If you’re anything like us, a breakaway doesn’t start until detailed research has been done on the best places to eat while on holiday. Where can we find the nicest chowder by the sea, the finest strawberries and cream in the east or the best breakfast in the town?

Good Food Ireland has been on the go for 15 years and has always been a reliable guide to finding the finest tastes. Now they’ve stepped things up a notch with their new Good Food Ireland Experiences; bookable food and drink experiences throughout Ireland.

All about the experience

It’s not just about finding a great restaurant, it’s all about the experience. It can also be adapted depending on the type of culinary break you want.

Couples or friends could get hands-on with a bread-making class at Ballymaloe, or foraging followed by lunch where you can enjoy the fruits of your labour in the historic Ballyvolane House. For fish-lovers, you can find out about the tradition of smoking fish with an Irish Smokehouse tour, and one that will definitely be on our to-do list is a private lunch with a chef in Donegal who will talk you through the delicious local flavours used in the meal.

There are also lots of family options. In Co Wexford, you can bring the kids on a blackcurrant farm tour where you’ll also be able to check out the resident horses and donkeys. In Galway, they will get all buzzed up about the beekeeping tour. But for many, they will be hard pushed to top a “make your own chocolate bar” experience in Co Clare.

New online service

While the experiences have been running a while, the new online service available on the Good Food Ireland website allows food lovers to browse experiences by date, destination or simply by the food experience they would like to explore. The site also allows users to directly book the experience or a series of experiences and receive immediate confirmation.

Margaret Jeffares, founder of Good Food Ireland, says: “We realise that more and more Irish people care where their food comes from, not just for the local economic benefits but because it tastes so much better. With Good Food Ireland, we seek out those places, many off the beaten path, so people can discover them and enjoy.

Margaret Jeffares, Good Food Ireland.

"We have worked tirelessly with the best food producers and chefs in Ireland to carefully develop, inspect and bring to market food experiences that are now available on one platform, easily searched and navigated by various criteria.”

Margaret adds: “We aim to expand the range within our collection over the coming weeks as we discover new best-in-class experiences around the island.”

For more information, log on to www.goodfoodirelandexperiences.com @goodfoodireland #GFIExperiences