Cress we can
Primary schools can now apply for free Grow It Yourself (GIY) and Innocent Big Grow packs, the seventh annual growing initiative aimed at getting kids to learn about food and grow their own. This year the pupils will learn how to grow peas, cress and spinach. Each pack includes enough soil, pots and seeds for a class of 30 along with a growing kit and advice for cooking the produce. The “most engaged” school will win a trip for the class to Bloom festival and to Dublin Zoo, plus €500 of gardening equipment. There are runner-up prizes of a €300 and a €200 GIY voucher. innocentbiggrow.com
Pot luck
Arran Street East, the Dublin pottery studio, is hosting a series of monthly slow-cooking workshops by the food journalist and author Aoife McElwain. They commence on February 24, running from 10am to 2pm, and the fee of €120 per person includes the workshop, a light breakfast and lunch cooked by McElwain herself. There’s a workshop every month until July. Places are limited. arranstreeteast.ie
Hops to it
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Guinness has launched a new non-alcoholic (NA) beer — its first since it produced Kaliber back in 1986. The Open Gate Pure Brew is a full flavoured, 0.5% ABV lager, described by the head brewer John Casey as “hoppy with lots of fruity aromas, a nice hint of citrus flavour, and a smooth, malty finish”. Taste tests, the brewing giant claims, showed that seven people out of 10 didn’t manage to guess that Open Gate Pure Brew was a NA beer. It comes in 330ml bottles and is now available in roughly 250 pubs throughout Dublin city, but will be rolled out nationwide in March. guinnessopengate.com
Release the Kraken
Owners of the Exchequer have marked the Dublin 2 hotspot’s eighth anniversary with a new-look interior and revamped cocktail menu. The Black Pearl combines Kraken spiced rum with chargrilled pineapple, fresh lime and a pinch of charcoal to produce its distinctive colour. theexchequer.ie
Soiree in the Strand
Limerick Strand’s Love Food and Wine soiree, taking place on February 9, is a four-course wine tasting dinner served in the hotel’s AA rosette-winning River Restaurant. Guests can enjoy Currachase pork belly and Skeaghanore duck with wine. Tickets cost €39. strandlimerick.ie
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Fallon in love
Treat your loved one to a slap-up Valentine’s Day meal at Fallon & Byrne’s busy Exchequer Street restaurant, where the pre-theatre dinner menu (two courses for €25.95 and three courses for €29.95) is available all evening on February 14. fallonandbyrne.com