Doolin Food Tour

There is a growing trend in the travel industry. People are no longer seeking mundane experiences but instead are wanting to delve deep into local living. Food tours are becoming increasingly popular all over the world. From tasty tapas tours in Madrid, Pasta paths in Rome, you can find amazing Food Tours wherever you travel.

One amazing thing about Food Tours is that they are all different. A food tour in a french vineyard will be very different to a food tour through a market in Amsterdam. They all bring their different styles to give people the best possible experience. 

In 2021, the very first Doolin Food Tour was created and boy was it successful!!! For those of you that are not aware, Doolin is a small fishing village on the west coast of Ireland. It is located next to the world-famous Cliffs of Moher, known as the gateway to the Aran Islands and is famous for its outstanding Irish music scene.  What most people don’t know is that Doolin is home to some of Ireland’s most amazing Foodie producers. When Ollie’s Tours introduced the Doolin Food Tour, it gave visitors an opportunity that was never there before. Visitors could now go behind the scenes of these businesses, meet the local entrepreneurs personally while eating and drinking their way through it. 

The Doolin Food Tour is as much about the people as it is about the food. 

Peter and Birgitta Curtain are two local entrepreneurs. They started smoking their own salmon 30+ years ago in the heart of the Burren and has built a big business since. Their smoked salmon is world-renowned, eaten by royalty all around the world (no seriously, even the Queen of England eats it!). While Birgitta is more hands-on at the smokehouse, Peter takes care of their brewery. Irelands smallest professional microbrewery to be exact. His beer is made onsite and only sold on site. His beers have been studied by scientists all over the world. His stout is considered one of the top 5% of stouts in the world. His other beer, Euphoria, does exactly what it says. A half-pint and you will be feeling Euphoric. Peter and Birgitta are very busy people but with Ollie’s Tours, they come to meet the group, show them around and give the tour themselves. They do not do this for ANY other group. 

Next, the tour group visits JJ Corry Whiskey. This is Ireland’s first modern whiskey bonder. For anyone who doesn’t know what whiskey bonding is, don’t worry. Not many people do. Back in the day, people would combine lots of whiskeys together to make their own special whiskey. This art was lost over the years and consumers got used to drinking whiskey from well-known brands like Jameson or Bushmills. When Louise McGuane took over her family farm in 2015, she decided to step away from traditional farming and reinvent the lost art of Whiskey bonding right there on their farm located on the Wild Atlantic Way. Visitors on the tour will get to meet the people behind the whiskey, try the whiskey while hearing the story in greater detail. 

Cheese production in Ireland is getting big. Very big. In fact today in 2021, there are more cheese producers per capita in Ireland than in France. The tour visits the Cheese Press, a store in Doolin owned by the same family behind St. Tola’s Goats Cheese. The guide brings your taste buds on a journey as you dig into a variety of cheeses from goats to cow to sheep! This is the perfect starter for what’s to come at the next stop, Russell’s Fish shop. The fish shop got its name from the famous musicians that once put Doolin on the map, the Russell Brothers. It’s a fish shop like no other. They go to extreme lengths to ensure the quality of their food is exceptional 100% of the time. The tour finishes with a feast of Fish & Chips.

The Doolin Food Tour has become a number one seller in Doolin. Ollie’s Tours has a small group policy so there is only ever a maximum of 12 people allowed on each tour. This results in tours filling up pretty fast, but hey once you read the reviews and experience the tour for yourself, you will understand why!