.  Definitely an evening well spent.

Disclaimer: I was invited to this event free of charge.  I gave no undertaking to write a review and the words above are, as always, my honest opinion.