Unique Food and Drink Experiences to Book This Year

Try something new during this year’s DublinTown Food and Drink Festival and book one of the many unique experiences available.

This year’s festival has a wealth of experiences for the public to enjoy and there’s some that you can only try as part of this festival week.

Here’s a quick guide to Unique Experiences you need to book!

• Balfes present Distilleries at Our Doorstep

Balfes has partnered with four Dublin-based distilleries to offer the ultimate whiskey tasting experience. Balfes General Manager Kevin Hurley will host a three-course whiskey tasting menu together with the global brand ambassadors of The Dublin Liberties Distillery, Teeling Whiskey, Roe&Co Whiskey and Pearse Lyons Distillery.

This is the first time all four Dublin-based distilleries will come together for an event like this so not to be missed!

Price: €50

• Walk Through the Flavours of Asia at Oriental Emporium

Learn more about the Oriental Emporium, with their walk-through tour where you’ll learn about the different Asian ingredients (that are both familiar and unfamiliar to the Irish market), how they source their products, and where all their fresh produce comes from.

Discover all the tasty sauces, spices, noodles, dim sum, seafood and more – Oriental Emporium will guide you through the flavours of Asia and talk about how to use them best.

Price: FREE

• Gin Master-Glass at Zozimus

This is a gin journey with an artistic twist! Each guest will get to paint and keep their gin goblet, being guided through a journey of taste with their in-house gin expert.

You will have the chance to taste three types of exquisite gin in the glamorous surroundings of Zozimus Bar, learning about their flavour profile, recommended garnishes and history. The vibrant and artistic spirit of Anne’s Lane will no doubt, provide plenty of inspiration!

Price: €25

• 10 Weirdest Foods to Eat Before You Die at Asia Market

Asia Market is renowned for stocking the widest (and wildest) range of unusual ingredients in Ireland. You will be invited to taste 10 of the most amazing and weirdest foods from the shelves of Asia Market.

You will eat your way through the list from Durian ‘the King of Fruit’ to thousand year old century egg, from fish balls to Japanese eel. An unforgettable event for any adventure-loving foodie. Book this event…before you die.

Price: €40

• Fine Dining Pop Up Restaurant at Cooks Academy

Cooks Academy’s highly popular pop up restaurant experience returns. The only experience at Cooks Academy where they do the cooking! Enjoy their 6 course, fine dining tasting menu for the unbelievable price of €50.

For the DublinTown Food and Drink Festival there is a 20% discount to avail of. Just enter DUBCOOKS19 at checkout.

Price: €50

• Asia Galloping Gourmet Tour at Asia Market

The tour will start at Duck, to try their famous HK Style BBQ Roast Meats, then move to the Asia Market for a personal guided tour and taste some delicious foods while getting to know more about Asian ingredients and then end with a scrumptious Dim Sum meal at The Good World Restaurant. You certainly won’t be hungry after this amazing Galloping Gourmet Tour!

There is a limited number of tickets are available for this exclusive tour and includes an Asia Market goodie bag for every participant.

• DublinTown Evening Dinner Trail by Fab Food Trails

Join the Fab Food Trails’ very special DublinTown Evening Dinner Trail to explore and discover the culinary delights that come alive after dark! Visit some great Dublin restaurants where they taste delicious food paired with wine or beer depending on the tasting.

You won’t know where you are going until the day all you need to know is that you will finish in a fourth venue for pudding! Sounds tasty!

Price: €85

• On-Street Cookery Demonstration at Blazing Salads

To celebrate DublinTown Food & Drink Festival 2019, Blazing Salads are setting up outside their Drury Street shop. This FREE event will feature two cooking demonstrations, at 12.30pm and 5.30pm on Thursday October 17th.

These cooking demos will showcase showing how to make their cucumber and Irish wakame sea vegetable salad and give a talk about the benefits of using sea vegetables in your diet.

Price: FREE

• Best of Irish Cupping – Tasting Ireland’s Best Coffees at Vice Coffee

The Best of Irish Coffee Tasting is back! Join the Vice Coffee team to cup, sip & slurp a selection of the world’s finest coffees that have been roasted by some of Ireland’s best roasters.

Notable roasters including 3FE, Roasted Brown, Cloud Picker, Full Circle, Calendar, SoMa, Bailie’s & more. This will be the largest selection of Irish roasted coffees ever tasted together in one room – an event not to be missed for any coffee fan!

Price: TBC

• Dumpling Making Workshop at The Vintage Teapot

You’ll be taught the secrets of dumpling making, which include tasting 5 types of delicious Chinese dumplings (as well as those you make yourself), all washed down with a choice of 2 types of fine Chinese Tea. Xie Xie! 

The dumplings will include steamed pork, beef, fried pork, chicken dumplings, as well as vegetable dumplings. Plus, the chefs will cook for guests who make their own dumplings during the workshop.

Price: €30

• Mexican Cocktail-Making Experience at Xico

During this special experience, one of their bubbly expert bartenders will show you how to craft 2 of your own Mexican cocktails so you can show off to your amigos! Sound like hungry work? Each participant will also be served delicious Mexican bites after the class!

Price: €25

Now that you have some idea of the unique experiences available, gather your mates and tell them to start picking!

Written by Laura Webb