The Flavours of Ireland

8 days programmes start at €4000 per person sharing     

Day 1   Dublin

Arrive Dublin Airport where your driver will bring you into the centre of the Old City.  Head to The Point Village Farmers Market, a haven for food lovers. All the traders grow, rear or bake the food they sell.

Carry on across the city to Dublin Castle and hear how the city grew from being no more than a river ford with a pub to being the second city of the British Empire!  Transfer on to the The Four Seasons and rest of the day on your own.  Overnight Four Seasons Hotel

Day 2

The day starts with an introduction to Irish Food given by Irish food writer & journalist Marilyn Bright. Marilyn will then lead you on a tour of the Dublin Markets that are open on a Monday, and you'll some of the specialty suppliers. At Sheridan’s Cheesemongers you'll be introduced to some of the artisan cheeses from small organic farms.

Return to The Four Seasons a little before noon to join the chef and learn some of his secrets as he prepares your lunch with you.

After lunch you'll visit some more of the highlights of Dublin - St Patrick's Cathedral, Trinity College & the National Gallery. Back to the Four Seasons in time to relax before heading out again to learn some more dishes as you cook dinner this time at Alix Gardner’s Cookery School, in her Georgian home in Ballsbridge, close to the hotel.   
Four Seasons Hotel   Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3   Wicklow

Depart The Four Seasons at 9.30 am., and head into County Wicklow following the stunning coast road to Dalkey and Bray.  At about 10.30 visit Powerscourt House and  Gardens  and leave at about 11.30 pm to continue on to the Macreddin Village in the Mountains above Aughrim for lunch.  After lunch to the 7th Century Monastic site of Glendalough.

Return to Dublin to Four Seasons Hotel and then dine at the Michelin star Chapter One Restaurant.  

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4 to  Kinsale

You could divert off the highway to see Kildare, with its Japanese Gardens and The National Stud, home of the racing industry.  You could also divert to see Emo Court, one of the finest neo-classical mansions in Ireland.

You will pass through the village of Abbeyleix, famed for Morrisey’s bar, whose interior has not changed for over 100 years.  Abbeyleix is also the village in which the carpets for the Titanic were manufactured. The gardens of the nearby Heywood House were designed by Luteyns, who also designed New Delhi.

Visit the Rock of Cashel & lunch in Cashel town.  Brother Hans and Stefan Matthia run Café Hans, a great little contemporary café.  Bare-topped tables are laid café-style and a canny little menu offers just the kind of food that’s needed during the day: colourful, sassy dishes including lots of salads - several versions of Caesar salad include a vegetarian one, and there’s an irresistible house salad with pear Cashel Blue cheese (what else?) and Parma ham; open sandwiches come with home-made French fries.

Through the Golden Vale region of Ireland, famous for its butter, cheeses & dairy products. Visit to 16th Century Cahir Castle & onto the picturesque seaside town of Kinsale - Gourmet Capital of Ireland.

Dine in  Martin and Marie Shanahan's Fishy Fishy.  It is a very big restaurant, by West Cork standards, yet they've been full to capacity at peak times ever since opening in 2006!  The premises was previously an art gallery and has an atmospheric interior on two levels. It makes a design statement from the outset, with wooden gates opening onto a decking path leading to the front door - a bit like a zen garden, it is fitted into a neat rectangle with rounded beach stones filling the gaps.  The interior is bright, airy and stylishly simple, with a smart bar, unpretentious café-style darkwood furniture and plenty of doors opening out on to the patio and balcony.  A large paved outdoor seating area is enclosed by a hedge and, when it's warm enough to eat outside, is set up mainly with aluminum chairs and tables and seriously business-like parasols, giving it a continental air of dedication to the comfortable enjoyment of good food.   The Shanahans' reputation for offering the widest possible range and freshest of fish is unrivalled throughout Ireland, and shellfish lovers might be lucky enough to feast on a lunch of oysters, mussels and perhaps even Christy Turley's crab cocktail - Christy is a local food hero, a third generation Kinsale fisherman who supplies much of Fishy Fishy's catch.

