It Captures A Sense of Place
Traveling presents an opportunity to experience something new – travel is…an adventure into the unknown. Venturing to a new country, county, or city expands your horizons. It offers you a first hand experience, not just what someone else has told you about it or what you read in a book or online. You, yourself, get to experience a ‘sense’ of this particular place.
Gives a Taste of Place
A gastro-tour gives you a chance to taste the local food and beverages of your chosen destination. In Ireland, we’re very fortunate to have delicious artisan cheeses, beautiful butter, fresh seafood, grass-fed cattle and sheep, free range poultry and eggs and availability of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Plus, we’ve a number of protected heritage food products for you to try when you’re visiting. On the Tasteful Tour, we showcase a heritage product called the Blaa, a white bread roll which is unique to the Waterford region. Plus, we’ve our very own dish which celebrates the South East Region of Ireland. This features artisan products from Waterford county and its neighbouring counties of Kilkenny and Wexford. It’s a special fish dish called the South East Sunshine Blaa. Read all about it here.
Access New Knowledge
By taking a food trail, you’ll learn lots of history and all about the food culture relative to the area. Some specific heritage facts and customs relating to the destination too. What’s revealed can be quite surprising and these little nuggets or snippets of information all add up to the broader picture of a region or country. Your guide also gives you some tasty recommendations for restaurants, their favourite cafés and stores for further foodie finds.
On our Tasteful Tour, you’ll learn about Irish Whiskey. You see there’s a surprising little nugget of info we bet you didn’t know!
Saves You Time
Booking a food tour to do in the first couple of days of your visit can save you precious holiday hours and it stops aimless street or restaurant traipsing. Your guide has taken the time to research the history of the locality, to taste test provincial foods and to specially select independent hospitality businesses. They’ve planned, scripted and designed a bespoke walking route for you to experience and enjoy. So thankfully, their efforts avert all that aimless wandering or getting lost on your first day! Saves on getting sore feet too!
Good Value for Money
When you consider the cost of food today especially the cost of some organic or artisan food products, a specialised tour that gives you the chance to sample a selection of these, just makes good math sense! Also, purchasing a ticket provides a valuable boost to the local economy. When researching gastro-tours many people just ponder the initial cost of the ticket but they don’t really weight up everything that it covers. On most food tours all tastings and beverages are included in the ticket price. So you’ll literally get your money’s worth as there’s eating and drinking in it! Plus, your bucks support and contribute to the extended local economy.
To sum it up – on the Tasteful Tour, brunch & lunch, sweet treats and beverages are included in the ticket price.
A Healthy & Sustainable Choice
If you take a ‘walking’ food tour this automatically guarantees that you’ll get some exercise, while enjoying some fresh air and supporting a sustainable tourism business. This type of tour is environmentally friendly, we ensure there’s only beverage glugging involved. Petrol guzzling is not included!! Plus, you can count steps not calories so it’s a win, for both health and sustainability!!
It’s Social & Good Craic
Taking part in any kind of public tour provides you with an opportunity to be social and in Ireland this means having the craic* too! You’ll get the chance to meet the host (your guide) some local hospitality staff and other interesting travelers too. Getting to know your guide and fellow tour-goers can lead to having a good time while letting loose and enjoying some serious craic. Overall, you’ll get to encounter some fun on your holidays – How bad is that??
(*Craic is an Irish word for fun, or enjoyment. It’s a jovial feeling experienced while in the presence of entertaining company or via entertaining or comedic conversation with friends).
Creates Nostalgic Vibes & Cravings
Taking a tour and meeting new people can be heartwarming, sometimes creating warm fuzzy feelings related to human connection (see photos above). Tour taking helps create new food and travel memories. Similar to Hemingway and Paris – it’s a moveable feast! Mr. Hemingway relates that by experiencing and savouring Paris through its food, cafés, restaurants, its smells, sights and bohemian vibes, he captured it in his memory to retrieve whenever he needed. He could revisit it no matter where in the world he was. Much like an old suitcase, he carried Paris with him. It’s such a sweet sentimental thought!
However, we should warn you that while food touring creates nostalgic vibes, food cravings can be a factor too. These are the foods that you’ll experience but can’t forget, the ones you’ll savour and dream of after your tour! One example is Sunny South Yeast’s chocolate brownie which is available at one of the select Café stops on our tour (see photo above). It’s divine but beware you have been warned! It possibly causes recurring chocolate cake cravings!!
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That’s our list of 8 good reasons to take a food tour so be sure to include us on your trip itinerary when you’re visiting the South East Region of Ireland. As we say…Waterford is a well-kept secret! Isn’t it about time you got a ‘good sense’ of the place?
Taste | Talk | Tipple & Tell Your Friends!
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