Try a Taste of tablescaping!

And experience the flavours of the world as they melt into the urban hot pot of Iveagh Gardens...

DUST off your eating pants and stick a napkin in the pocket — next week sees the return of Ireland’s biggest food festival, Taste of Dublin, now in its 12th year.

And once you’ve sufficiently stretched the waistband you can watch cookery demonstrations from some of the country’s — and indeed the world’s — finest chefs. This year’s event also features live music, Barry’s Tea cocktails and a Style Afternoon hosted by mumpreneur Pippa O’Connor, If you are one of the 32,000 people visiting this year’s event, we have the answers to just about every question poised on your lips.

WHAT’S THE THEME?

PERHAPS to shake us out of our meat-and-two-veg comfort zone the theme of this year’s festival is Flavours of the World. All 32 chefs and 20 restaurants involved have been asked to incorporate foreign cuisine into their menus, so expect to sample plenty of international and exotic dishes. ‘There has been a whole multicultural revolution in food and we’re celebrating that. A lot of people have come back to live in Ireland having been away and the theme reflects that too,’ says Taste CEO Avril Bannerton.

TASTE THEATRE

ELECTROLUX’S Make Life Delicious theatre returns by popular demand. Here leading chefs and TV personalities will showcase their professional skills and techniques, hosting up to five live cooking demos per session, plus, we are reliably informed ‘a few new surprises that are guaranteed to keep crowds entertained’.

THE CHEFS

THIS year’s festival features more chefs than ever before — 32 to be precise — hosting those live cooking demonstrations, along with talks and Q&As. These include Neven Maguire, Clodagh McKenna, Danni Barry from Deane’s EIPIC in Belfast, Darina Allen, Ed Cooney from the Merrion Hotel, Briton Gill Meller of River Cottage, Edward Hayden owner of Hayden’s School of Cookery in Kilkenny, French star Jean-Christophe Novelli, Dunbrody Country House’s Kevin Dundon and Hong Kong-born, Donegal-raised Kwanghi Chan.

ANNUS HORRIBILIS

MULTI-Michelin star winning chef and Hell’s Kitchen star JeanChristophe Novelli and his fiancee Michelle Kennedy endured a ‘winter of misery’. Their nine-month son Valentino was diagnosed with neuroblastoma — an aggressive cancer — at ten weeks old last November and Michelle collapsed at home with deep vein thrombosis under the strain of sitting for hours at Valentino’s bedside. Now Valentino is cancer-free, Michelle has recovered — and Jean-Christophe is looking forward to cooking at Taste. Jean-Christophe previously ran the restaurant at La Stampa and would love to open another place in Dublin. Until that time he’s going to content himself with a new venture in Belfast which will open in 2018.

OH DANNI GIRL

CO DOWN chef Danni Barry is one of an elite group of female Michelin starred chefs in the UK — and only the second female chef ever in Ireland to gain a star. Though eating clean and green is all the rage, she is not one for faddy foods. ‘I don’t buy into diets that are unrealistic as I think food is to be enjoyed. I certainly don’t enjoy anything cooked in coconut oil!’ she says, of the multipurpose food item beloved of Roz Purcell. ‘It’s important to have balance, to be mindful about when and how you eat and to avoid processed foods and eat well-sourced fish, meat and lots of vegetables — and a treat now and then does no harm. That said, chefs often have bad eating habits due to long working hours. I think a good breakfast is key.’

FOR KIDS

SATURDAY and Sunday afternoons at the festival have been designed with children in mind. ‘This year it’s Father’s Day on the Sunday so restaurants host kiddie menus and we have bespoke masterclasses for families,’ says Bannerton. ‘Oliver McCabe has a class for parents and children who want to improve their cooking skills’.

WEATHER

THE long-term weather forecast — not the most reliable of sources, admittedly — is promising sunshine for Taste’s duration. But organisers have taken no chances and 70% of the venue is covered. ‘We can take down a few of the structures if it’s fine — it’s easier to plan for rain,’ says Bannerton, who expects the glorious Leaving Cert weather to prevail.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A NEW element of the festival this year is the Food For Thought tent hosting more than 30 talks, Q&As and interviews with some of Ireland’s favourite chefs and industry experts. Among them are Darina Allen discussing Slow Food, Masterchef judge Robin Gill on getting Farm to Table eating ‘right’ and Lazy Chef Simon Lamont’s talk on the Sustainable Oyster, which Bannerton singles out for mention.

