IRELAND WITH AKASHA
MAY 26 - JUNE 5, 2025
$12,500
JOIN AKASHA RICHMOND ON THIS EXCLUSIVE SMALL GROUP GUIDED TOUR - ONLY 2 SEATS LEFT!!
When LA-based chef Akasha Richmond first visited Ireland, she was blown away by the incredible cuisine. Long known for her passion for seasonal, sustainable food, Ireland seemed to be the world’s best kept culinary secret. We’re thrilled to partner with chef Akasha to showcase her favorite restaurants, artisanal experiences, and activities on a ten night tour. We’ll stay at the best hotels, dine at Akasha’s favorite spots, enjoy the fresh country air, and engage in activities like foraging, making butter, and kayaking under the stars. There will also be plenty of pub time and opportunities to listen to Irish music throughout the trip. Join us for an unforgettable cultural and culinary adventure!
ABOUT OUR CO-HOST
CHEF AKASHA RICHMOND
Akasha Richmond settled into the life of a chef quite by accident and has flourished in this role to become one of Los Angeles's celebrated culinary names. She started her career as a private chef and caterer, and worked many years as a private chef to Michael Jackson. She eventually opened AKASHA, her first restaurant venture which she opened in 2008 with her husband Alan Schulman.
Akasha is inspired by world cuisine and has traveled to India, Southeast Asia, North Africa, Italy, Portugal, Eastern and Western Europe, and Mexico. The menu at AKASHA reflects her love of global flavors. She has since created and led small culinary and cultural tours of India and Italy, curating unique itineraries for the bespoke traveler. Along with her travels, Akasha's cooking is an expression of her upbringing amongst two passionate cooks, one American and one Russian, who taught her both how to follow a recipe and how to follow her nose, taste, and memory to create an exceptional dish.
She has been featured in Food & Wine and has acted as a guest editor for Vegetarian Times. She lends her time and expertise to groups such as Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, Share Our Strength, local Culver City organizations and more. She has appeared on The Food Network (The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Top 5 Restaurants), Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, and nationwide news programs.
SAMPLE ITINERARY
DAY 1
Our trip begins on Monday morning in Dublin, where we’ll gather with our fellow travelers and hit the road heading south. En route to Ballymaloe House, the mecca of the Irish food scene, we’ll stop at an artisan bread bakery to learn about how the best bread is made with local heritage wheat. The sourdough bread tradition predates soda bread by hundreds of years, and we’ll enjoy a light lunch here before heading to Ballymaloe.
DAY 2
For our first full day together, we’ll explore East Cork. In the morning, we’ll get a tour of the incredible organic gardens at Ballymaloe Cookery School before taking a tour of a local (and world famous!) whiskey distillery. Next, we’ll head to lunch at the English Market and a little shopping in Cork. Tonight’s dinner will be a multi-course vegetarian feast at one of the city’s best restaurants.
DAY 3
After a delicious breakfast, we’ll bid farewell to Ballymaloe and head to West Cork, the food artisan capital of Ireland. We’ll spend the first part of the day in a gorgeous seaside town, where we’ll take a historical walking tour and maybe save time for a little more shopping. Our next hotel, Liss Ard, is truly a delight—it overlooks a lake and is nestled within 168 acres of gardens. We’ll dine in a neighboring village, where our chef—a transplant from Cornwall—will treat us to a bountiful dinner featuring hyperlocal produce, meat, and fish. And then after dinner, we’ll have the option of a nighttime kayaking experience on a local bioluminescent salt water lake.
DAY 4
Today is an opportunity to sleep in after last night’s late night activity. Take a walk on the estate, or enjoy a morning at the hotel spa. Lunch is included in our afternoon walking tour, where our guide will regale us with local folklore as we travel along the Cork coastline. After our walk, we’ll visit a local fish smoker at her smokery, where we’ll have the opportunity to learn all about the Irish fishing industry and the smoking process and participate in making our dinner together. This experience is sure to be a highlight of the trip.
DAY 5
We’ll spend most of the day learning the traditional craft of butter making from a chef who has dedicated his life to preserving the traditional ways of making food. Later on tonight, we’re all in for a treat when we visit a nearby two Michelin star restaurant—one of our favorites for its warmth, hospitality, and incredible food. Another highlight of our trip!
DAY 6
Saturday is farmer’s market day! En route to our next destination, we’ll have the opportunity to visit a couple of West Cork’s best markets. This afternoon is all about seaweed! We will have a family style lunch, with all dishes will be prepared with seaweed in some form, and then we will take a seaweed foraging walk along the County Kerry coast. We’ll spend the next two nights at the Killarney Park Hotel in Killarney town, so be sure to take advantage of the pub scene and the incredible Killarney National Park, adjacent to downtown. It’s a real treasure.
DAY 7
We’ll visit the charming village of Dingle today, stopping en route into town for an exclusive peek at a solar-powered sea salt operation on the peninsula. Seafood for lunch is a must in this fishing village, as is a pint at the iconic Dick Mack’s. We’ll take the scenic route back to Killarney, driving along Slea Head, stopping to see the beehive huts and anything else that strikes our fancy. Dinner on this evening is at our hotel’s Michelin-recommended restaurant.
DAY 8
Today, we continue north on the Wild Atlantic Way, bound for Gregans Castle Hotel in the Burren, in County Clare, where we will spend the final three nights of the tour. On our way out of Killarney, we’ll take a tour of a 19th century mansion with beautiful, manicured gardens and a working farm. Next, we’ll visit one of Akasha’s favorite Irish cheese shops, followed by a visit to a working goat farm which produces the best goat cheeses on the island. After taking some time to settle at another garden oasis hotel, we’ll hit the coast for a low key seafood dinner.
DAY 9
We’ll visit an oyster farm on Galway Bay today, where we’ll learn about the life cycle of these precious shellfish as well as what it takes to run a multi-generational family farm. Then we’ll enjoy all the oysters we can eat paired with local beers as we enjoy the coastal view. Later this afternoon, we will take a ferry cruise to see the Cliffs of Moher—the most spectacular view of the iconic cliffs is the one from the sea! Dinner on this evening is at our hotel—one of Akasha’s favorites—and sure to be another highlight of our time together.
DAY 10
Our last full day together—where does the time go?! In the morning, we’ll go for a leisurely hike in the Burren with our guide, a natural born storyteller who comes from a seventh generation farming family. Lunch today is at a restaurant with the best fish and chips on the island! We’ll celebrate our time together over dinner at a new Michelin starred restaurant before heading back to our hotel for a nightcap.
The itinerary above is the current plan, and things may change. We will make every effort to provide the tours and experiences that are described. However, the nature of the places we’ll be visiting — not typical tourist destinations — means that things can change at the last minute.
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
Incredible, responsibly-sourced food, including all breakfasts and most lunches and dinners; private transportation; private tours with local guides & experts; behind-the-scenes visits with artisanal producers, farmers, & chefs; exclusive access and tastings; hands-on cooking & foraging experiences; guided activities & adventures; Bog & Thunder guides at your disposal for the duration of the trip; unique, 5 star hotel accommodations.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED?
International airfare; transportation to trip’s starting point; food & beverage not specifically included in itinerary; hotel incidentals; alcoholic beverages not specifically included in itinerary; personal spending money; gratuity for tour leaders or local guides.
“GOD MADE FOOD, THE DEVIL THE COOKS”
J A M E S J O Y C E