From Turf Fires to Tasting Menus

A guided feast through Ireland’s past and present

tour guiding and concierge Service

TOUR DETAILS

Tour Highlights

  • Over three delicious hours, we’ll trace Ireland’s culinary evolution from famine and fire to ferment and fine dining.
  • You’ll taste everything from traditional staples to bold modern flavours, with plenty of stories (and a few sips) along the way.
  • We’ll meet the makers, visit independent spots, and sit down for small plates and generous conversation.
  • Expect cheeses, breads, smoked fish, craft drinks, and a few surprises—all rooted in Irish soil, sea, and spirit.
  • Come hungry, leave full of food, flavour, and insight.

Duration

3 Hours

Meeting Point

Outside your hotel or a central meeting spot: St Stephen’s Green, College Green or O’Connell St. recommended

Group Size

1-10 People

FLEXIBLE & PRIVATE

Your pace, your tastes, your day. We adapt in real time — weather, interests, energy.

Tour
Details

Activity Details

This isn’t a snack crawl or a pub binge—it’s a proper exploration of Irish food culture, past and present.

What You’ll Learn Along the Way:

  • The role of colonisation, poverty, and climate in shaping Irish food
  • What Irish people ate (and didn’t) before the potato
  • Why the famine changed everything—including how we think about food
  • The quiet revolution in Irish farming, baking, brewing, and cooking
  • How Dublin became a city of neighbourhood markets and global plates

For cultural travellers, curious eaters, and anyone who believes food is the best way to understand a place. Come with questions—and an appetite.

What's included

  • Expert tour guide.
  • Includes: 5–6 food tastings
  • 1–2 drink samples
  • Sit-down shared plate meal

What's not included

  • Tip/gratuity for your tour guide

Itinerary

The tour start time is flexible, based on your wishes and will be agreed in advance prior to the tour

Tour Highlights:

  1. Irish Food, Then and Now
We’ll begin with the basics: what Irish people actually ate for centuries (and why), and how our climate, history, and habits shaped what ended up on the plate.
  2. Indigenous Staples
Taste traditional Irish fare like soda bread, seaweed, farmhouse cheeses, heritage grains, smoked salmon, or black pudding—depending on the season and stop. We’ll explain the old ways of preservation, production, and plenty of clever frugality.
  3. Contemporary Irish Cuisine
Sample modern Irish food from small, independent producers—think Irish tacos, spiced root vegetables, reimagined classics, or a dessert inspired by turf smoke and honey. We’ll explore how immigration, innovation, and younger chefs have reshaped the scene.
  4. The Global Irish Table
We’ll reflect on how Irish food is no longer insular: influences from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas now mingle beautifully with native ingredients. This is modern Ireland on a plate.
  5. Irish Drinks, Properly Poured
Enjoy a guided tasting of Irish drinks—craft beer, cider, whiskey, or a modern take on an old favourite. Non-alcoholic options available, of course.
  6. Sweet Finish
We’ll end with something sweet, because it’s only polite. Possibly brown bread ice cream, sea salt fudge, or whatever local treat the bakers are proud of that week.

Availability

WHAT OUR GUESTS SAY

Rated 5 out of 5

Any question or enquiries about tour dates? Submit the form below and we'll take it from there.

Unlock ireland
with us

Our guests choose ireland Unlocked for carefully planned itineraries and guides who bring Ireland to life. With a focus on service, comfort, and culture, we create private tours that feel polished yet personal. Every route is fine-tuned; every moment is considered. See some of our other tour examples below. 

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From Turf Fires to Tasting Menus

Over three delicious hours, we’ll trace Ireland’s culinary evolution from famine and fire to ferment and fine dining.

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