Foodies gather for the launch of October’s DublinTown Food & Drink Festival

DublinTown launched its inaugural Food & Drink Festival at Venue 35 with a five-course tasting menu whipped up by some of the chefs participating in the festival, which runs October 15-21. The seven-day culinary celebration, reflecting the depth of experiences, cuisines, and occasions the capital has to offer, will feature bespoke events to fill DublinTown’s network of restaurants, bars, cafés and coffee shops, as well as hotels and retailers. Our picks? A special dining experience on Sunday, October 21 at 5pm at Pichet led by head chef Stephen Gibson and London-based Irish chef Anna Haugh, €65 per person which includes a cocktail and six-course tasting menu.

Guests tucked into fresh Connemara oysters from David Keane prepared by Ana Filipa Neto, head chef at Sole Seafood & Grill, who dressed them in Japanese flavours; 3FE cured duck breast carpaccio with Jerusalem artichoke and gin sauce prepared by Jack O’Keeffe of the Cook’s Academy; crispy prawn and silken egg in dashi broth served by Eva Pau from the Asian Market; beef short rib, ginger beer, salt baked celeriac, ox tongue and mushrooms created by Pichet’s Stephen Gibson; and a white chocolate cheesecake with blueberry glaze and pistachio base prepared by Bewley’s head chef Austin Byrne. Alex Todica of Sam’s Bar created two signature cocktails for the night: the Ecuador made with gin, chilli-infused passion fruit purée, lemon and tonic, and the Four Queens with whiskey, wildflower and heather honey, mint, chervil, fennel flower and lemon balm. If the evening’s menu was anything to go by, this festival will make foodies very happy indeed.

For more details and to book your experiences, visit FoodAndDrinkFest.ie.

Photographs by Andres Poveda