Looking for gifts for the immaterialistic, experience-loving people in your life? Want to avoid buying more 'stuff'? We've picked the subscriptions and experiences that we'd love to find under the tree this year - gifts that will keep on giving well into 2023...
Experiences
Seasonal Supper Club, Killruddery
Killruddery’s Seasonal Supper Club is back, including four courses from a sharing plate-style menu, ingredients from the walled garden and farm, and a glass of bubbles, in a candlelit setting with roaring log fires. Supper at the Grain Store would make a great experience gift, and if you choose your recipient carefully maybe you can tag along. There is currently availability for February and March 2023 at €65 per person, and you can book here.
A foraging trip in Howth
Foraging seems to be getting more popular by the day, and a voucher for Howth Foraging would be an ideal gift for the nature lover in your life this Christmas. Vouchers for a tour of your choice start at €55 including a bespoke card, and there's a postage fee of €5. Gift cards are handmade using locally foraged dried wildflowers and leaves, and you can buy vouchers by emailing Nicole at howthforaging@outlook.ie.
Distilling Academy Experience, Stillgarden Distillery
Stillgarden Distillery in Dublin 8 run a distilling academy where you can go back to school - 'Spirit School'. The experience includes a welcome drink, four gin-tasting flights, a cocktail class and cocktail, a food buffet, and your finished bottle of gin or vodka to take home. Prices start at €120 and you can book here, or check out their other distillery experiences here.
Cookery Class, Dublin Cookery School
If you have someone in your life who loves to cook (or someone who needs to learn to cook) the Dublin Cookery School in Blackrock run a wide variety of cookery classes, from bread making to pasta, modern vegetarian to tapas. You can book a specific class here, or buy a gift voucher if you're not sure what to pick.
Whiskey Cocktail Making, Jameson Distillery
If you have a whiskey lover in your life, Jameson Distillery in Bow Street has a 60-mintute whiskey cocktail-making masterclass hosted by a Jameson bartender, where they'll learn to make three different whiskey cocktails, and drink them. Classes cost €50 and you can book here.
Tickets for The Big Grill Festival
It may seem way to early to be thinking about summer 2023, but early bird tickets for The Big Grill and their VIP space Rancho Relaxo, went on sale this week, just in time for Christmas. It's on from Thursday 17th - Sunday 20th August, and tickets are €22.23 for entry, or €61.13 for the VIP experience with two drinks, posh loos and plenty of space to chill out. Get them here.
Subscriptions
ATF Insiders Subscription
Of course, we're going to recommend a gift subscription to ATF Insiders, which we think is the best possible present you could give someone who loves eating out more than any other activity in life. Insiders get exclusive content just for them, event invites, are entered into nine giveaways each month, and get direct access to our team to ask any questions they have about eating out. A yearly subscription costs €55 and will keep giving for a whole 12 months, and we've just launched new gift bundles with totes, cards and notebooks if you want to bulk it up. Shop here.
Good Fortune Cookie Subscription
Good Fortune's treat and repeat subscription will mean a delivery of freshly baked cookies each month, for three or six months (€90 or €180). A 15 cookie delivery (five each of three different flavours) will definitely brighten up someone's day, week or month, and you can buy it here.
Camerino Cake Club
Cake club - yes it's a real thing, and who wouldn't love it? Camerino Bakery send a 12-piece seasonal selection box that changes each month, and they collaborate with different Irish food producers. The cake club is available as a one-off starting at €50, or as monthly subscription with options of three, six or twelve months. Get it here.
A Fancy Cheese Subscription
What better way to say I love you than with cheese? We reckon we've tried every cheese club in the country at this point and we have two current favourites. Mike's Fancy Cheese sends 3-5 cheeses each month (you can specify if there's a type you don't like), with tasting notes and crackers, starting at £30 per month. We're also fans of the Little Cheese Shop's monthly subscription, which comes with all Irish cheeses, crackers, chutney, tasting notes and details about each cheese and the cheesemaker. Subs start at €39.50 per month and you can order here.
Mike's Fancy Cheese
The Little Cheese Shop
Beer Subscription, The Crú
For craft beer lovers, The Crú (formerly The Beer Club) have a beer subscription with three options - solo (4 craft beers), duo (8 craft beers) and trio (12 craft beers) delivered each month. Subscriptions include tasting notes for each beer and there are three, six and 12-month subscription options here.
Wine Subscription, Boujee Booze
Boujee Booze's monthly subscription box features three unique wines delivered each month, which could be white, red, pink, orange or fizzy, all in the region of natural, organic and biodynamic production. They send information and tasting notes for each wine, plus food pairings with a full recipe, recipe video and a takeaway pairing. If you're sending it as a gift, add a note and they'll include a card too. Prices start at €65 for a one-month purchase, ranging to €720 for 12 months, and shipping is included. Treat someone to great wine here.
Books
The Irish Cook Book, JP Mc Mahon
You can rarely go wrong with books, and 'The Irish Cook Book' by Michelin-starred chef, restaurateur and author JP McMahon will be on lots of wishlists this Christmas. A companion book, An Alphabet of Aniar: Notes for a New Irish Cuisine, is now available for pre-order. Both books are available to buy/pre-order here.
The Bake Cookbook, The Cupcake Bloke
Graham Herterich's 'Bake', a traditional Irish baking cookbook with modern twists, is a perfect gift for the baker in your life, full of foolproof recipes for classics like scones, brack and breads, as well as innovations creations from Herterich's head. You can buy it here on its own or as part of a hamper.
Ixta Belfrage's Mezcla
Ixta Belfrage co-wrote Flavour with Ottolenghi, and her own book 'Mezcla' (meaning 'to mix' in Spanish) has 100 recipes inspired by her Italian, Brazilian and Mexican heritage. We've tried and loved the recipes, and it was one of our favourite new cookbooks of 2022. Buy from all good book stores.
Scoop Magazine
Scoop is a brand new biannual food magazine about Irish food, ideal for any food lovers and avid readers in your life. The first issue 'What is Irish Food?' costs €20 and is available here. There's also an annual subscription for €40 which includes both upcoming issues for April and October 2023.
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