Overnight at  Perryville House, Kinsale.  Perryville House gives you the perfect balance of luxury, privacy and location in the heart of Kinsale, a haven that is crawling with history drawing cognoscente to County Cork, with it's enticing shops and streetscapes and a reputation as the Gourmet Capital of Ireland.

Built in 1760 by the Hodder family, who were the landlords of Kinsale in the 18^th Century it is poised in the centre of this medieval fishing port overlooking the marina and the colourful streets with their forests of hanging baskets and window boxes, dripping Lobelias and trailing Petunias, Perryville House combines the grandeur of the past with the luxuries and convenience of today.

A house of great elegance and charm, where an atmosphere of comfort and attention to detail prevails.   The 22 bedrooms are not large but have gorgeous antiques - the bathrooms are mostly spacious and wonderful with top notch shower, tub, etc. They even have CD players in the rooms. The whole place is delightfully decorated and the service is perfect.  

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 5

A visit to the Ballymaloe Cookery School with a tour of the water garden, orchard, meadow garden, & herb garden.

The ethos here is simple – to spread the word on  simple techniques, great ingredients that are home produced where possible  and the style of cookery introduced by Myrtle Allen at Ballymaloe House all those years ago, long before Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse – slow food at its best.

Later take a tour of the Irish Whiskey distillery at Midleton. Return to Kinsale via the English Market, a Victorian covered market, in Cork City for a late lunch in the Market Café.  Take a stroll around the town & then back to Kinsale to dine Maxs Restaurant.  Run by a young couple, Olivier and Anne Marie Queva - the chef and restaurant manager respectively - Max’s has a loyal following in the locality, and it’s a happy find for visitors too.   Olivier’s seasonal menus change regularly and offer a pleasing balance of luxurious ingredients and the more homely; seafood from the pier is the main feature - langoustines and oysters (in season), mussels, or black sole, less usual fish such as ling - with a balance of meats and poultry (roast rack of Irish lamb is a consistent favourite), and appealing vegetarian dishes offered too.     An informative wine list offers a range of house wines (available by the glass), an above average choice of half bottles and a range of aperitifs, dessert wines and ports.   This is a lovely restaurant for an evening out.  Overnight Perryville House, Kinsale

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 6

Today take a tour of West Cork, famous for its many farmhouse cheese makers. The towns of Ballydehob, Schull & Skibbereen are synonymous with cheeses such as Milleens, Durrus, Dunbeacon & Gubbeen & even goat’s ice cream! A visit to one of the local smoke houses, where salmon, venison & even eels are smoked, to find out some of the secrets of trade followed by lunch in The Good Word Cookery School in Durrus.  After lunch visit  Manning’s Emporium Michael Manning has for years been a prophet of the slow food movement of West Cork. On to Kenmare & stay at the Park Hotel Kenmare. Stay overnight Park Hotel Kenmare. Dinner in The Lime Tree, one of  Kenmare's finest restaurants. 

