I have a constantly updated list of restaurants, cafés and food spots that I want to visit and top of the Dublin list at the moment is YiBU by Janet in Arthaus Hotel, which is tucked just behind Stephen’s Green. Janet Liu’s popular food truck, which spent five years in residence at EatYard in Drumcondra, came to national attention when she won RTÉ’s Takeaway Titans in 2022. After spending 12 years working in food – alongside the truck, Janet has also been operating a full schedule of dumpling-making classes, pop-ups and festival appearances – she’s now opened her very own spot. The stylish YiBU has two doors: use the daytime one on Mercer Street for breakfasts and rice bowls, then get glammed up for the evening and make an entrance around the corner at York Street. I was glad to see that her legendary handmade dumplings are on both lunch and evening menus. Janet makes the wrappers from scratch and fills them with delicious things like ma po tofu or egg and prawn – there’s even a big mac version. While you can order a full Irish for breakfast, the Shanghai Stack (flaky scallion pancakes with fried egg, mozzarella, bacon and house-made bacon jam) has my name all over it, especially as the coffee at YiBU is from Cloud Picker. See yibu.ie
Remember Bee Movie? The witty 2007 animated film starred Jerry Seinfeld as Barry B Benson, a honey bee who sues humans for exploiting honey producing bees. I get the feeling that the opinionated Barry would be happy with the introduction of new EU labelling rules for honey.
I know that I can’t be the only one who’s been struck with the discrepancy between the price of raw Irish honey versus the jars piled high in the supermarket. Many of those cheaper honeys are – if you squint at the fine print on the back of the label – “a blend of EU and non-EU honeys”. The now updated legislation means that “all countries of origin for blended honey must be clearly indicated on the label, in descending order of weight”.
There’s also help for those optically challenged: “This information must be presented in the principal field of vision of the product, ensuring it is easily visible to consumers at the point of purchase.”
Fancy that! Legislation that means it will be easier to see what exactly is in that honey jar. This country of origin declaration came into force in mid-June, meaning that honey that has been produced, packaged and is for sale on the market since then needs to be properly labelled. It will probably take a while before we, as consumers, see these new labels as shops work through older stock but it’s coming. Barry would be proud. See fsai.ie
I’ve always had a soft spot for the city of Derry, home to Derry Girls and, in recent years, lots of good food beyond the cream horns, penny sweets and flaming sambucas beloved by Erin, Michelle, Orla and Clare. The best way to discover the good spots is by signing up for a food tour with Derry by Fork, who offer a variety of different ways to see the city.
My pick is the Fork the Foyle tour, which includes a breakfast bite at the Ebrington Hotel, getting to eat the freshest fish tacos on a bus and trying locally brewed beers from Rough House Brewery and Walled City Brewery. There’s also the option to make cocktails on a Sunday Sip wander through the bars and pubs of the city, or Fork the Walls is based around the Derry Walls and includes a coffee masterclass. It’s a most convivial way to find your way around the city and discover where’s worth returning for on your next visit.
Tours start at £75 or €88 per person, including all tastings. See derrybyfork.ie/walls
It’s always worth keeping an eye on the Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year lineup – past luminaries include TV chef and author Mark Moriarty and Grainne Mullins of Grá Chocolates, so you never quite know where these focused folk will turn up.
There are six chefs shortlisted in this year’s competition, working in the kind of restaurants – from Michelin-starred spots to wine bars – that are well worth visiting: Áine Budds of Dublin’s Comet; Shannon Caulfied of Ashford Castle in Co Mayo; Aymeric Decourval of Lady Helen at Mount Juliet Estate in Co Kilkenny; Sam Nourse of Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen in Dublin; Jack Rice, also of Comet; and Simone Tamilio of Bar Pez on Dublin’s Kevin Street. The final will take place on Sunday 11 October and one of these bright young stars will become the Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year 2026.
If you’ve spent this cold, wet spring and long, hot summer trying to nurture your own vegetables, you won’t want to waste a thing when it comes to the harvest, because, as sure as gardens are gardens, everything will ripen at the same time. Iona Hamilton Stubber of Burren Balsamics has the answer for that: pickles!
She’s going to be giving an interactive pickling masterclass at Indie Füde in Belfast on Sunday 26 July from 2pm to 3.30pm. Iona will guide participants through a guided tasting of Burren Balsamics white balsamic condiments – many of which are infused with Irish ingredients – demonstrate the fundamentals of quick refrigerator pickling and then you get to build your own particular pickles using seasonal ingredients. So, if you’re pickle curious, tickets are £25 or €29 and available on Eventbrite.ie. You can find the recipe for crispy bread topped with herby peas, pickled radishes and parmesan by Iona Hamilton Stubber on burrenbalsamics.com.
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