TABLESCAPING

LAST weekend we saw landscaped gardens at Bloom festival — now Clodagh McKenna teaches the art of tablescaping at Taste. Table what? It’s not enough to have fancy placemats and matching crockery anymore, folks. To really get that wow moment at dinner parties, you need to produce that mouthwatering meal alongside an ‘artistic arrangement of articles on your table’. And we don’t think they mean that stack of newspapers and kids’ artwork in the corner. ‘It’s dressing of tables, it’s become very on trend,’ says Bannerton. ‘Clodagh is very passionate about tablescaping.’ The fun-loving chef will be showing us all how it’s done over the weekend of festivities.

MY SHERRY AMOUR

CONSIDERED something of a grannies’ Christmas tipple in recent years, it looks like unfashionable sherry might be getting a trendy makeover. Drinks enthusiast Lynne Coyle from O’Brien’s Wines will give a talk entitled, Sherry — The Food Lover’s Wine. ‘Sherry is very much back in fashion. It’s up there with the gin,’ claims Bannerton. ‘We didn’t always have a glass of wine. Sherries, gins and craft beers are all becoming more popular. Next we’ll be matching menus with sherry!’ Let’s raise a glass — and our pinky fingers — to that.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

TASTE has its own currency, available to buy at several points all over the venue — and one florin equals one euro. Tasting portions at the twentyplus restaurants cost between €6 and €9, but if you’re clever about it, you might be able to eat like a king for free. There are 84 exhibitors in the artisan market area, 20% of whom offer samples. After many of the cooking demonstrations, canny, and quick, audience members can often have a taste too. Electrolux also runs a cooking station where you can cook and taste the food yourself — it was so popular last year, it’s double the size this time.

PUTTING THE TEA IN COCKTAIL

FORGET about the milk and sugar — the new way to enjoy your Barry’s Tea is infused with alcohol in a fancy glass with a straw. This year’s festival features Barry’s Tea cocktails created by Conor Myers, mixologist from Dublin’s Exchequer Bar. These include Golden Dew — Barry’s Gold Blend, Tullamore Dew whiskey, ginger and Irish honey cordial, lime and ginger ale; Berry Fizz — Barry’s Very Berry Tea, Hendrick’s Gin, cranberry juice, Irish elderflower cordial, fresh lemon and soda water; and Green Tea Mojito — Barry’s Natural Green Tea, Skyy vodka, basil syrup, fresh mint, lime and soda water. And no need to wait for the kettle to boil. FASHION THE worlds of butter and modelling rarely collide — but the Connacht Gold Style Afternoon features ‘delicious buttery treats’ alongside a talk by former model Pippa O’Connor. On Friday, June 16, from 12-3pm she leads a team of judges — including Sybil Mulcahy, Editor of Evoke.ie and Laura Bermingham, beauty editor at Evoke.ie — to choose the most stylish lady or gentleman. Finalists will receive their prizes from 3-4 pm. The most tastefully styled finalist wins a Luxury Connacht Gold Style Hamper; packed with Connacht Gold products, some of Pippa’s favourite beauty products, the Pippa Pallet, a POCO jeans voucher, a signed copy of ‘Pippa; Simple Tips to Live Beautifully’, a restaurant voucher, Taittinger champagne, and more. In a winner, Pippa’s looking for something ‘unique, something you may not expect to find at a festival, yet holds essence of style and taste’. Give us another clue, Pippa!

MUSICAL TASTE

ADDING to the summer festival atmosphere, live bands will play on the main stage from noon on Thursday until close on Sunday. Acts include Spring Break, ‘Europe’s premier good-time supergroup’ who play American eighties floor-fillers and were voted 4.9 out of 5 on weddingsonline.ie. Catering to a younger audience, Smash Hits! are an ‘entertaining tribute to the golden era of 90s dance, pop and R‘n’B’. Check it out now, funk soul brother.

GETTING THERE

TASTE of Dublin is held at the Iveagh Gardens, Clonmel Street, Dublin. The LUAS stop closest to the Iveagh Gardens is: Harcourt Street Luas Stop. Buses that stop closest to the Iveagh Gardens are: Routes 7b, 7d, 11, 37, 38, 38a, 39, 39a, 44, 46a, 46e and 145.

TICKETS

TASTE has an afternoon and evening session, each lasting 4-5 hours, depending on the day. Tickets are sold for each session and are only valid for the time and date indicated on the ticket. Thursday June 15 12:00 – 16:00 & 17:30 – 22:30 Friday June 16 12:00 – 16:00 & 17:30 – 22:30 Saturday June 17 12:00 – 16:00 & 17:30 – 22:30 Sunday June 18 12:00 – 16:00 & 17:30 – 21.30 Tickets start at €15, and though booking is advised, they’ll be available at the gate for walk-ups. Children under ten go free. VIP tickets at €40 each are expected to sell out this weekend. These allow VIP lounge access, a complimentary glass of Taittinger, complimentary beer and a Lindt gift. The chefs will also meet-andgreet so you can asking them any burning questions — or sautéing questions — you may have.