This atmospheric restaurant has been one of the most consistently popular dining choices in the area for over fifteen years, and has recently moved into a new phase with former head chef Gary Fitzgerald back in the kitchen and, together with restaurant manager Maria O’Sullivan, heading up a dynamic team.  It’s a landmark in the town - an attractive cut stone building built in 1832 and set well back from the road - and an open log fire, exposed stone walls, original wall panelling and a minstrels’ gallery (which provides an upper eating area) all give character to the interior. And a contemporary art gallery on the first floor adds an extra dimension to a visit here - fine original artwork in the restaurant gives a hint of what may be for sale.   The menus have quite an international tone but you’ll find plenty of local produce, especially among the starters – the House Salad, for instance, is an unusual dish with Sneem black pudding wontons, sliced potato, melon, shaved parmesan and maple dressing, and a tian of smoked salmon, shrimp and crab is made with freshwater shrimp and crab topped and tailed with Kenmare smoked salmon and served with cucumber carpaccio and an orange nut dressing.   There’s a little less emphasis on local seafood than might be expected - but that allows for a wider choice (including vegetarian dishes) and, among several fish dishes, an enduring speciality is a selection of seafood cooked ‘en papillotte’ with white wine, herb butter and julienne vegetables: when cut open at the table, the aromas released are delicious.   Other main courses include imaginatively updated traditional combinations – popular supreme of chicken, for example, may come with sage & onion stuffing, bacon and peperonata and parsley pesto.  Desserts tend to be tweaked classics (rhubarb tartlet topped with gingernut crumble, served with raspberry ice cream and vanilla custard, for example) and Munster cheeses are served with water biscuits & fig chutney.   Service, under Maria’s direction, is professional and relaxed; a user-friendly wine list is organised by style (‘light, crisp and appealing’, ‘soft bodied and fruity’...) and includes some interesting bottles. 

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 7

Take some time to shop & explore Kenmare which has a good selection of craft shops, pubs & restaurants. Tour part of County Kerry & continue on up to Adare. 

For many Adare embodies the traditional Ireland with it's main street lined by thatched cottages and its many ancient ruins. The Franciscan Friary is the finest of Adare's monastic ruins, & dates from 15th century. Nave, choir and south transept of church remains. Graceful tower and well-preserved cloisters.  The Desmond Castle was erected on the site of an ancient ring fort in the early 13^th century.  The extensive ruins consist of an inner ward, surrounded by a moat and enclosed by a spacious courtyard.  The Church of St. Nicholas and its chapel date from the 11^th century.   The Trinitarian Abbey is a Fitzgerald foundation of c.1230. The remains include tower, nave and part of the original choir, incorporated into a 19th century church.   The Augustinian Priory was founded in 1315. Remains of tower, nave and part of choir, now restored as a church.  Lunch here and then take the high road to Dublin – still nearly 3 hours from Adare.  Check into The Dylan Hotel.

It feels as if it's in a peaceful backwater, yet this splendid Victorian building is just yards from one of Dublin's busiest city centre roads.   Arrival at the gates of Dylan is an experience in itself, especially in the evening, when it is magically lit by old fashioned lamps outside the main entrance, where doormen greet you.

A modern wing sits comfortably with the original building and the lobby offers a foretaste of the edgy design beyond: leather padded walls, over-sized floral motifs and tactile wallpaper along with ultra-modern seating and creative lighting are just some of the quirky elements that create an atmosphere of decadent elegance.

The edgy look continues in the individually designed bedrooms, which are fitted to a very high specification.  Rooms include a plasma screen TV, MP3 players, safes, cordless phones with voicemail and speakerphone, customised 7th Heaven Beds, Frette linen, air conditioning, under floor heated bathrooms, power showers, robes & slippers, Etro toiletries, mini bar and twice daily housekeeping.  Even the most demanding international traveller would be hard pressed to complain at this five star boutique hotel.

This bright, white dining room is filled with glittering chandeliers, luxurious cream and white chairs, wildly curved furnishings, a pale padded wall and a baby grand piano.  The ambience is lavish 1940s Hollywood decadence and there are always plenty of big Irish names to be spotted here. Padraig Haydn’s cooking is still as stylish and flavourful as ever, but the story at this fashionable restaurant is the more customer-friendly approach, with a nicely honed menu.

Dylan remains very much a place to be seen, and provides an opulent stage setting for an exciting dining experience
 

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 8

Transfer to Dublin Airport for your return flight home. The Dylan is 30 minutes from the Airport. 

The cost of this package starts at €4000 per person sharing  

This tour includes gourmet lunch on 6 days, dinner on 6 nights, all admissions, tastings, demonstrations and talks by experts, and a professional driver guide.