Battle of the Two Star Michelin Chefs :: Dublin, Ireland pt.2

Simply Fabulous Food Trails

The next morning we met 2 Irish foodies, Eveleen Coyle, (author of the Irish Potato Cookbook) and her niece, Pamela, for a 2 hour cultural walking tour of Dublin food highlights. They run Fabulous Food Trails which offers Dublin Culinary walks, ethnic cooking classes as well as action-packed weekend culinary tours around the country. You’ll explore various gastronomic locals, where you can indulge in the traditional cuisine and specialties unique to that area while learning from the best chefs, butchers, cheesemakers, fishmongers, farmers, perhaps even some foragers, who will share their hospitality, stories and expertise.

Tip: There is a brand new one in the works that sounds incredible showcasing the reinvigorated food community of the beautiful Howth area.

Our city tour was a marvelous way to learn about Dublin’s history and culture as we explored colorful neighborhoods and markets, sampling all the way, while mingling with people whose families have often been producing food for generations.

Before we set off our guide reinacted Ireland’s tumultuous history, broken down by three time frames:
BP- Before the Potato
AP- After the Potato
APF- After the Potato Famine.

Next we rambled through non-touristy nabes where we saw a Hallel meat shop located right next to Frank’s Pork Store. A few other quirky shops we visited were: The Bretzle Bakery- a misspelling of pretzel but it didn’t matter since they stopped baking them years ago. The Cake Café- a darling organic bakery hidden down a cobbled alleyway with signs declaring “We sell lovely bread”, and Morrisey’s Butcher shop where the owner showed off both his free-range pork products and the picture of his gorgeous daughter who had just won a beauty contest with equal pride. ( see photo)
We ended with a tasting at Sheridan’s Cheesemongers where we sampled some of the country’s superb artisanal farmhouse blue cheeses.