The Hungry Passport Takes A Delicious Detour to Ireland in Autumn 2008
"Ireland is discovering, or rediscovering, its culinary resources; in the world of food, it’s the place to watch.” So says Colman Andrews, editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine in its March 2006 issue.
The world's oldest kitchen? Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in County Cork, the 2,000+ year-old Drombeg Stone Circle contains the oldest kitchen in Ireland. The site features a hearth, where stones were heated, a well, and a trough that was filled with water and the fire-heated stones. These stones carried sufficient heat for about four hours, enough time to cook a 10-pound joint of meat.
Mark your calendar and join me on a culinary adventure in Ireland. Our autumn tour is September 18-27.
On our Delicious Detour we’ll:
- Learn about Ireland’s impressive artisanal cheese making tradition and sample the goods—at both Sheridan’s, a first rate cheese monger’s, and at a working dairy in the Irish countryside.
- Visit the Guinness Brewery in Dublin and find out why the “tall blond in the black dress” is even better at the source!
- Feast on the freshest of seafood, including Dublin Bay prawns and Ireland’s stellar salmon. In that vein…
- Visit artisanal salmon and seafood smokers to learn how they work their magic with salt and smoke, and sample their product fresh at the source. Mackerel, kippers, haddock and mussels are just a few of their rich, sumptuous gifts of the sea.
- Discover why Waterford is one of the world’s most prized crystals with a visit to the factory to see glass blowers, cutters and etchers create masterpieces. You can purchase pieces here that you CAN’T find back home!
- Tour the lovely and historic Midleton Distillery to learn about the history and production of one of the world’s most beloved Irish whiskeys—Jameson’s. No visit is complete without a sample, of course!
- Roll up our sleeves for a little hands-on learning at one of Ireland’s inspiring cookery schools.
- Meet and talk with some of the country’s top food producers and learn how Ireland is stepping out of the shadow of its flashier European neighbors to produce a world class cuisine.
- Dine in some of Ireland’s finest restaurants and also those featuring authentic Irish cuisine in more rustic settings, where the chefs take the country’s best ingredients and transform them into meals to remember.
- Explore the southwestern part of the country, where Ireland’s culinary renaissance began.
- Relax in an array of Ireland’s most inviting and comfortable lodgings, from guesthouses to an historic manor house or two.
- Fall in love with a country of unparalleled beauty and a people of remarkable warmth and charm.
And this is only the beginning…Join us!
Meals run the spectrum from haute cuisine experiences to hearty, authentic Irish pub fare. Accommodations include historic inns and hotels, a Georgian mansion built in 1720 and a 19th-century convent that has been converted into luxury lodgings.
Our trip includes everything listed in the “Delicious Detour” description above, plus more, as we constantly work to incorporate additional experiences for our guests. Our 2008 trips include visits to two of Ireland’s most scenic gardens, Powerscourt and Mt. Usher, plus several historic places that are off the beaten path. We’ll also visit not one but two of the country’s most renowned cookery schools, Ballymaloe and Ballyknocken.
If you'd like more information about this culinary adventure, please e-mail me at:
© 2008, The Hungry Passport |
