Try thai Asian food markets are great places to shop for authentic ingredients, as well as being cheaper than supermarkets when you're stocking up on rice, sauces and pastes.
But some of the produce is hard to identify. If you've wondered what those exotic vegetables were, considered plucking a fierce-looking fish from the freezer section or found yourself not knowing which soy sauce to pick, help is at hand. Executive chef Taweesak Trakoolwattana (left), better known as Tao, from Saba restaurant on Clarendon Street in Dublin 2, is demystifying Thai cooking for participants in the latest of Eveleen and Pamela Coyle's Fabulous Food Trails. The Thai trail begins with a traditional breakfast, after which Tao will demonstrate how to cook a range of dishes. After that it's off to Asia Market, where Tao will answer queries and point out the best ingredients and brands. There will also be advice on what to use if an authentic ingredient isn't available. Finally, you can put your taste buds to the test at lunch in Saba. The cost is €150, including breakfast, lunch and a recipe pack. The next trail is on November 1st; others follow on November 12th, 15th and 29th and December 6th; 01-4971245, www.fabulousfoodtrails.ie. Marie-Claire Digby
Tapas time The menus in more than a dozen Dublin restaurants, including Mint, Itsa4, King Sitric, Brasserie na Mara and Beaufield Mews, take on an Iberian flavour this week, when the capital's inaugural Tapas Week (October 23rd-29th) gets under way. The tapas will supplement existing menus; no doubt the ubiquitous tortilla will make an appearance, but perhaps not as we know it. "There are as many potato omelettes as there are Spaniards, and each thinks his is the best," Spanish chef and lecturer Gabriela Llamas González de Amezúa told chefs who took part in a recent tapas masterclass at the school of culinary arts and food technology at DIT. Further information on participating restaurants from 01-6779901. Marie-Claire Digby