Irish cuisine is a great blend of old meets new. Long forgotten potato based recipes such as boxty can be found on restaurant menus today and a firm favourite bacon and cabbage is never far from a Sunday carvery. We are a lot more experimental nowadays too, which is evident in the range of restaurants, variety of produce and menu choices available.

Artisan producers are on the rise

One big change in the Irish food landscape is the huge numbers of artisan producers that have emerged in the last few decades. There has never been a better selection of handcrafted produce available, enhancing our reputation as a country that supplies quality food and drink.

Celebrating Irish cuisine 

With an abundance of natural produce and producers, it is only natural that we would want to celebrate our bountiful harvests.  Many counties have their own individual food festivals, celebrating all that is produced in that region.

Food festivals

Galway
One of the most famous is the Galway Oyster & Seafood Festival which was established over 60 years ago. Festival goers feast on tons of native Galway oysters and other seafood delights caught along the west coast of Ireland.

Competition time at the Galway Oyster festival – ‘shucking’ or opening is a big part of the festival’s itinerary (photo: www.galwayoysterfestival.com)

Athlone
The Athlone River Festival & Food Village takes place in September and will see the town come alive with cooking demonstrations from local and international chefs. It celebrates restaurants and food producers within the lakelands region, providing a great opportunity to sample local artisan & organic produce.

River activities meet local food producers at this midlands festival (photo: athlone.ie)

Cork
The south coast county hosts their Taste of West Cork Food Festival in September, which will bring together food markets, brunches, banquets and much more. A huge number of artisan food producers are based in the region so it will contain a fantastic selection of cheeses, honey, herbs, vegetables, meat, poultry and more.

A market stall at the Taste of West Cork food festival (photo: www.atasteofwestcork.com)

Dublin
The capital has a variety of food festivals taking place throughout the year. Ranging from The Big Grill right through to acclaimed chef Nevin Maguire’s Food Fest, there is something for everyone’s taste.

Demonstrations with acclaimed chef Nevin Maguire (photo:www.supportstjames.ie)

For a comprehensive list of 2016 food festivals, visit Discover Ireland or for Northern Ireland, visit Discover Northern Ireland.

Irish cuisine on the Shannon Princess

We are passionate about creating dishes that delight our guests. We source organic, local produce where possible and choose only the freshest ingredients for all of our recipes. We grow our own herbs and forage for wild berries and other delights such as wild garlic.

Our galley herb garden

Food is a big part of the itinerary on board The Shannon Princess so we ensure that every dish served up to our guests will surpass their expectations.

For more details on our menus click here. Alternatively click here for info on our golf cruise, here for info on our walking cruise or here for more info on our classic cruise. We look forward to welcoming you on board.