Taste the town with us!
Featured and recommended by
Taste the town with us!
Featured and recommended by
Kinsale : a Culinary Odyssey
Kinsale is a town with many sails or strings to its bow. Originally a Norman walled town which became a thriving fishing port, its Irish name is ‘Ceann tSáile’ which means ‘Head of the Sea’. The town thrived on the prolific mackerel fishery where men fished while their wives and daughters processed fish along the quays and sold to traders.
Over time in Kinsale, fishing was usurped by tourism, helped by its incomparable beauty, medieval architecture and salty sea air. Kinsale has evolved as a world class gourmand’s delight, aided by the proliferation of many high class restaurants and eateries in the town.
Colourful Streets
Ancient Forts
Stunning Coastlines
Bustling Harbour
Sharing stories and tasty treats
With so many glorious venues on our doorstep, Kinsale is a mecca for tourists and Irish alike who flock here for our wonderful food. For a food fanatic, this is a particular treat, having a rich hinterland and coastline which provides us with the freshest and most fabulous food and people.
The tours have become renowned both locally and internationally, having been featured extensively in Irish, UK, US and European media.
Our food tours showcase Kinsale in 3 completely different ways.
€80 per person
Public Food Tour EnquiryPrice on request for private food tours. We do cater for dietary requirements on the private food tour.
Our town food tours are like a walking meal which take you to a selection of different eateries. During the tour you will hear stories about the food and meet some of the fascinating characters who make it too. Be sure to bring your appetite!
€70 per person
Public Foraging EnquiryPrice on request for private food tours. We do cater for dietary requirements on the private food tour.
For outdoor enthusiasts, we run foraging and picnic tours. This incorporates food tastings as well as coastal foraging. We travel to the coast to forage and identify edible, wild shellfish, seaweed and plants. We provide a gourmet picnic as part of this tour and incorporate some pre-prepared wild food by some of our local producers.
An exclusive, luxury experience with a half-day sailing. Our combined expertise and love for all things food and oceanic are brought together on these charters. Relax while your private skipper sails you out of the beautiful Kinsale harbour. Enjoy a gourmet picnic and learn more about the food and local wonders with your personal guide.
Suzanne : Founder & Lead Guide
The Kinsale Food Tours was the brainchild of Suzanne Burns who returned to Ireland after over a decade living abroad. She started these tours in 2016, from a combined love for the town itself and an obsession with food, its origins and the coast.
Her career started as a Zoologist, focusing on freshwater and marine plants and animals in Ireland. She worked as a scallop farmer for her Honours thesis for her degree. Her work took her travelling for over a decade in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. After graduating, she spent a year in Australia, working as a beetle technician in the Australian Museum in Sydney. She returned to Ireland to fulfil her Masters in Dublin.
She then moved to New Zealand for a decade working as a freshwater biologist and researcher, She changed tack after 5 years, becoming a wildlife guide and head crew on a boat, working with albatrosses, penguins, sea lions and fur seals.
A chance encounter led her to Vancouver Island, Canada for 6 months where she worked as a wildlife writer and photographer, working primarily with wild orcas and humpback whales. On returning to Ireland, she started the Kinsale Food Tours. Kinsale Food Tours is part of the Wild Atlantic Way
Answers to some common questions
We use email and phone to tailor each tour whether they be groups, couples, families or solo travellers. Get in touch.
Some of our amazing guests
“By far one of our favourite things we did on our 2 week holiday. Suzanne was not only extremely knowledgeable about everything (not just food ),her personality made the experience even more lovely. We will definitely be back and we will be more adventurous. We will be doing the “food and foraging” tour that she offers next. I simply can not express just how great this was!!!!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! ”
“We had such a fantastic day out with Suzanne, who introduced us to some fabulous food and such lovely people who took so much pride in what they were offering, plus we also learnt about the history of Kinsale. Suzanne has a great sense of humour, and so easy to get on with, we just spent the day laughing,eating and drinking, it was brilliant !! Come hungry as the portions are BIG !!! If in Kinsale you have to do this tour with Suzanne.”
“Suzanne was an outstanding host and guide providing fascinating insight to both the food and the town of Kinsale. Suzane met us on time and took us on a casual walk about town as she talked about its history, building’s and its people. The tour was a perfectly set up 4 course meal in 4 different venues. Each venue was unique, comfortable and quite tasty! It became evident that she is well known in town with everyone saying hello as we strolled about. We visited in January, very much off season, with many shops closed, though this posed no issues at all. Suzanne provided some great places to eat. Each bite was seasoned with history, and topped with a passion for her home and its people. Both my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this tour and highly recommend including this adventure in your visit to Kinsale. As I said we visited in January and many places are closed however if you want to avoid crowds there are still plenty of places open to keep you occupied and the harbor town is a gem not be missed. Suzanne is a very knowledgeable and expert guide.”
“Fun and Tasty. What a wonderful and delightful introduction to Kinsale food. Suzanne lead us to 4 stops each with their own unique food contribution. Not only did Suzanne introduce to establishments we would not have found, she provided historical perspective. Each stop was tasty and fun. And she provided great recommendations on others spots to try. She has an irreverent Irish sense of humor and was a delightful guide. Highly recommend”
“Highlight of the south of Ireland. My husband and I joined the food tour of Kinsale for our 10th wedding anniversary because almost as much as we love each other, we both enjoy eating well, even more. This tour did exceedingly well at that and then some. Our host/guide weaved both history, tall tales and gastronomic expertise in a professional yet fun and approachable matter, that I think you would have to be a lonely stone at the sea not to fall in love with not just only her but the fantastic culinary and historic experience that awaits you in this gem of the world. Truly recommend for anyone who loves food, history and a friendly host that can lead the way to a absolutely memorable experience of a lifetime."
“This is our third time to do Suzanne's food tour in Kinsale. This time we also included foraging. i was amazed at the depth of Suzanne's knowledge about the seaweeds and foods that can be found at the beach. The food at the restaurants and food stops was also fabulous. Our group loves doing the food tour, and look forward to it each time we return! Suzanne not only teaches us a lot as she takes you on the food tour, she makes it lots of fun! We can't recommend this tour enough! Yummy food and lots of fun, learning and laughter!”
“MUST DO! An incredible experience in Kinsale. Absolutely wonderful afternoon tasting food of not only outstanding quality, but also impressive quantity! Suzanne was brilliant with thoughtful touches and expert knowledge. Can’t wait to return to Kinsale and go all over again!”
Some of our features on air.
Julia Bradbury with Channel 4 was on a journey around Ireland and worked with Suzanne.
Kinsale Food Tours was featured as part of Discover Ireland's "Shameless Plugs" campaign in the UK and US.
Kinsale Food Tours featured on Ireland AM, a Virgin Media breakfast show.
A little story about the humble potato.
