Part 2: Awakening The Giant Spirit Through Food & Drink

Define your story

Food & drink are inextricably linked to our natural heritage, green fields, coasts and lakes. Making connections through food & drink will help visitors develop a taste of place.

Help visitors develop a deeper understanding through stories of your own traditions and personal connection with Northern Ireland. What is unique and distinctive about your location, produce or process?

Do you have photographs or equipment that tell the story of your farm or produce to display? Can you share insights on traditions or processes, has technology advanced how you work or are you rooted in tradition?

What is your own personal passion and how can you become a local legend?
Show visitors that you care about the community in which you live. Be authentic, welcoming and unforgettable!

Creating an unforgettable experience

Showcasing what you do does not have to involve a lot of expense and is a great way to experience hosting visitors.

Delivering an experience does not have to be a year round commitment. Start small, perhaps evenings and weekends and build upon creating more regular opportunities for visitor interactions. Set goals for income and footfall so that you can measure performance.

Create opportunities for visitors to participate. Think about how you can offer visitors an opportunity to do something extraordinary that they won’t forget.

Be weatherproof!

Connect with others

Your ingredients and produce may form part of a wider food story. Create local ambassadors and storytellers who share your passion. Tellers of your food story may include:

• Food retailers & speciality shops
• Chefs, cooks & bakers
• Accommodation providers
• Hospitality staff
• Event & festival organisers
• Food network & trail partners

Ingredients with identity

Focus on the uniqueness of your product to give it stand out in a crowded marketplace.

It is not just offering fresh, locally sourced food but more importantly, sharing the story behind the produce. Focus on the combinations that deliver a memorable story that won’t be forgotten!

Add value to your products by creating a visitor experience that connects your artisan produce. You not only have a product; you have a story to tell.

Artisans at work

Can you offer an enhanced experience to visitors by communicating the traditions that surround your food & drink story, and your connection with Northern Ireland?

Why only sell produce in stores or at markets when you can invite visitors to attend a workshop or demo?

Story of the producer

Visitors like to ‘meet the maker’ who shows passion and shares enthusiasm. Let visitors know about your motivations and your love of food. Share the pioneering inventiveness of Northern Ireland, how did you learn your craft and from whom? Create depth and add personality to your story.

Promote your place

How can your story connect visitors more strongly to our landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes? Ensure your experience is rooted in your local area and pair your food with stories of culture and heritage. Focus attention on your local environment. Immerse visitors in the location and bring it to life.

Pioneering passion

Artisans distinguish themselves by their passion for producing top quality food. Tell visitors about your passion for what you do, for the craft and for the end product.

A spirit of tradition

Distilleries, breweries and orchards reflect our people, history and traditions that rely on centuries-old recipes that have been achieved and perfected by previous generations.

Provenance, sustainability and storytelling behind the liquid is becoming the norm. Whether your visitors are complete beginners or aficionados, find ways to surprise and delight by reflecting on the people and processes that make the drinks.

Beyond the bottle

In a crowded marketplace, visitors need an emotional reason to connect with our drinks and spirits. How can you deliver a compelling story with spirit at the heart of your visitor experience?

Whether you are hosting visitors in a state-of-the art facility or an intimate setting, develop one of a kind experiences where visitors can better understand and appreciate our strong traditions that create our award- winning drinks and spirits.

For visitors thirsting for knowledge about the processes and the role of grain farming, tell them how their drinks are made.

Craft your experience

As well as a tour, experiences can be enhanced with cocktail making demonstrations, blending workshops and hand labelling and bottling. For the more bespoke experience, invite visitors to create their own brews, spirits and mementos.

Don’t forget to promote exclusives, rare collections and items they won’t see anywhere else.

As well as a tour, let visitors know where they can buy your products during the rest of their stay and where they can purchase it when they get home.

Sharpen your skills

Today’s visitors are seeking hands-on experiences that deliver added benefits such as learning a new skill or recipe.

Allow visitors to sharpen their blades and test and tweak recipes under expert guidance. Take a story-based approach that reflects the food story of Northern Ireland by focusing on local food and ingredients.

A sense of place

Share your own particular relationship with the dishes you love to create.
What foods do you associate with your childhood and do you have generational recipes, stories and techniques to share?

Don’t just know the story, tell the story of the ingredients and have the confidence to inform your visitors. Don’t just talk about the food, talk about the farmers and producers that supply it.

Forge new connections

Working collaboratively with your local tourism businesses could be the key to success. Partner with others to deliver a foodie experience like no other! Today’s visitor likes the sense of immersion from taking part in an activity.
Catch and cook, chocolate making workshops and orchard baking experiences are on the rise. Pair the love of food & drink with a water or land based activity to whet the appetite for adventure.

Memories of a Giant Spirt experience

Consider producing a recipe book based on authentic dishes and collaborate with local suppliers and talent to add depth and interest. Coming home with a local recipe and new memories is the best souvenir!

Off the eaten track

Food tours are not only about the food & drink, they should be a learning experience that uncovers and celebrates our local produce, products and talent.

Make it memorable with a well- balanced itinerary and showcase the best eateries, local gems and authentic food & drink that won’t be found anywhere else. Explore new methods of transportation including bicycle, bus, kayaking or canoeing.

Can you include participation? Learn how to make a cocktail, forage for lunch or perfect that Irish coffee. Keep it interesting and connected to your narrative.

Timing is everything, consider your stops and what you are serving, visitors want to leave satisfied but not full! Consider comfort breaks, toilets and reserved seating.

Will the chef be available to meet with the group or will the producer be on hand to weave in stories to add authenticity?

Pay attention and respond to the needs of your visitors. Evaluate, listen and tailor the itinerary accordingly. It is also important to have back up suppliers and venues in the event of a cancellation.

Contact with local people

Share your story, why did you start delivering food & drink tours and what is unique about your experience? Storytelling and atmosphere is as important as the food & drink. Keep it relatable to Northern Ireland, the region, town or village. Talk about how the history and culture has shaped food & drink and include stories of local people, past and present.

Integrate the wider story of Northern Ireland and ensure your guides are experienced to talk about the wider destination and what it has to offer.

Who are your key partners and storytellers? Collaborate with others that share your passion and bring business to like-minded businesses.

Connecting with nature

To forage is to get outside and explore. Urban or rural, highlight the food that is growing around us to make connections between the environment and the food on our plates.

Discover diverse landscapes of Northern Ireland and have your senses enlivened by the elements. Make it sensory - touch, taste and smell. Guides must be more than experts and must have the ability to deliver rich and authentic storytelling.

Head back to nature and engage the senses. Foraging experiences give visitors the opportunity to truly connect with the nature of Northern Ireland. Our urban spaces, gardens, forests, green fields and coastlines have a big role to play too.

Experiencing the elements

Foraging experiences are a great way to get out and investigate your surroundings. Whether in the sea or on the shore, make the most of our natural larder!

Consider a seasonal programme of foraging walks and activities that will appeal to beginners, families, and those with an advanced knowledge of wild edibles.

Develop a range of courses that can be enjoyed throughout the year. Translate your expertise into an individual story of seasonal and local food that grows in Northern Ireland.

What is safe to eat? Even for those with knowledge and experience, it can be hard to know so educate and inform. Create a reference book of the wild edibles and create a visual that helps visitors identify them. Producing a quality copy as a keepsake can be a source of revenue.

Sharing our secrets

Enhance the experience by providing a picnic of foraged ingredients or cook a lunch or dinner to enjoy in natural surroundings.

Produce a recipe book based on wild ingredients and collaborate with local cooks and chefs to host events and unique experiences.