Pull on your stretchy trousers and lash on the suncream, Taste of Dublin is back in the city's bucolic Iveagh Gardens with a bevy of celebrity chefs, food trucks, shop stalls and demos.
Arguably the biggest date on the foodie calendar, Taste runs from 15-18 June and has only gotten better in recent years, as a slew of new and dynamic food producers and creators pitch their tents in the coveted festival grounds, alongside festival favourites and pioneers of Irish cooking.
We caught up with some of our favourite Irish chefs about what they're up to at the festival and what stalls we should check out. Watch the video above.
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On the Miele main stage, hosted by chef Erica Drum, will be a host of chefs and their guests guiding the audience through a demonstration of some of their favourite dishes.
Thursday's line-up saw comedians Emma Doran and Killian Sunderman take to the stage alongside chef Edward Hayden for Ready, Steady, Taste! Later tonight will be demos from Pickle's Sunil Ghai, Scott Holder, and Raquel Morcán.
Other highlights across the weekend include a celebration of Spanish food for World Tapas Day and a cookery lesson from Rachel Allen on Friday; demos from Jp McMahon, Grá Chocolates' Gráinne Mullins and Trisha Lewis on Saturday; followed by Jordan Bailey, formerly of Aimsir and Kwanghi Chan of Bites by Kwanghi closing out the festival on Sunday.
Keeping you fuelled for a day of listening and walking is the expertly curated selection of food trucks serving something for everyone as well as some truly innovative dishes.
This year you’ll find Indian hotspot Pickle, Bar Italia, Sushida, Bites by Kwanghi and more among the trucks serving up steaming plates of delicious Irish food. Tasting Spain, an expansive look at Spanish cuisine, offering everything from cooking lessons to Spanish bites.
And if you were lost exploring the food trucks this weekend, the Taste gang has made it a little easier for you.
Broadcaster Laura Woods, together with Taste of Dublin CEO Jo Mathews, announced the winners of the annual 'Best in Taste Awards', with Dublin's The Salt Project coming first in the 'Best Dish' category for their Áitiúil Local Hero Dish, a take on the chicken fillet roll with Feighcullen free range chicken, pickled onion, chicken wing and foraged wild garlic mayo.
They were followed by Mexican street food experts Los Chicanos in second and beloved Middle Eastern spot Shouk in third.
The award for Best use of local and artisan produce went to The Salt Project too, while Bahay won the award for Best Restaurant Front of House Dressing. The award for Best Vegan Dish went to Indian street food stall Dosa Dosa.
There was also a range of artisanal food producers on site, including Grá Chocolates, Harry's Nutbutter, the Drunken Cookie, Bkultured and more.
Speaking at the festival, chef and food truck aficionado Paul Flynn highlighted the diverse range of food on offer at the event.
"It's an incredibly important part of the food culture in Ireland. The food family, all my friends who are chefs and people who work in the hotel and catering industry, so many of them are here that I haven't seen in quite a long time.
"I'm looking forward to a good ramble and to see who I'm going to meet because I always meet somebody", he added. "It's the lovely thing about Taste of Dublin, everybody looks forward to it and everybody's in good spirits and the sun is shining so it's going to be a good day!"
Speaking about food trucks he said: "I think chefs in many ways have alter egos. We're really in a confined space in a kitchen and its rigorous and you're doing the same thing every day. But once you get into a food truck there's a sense of freedom.
"It frees them up and they're completely different, happy people and the fact that you're outside and engaging with the public is a totally lovely thing. I have a soft spot for food trucks myself anyhow, and I always think that maybe I'd like to be in one but one day, who knows!"
