Application to participate in Taste Trail @ Dingle Food Festival 2026

The Dingle Food Festival returns on

Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd, and Sunday 4th October 2026! 

This year’s festival promises another lively celebration of local food, with a town-wide Taste Trail, masterclasses, tastings, street and children's entertainment, and special menus in local restaurants.

Completion of this form is mandatory for businesses to be included on the Taste Trail in 2026 / Caithfear an foirm seo a chomhlíonadh le bheith páirteach sa Taste Trail i 2026.

ALL parts of this forms MUST be completed
CAITHFEAR GACH páirt don bhfoirm a chomhlíonadh

🚨 General Terms & Conditions – 2026 🚨
THE TASTE TRAIL – A KEY PART OF THE FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE
The Taste Trail is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the very best of your business to thousands of visitors exploring Dingle during the Food Festival.

A positive Taste Trail experience can introduce your business to new customers, encourage repeat visits and highlight the quality and variety of Dingle’s food and hospitality offering. We ask all participants to provide a high-quality experience that represents both their own business and the festival positively.

By submitting an application, you agree to comply with the following 2026 Taste Trail terms and conditions.

🎟️ TASTE TRAIL TICKETS, PRICING & VALUE
Taste Trail tickets will cost €4 each in 2026. A book of five tickets will cost visitors €23, with €3 from each book contributing towards the running costs of the festival.

All participating businesses must:

Provide a good-quality one-ticket offering valued at €4
Clearly display the number of tickets required for each offering
Limit all Taste Trail offerings to a maximum of two tickets (€8)
Accept Taste Trail tickets only for advertised Taste Trail offerings
Ensure all staff are familiar with and follow the ticket system
The mandatory one-ticket offering will be reviewed during the application process to ensure it represents suitable quality and value for money. Taste Trail offerings may also be reviewed during and after the festival.

Any business providing an offering priced above two tickets will not have the tickets associated with that offering cashed out by the festival.

💶 CASH PAYMENTS
Cash must not be accepted as payment for advertised Taste Trail offerings.

The Taste Trail ticket system is essential to funding and operating the festival. Any business found to be accepting cash instead of Taste Trail tickets may not have its tickets cashed out.

Please ensure that all owners, managers and staff working during the festival weekend are fully aware of this requirement.

🌍 SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE – 2026 UPDATE
Visitors will be encouraged through a major promotional campaign to bring their own reusable bowls, plates or containers.

For visitors who do not bring their own container, the festival will operate a reusable stainless-steel plate scheme. The new 23cm stainless-steel plates will replace the reusable bowls used during the 2024 and 2025 festivals.

The festival will have approximately 3,000 stainless-steel plates in circulation.

All participating businesses must:

Ensure their Taste Trail offering can be served directly on a 23cm stainless-steel plate
Provide wooden cutlery and compostable napkins where required
Avoid unnecessary single-use packaging wherever possible
You may need to consider pre-portioned items or serving food on parchment or compostable napkins to allow for easy transfer onto the plates.

For assistance in planning your offering around the new plate system, please contact Martin on 087 917 7700.

🍺 ALCOHOL
Alcohol may only be sold or served from a premises holding a valid alcohol licence.

All alcohol offerings must comply with applicable licensing requirements and may be subject to review or verification by An Garda Síochána.

📣 EARLY PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Businesses that submit their completed Taste Trail application before 1 September 2026 may be considered for inclusion in our early promotional campaign.

Selected businesses may receive:

A visit from the festival’s social media team
Content featuring their business and Taste Trail offering
Collaborative posts across the festival’s social media channels
Inclusion in early online maps and promotional materials
The earlier your application is submitted, the greater the opportunity for us to promote your business and your Taste Trail offering ahead of the festival.

♻️ REUSABLE CUPS
Businesses serving coffee, tea, alcohol or other drinks are encouraged to participate in the regional reusable cup initiative.

Further information and ordering details are available at:

https://reusablecups.tenvito.com

💚 SUPPORTING THE FESTIVAL
Dingle Food Festival is an independent, volunteer-led festival. Taste Trail ticket income is essential to covering the significant costs involved in organising and delivering the event.

By following these requirements, you are helping to protect the future of the festival and ensuring that the Taste Trail remains enjoyable, accessible and sustainable for visitors and participating businesses alike.

Thank you for being a vital part of what makes Dingle Food Festival so special.

The Taste Trail is an excellent opportunity for the town’s wonderful businesses to showcase a taste of what they have to offer to both locals and tourists alike. With so many people in town for the festival, this is your chance to highlight your food, drink, produce, or premises — all through a small sample of what you do best.

This year, each ticket will be €4. This €4 offering as part of the Taste Trail is exactly that — a taste of what you do best.

A 1 Ticket option is mandatory in order to be included on the Taste Trail.

An 2 ticket option is completely up to you, but it is not mandatory.

Disclaimer / Séanadh

Please note that if multiple outlets offer the same or similar items, you may be asked to change your offering.
Tabhair fé ndeara: má tá an rogha céanna á ofráil ag cúpla ionad, b’fhéidir go bhfiafrófaí duit do tháirge a athrú.

 Alcohol

• Dingle Food Festival does not allow, endorse or advertise alcohol being served on non licenced premises,
• Any alcohol tastings at non Licenced Premises must be agreed with the Dingle Food Festival beforehand,
• Non Compliance with these strict rules will be a matter between the Operator, and Garda Siochana and Customs
• Any deviation from this will be between the operator and An Garda Siochana.

Taste Trail Portion Capacity

• Agreeing to take part in the Taste Trail means you will endeavour to have enough food for both days (if agreed to do both).
• You must have sufficient stock to meet demand.
• It is suggested that you prepare approximately 1,000 portions per day, as the Taste Trail is very busy.

Taste Trail Opening Times

• Please try to open on time on the days you have advertised.
• Opening earlier or later is welcome — please advise the festival team in advance.

Reason for the Taste Trail

• This event is the town’s "Foodie Destination Showcase" of the year.
• It highlights our food and drink businesses to visitors.
• We aim to leave a strong impression and bring tourists back throughout the year.
• Please offer your best food and a great experience.

Taste Trail Signage

• Please put a clear sign or blackboard outside to advertise your offering and opening times.

HACCP

• You must have a HACCP plan in place , the EHO will receive all taste trail entries in advance and will call to a selection to inspect.

Taste Tickets and Fee

• Participation in the Taste Trail costs €120, which will be deducted from your payout.

• The date and time of the Taste Ticket payout will be announced in due course.

• Taste Tickets will be redeemed via bank transfer.

• Due to bank daily transfer limits, completion of all payouts may take up to 10 days.

Taste Trail structures

• Outdoor fixed structures and not permitted , do provide some seating for people to eat at, but it may need to be moved quickly in an emergency.

The festival does not just happen!

It requires numerous volunteers in the lead up to help organise the logistics and also requires a large number of volunteers on the weekend itself to ensure the smooth running of the festival.

If you or a staff member could spare a few hours over the festival weekend it would be greatly appreciated!
Or if you know of anyone who would like to volunteer please tell them to get in touch - with more volunteers the time needed from everyone on the weekend can be kept to a minimum! The more the merrier!