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Irish Times

Bougie picnic: Up your al fresco game with quality bites and minimal fuss

Planning a picnic? Why settle for limp sandwiches and basic bites? Elevate your al fresco game with these brilliant and, yes, a little bougie, treats that are guaranteed to impress this summer. Snack plates Heart-shaped crackers, from Isle of Crackers Forget balancing a charcuterie board on your blanket; this summer, it's all about snack plates, a more curated way to serve picky bites. Cheese is key: burrata, smoky Goudas, creamy blues. Pair them with fresh seasonal fruits. Figs, grapes, plums or ripe peaches with that oozy burrata. Perelló olives, available from Toonsbridge burrata Add posh, plump olives, fancy nuts like marcona almonds, crusty bread or gourmet crackers. Arrange on a big, cool plate in sections or clusters, mixing savoury and sweet. Drizzle with local honey or single-estate olive oil. Focus on texture and colour. Use Instagram for inspiration. It's meant to look effortless and chic, even if it has almost bankrupted you. Toons Bridge Dairy Burrata Isle of Crackers Heart-shaped crackers Perelló olives Bagels Galway Bay Bakery bagels Bagels are back and perfect for picnics. Think proper chewy NYC-style bagels from local bakeries such as Galway Bay Bakery (which delivers nationwide) or Dublin's Fat Baby Bakes. For your schmear (cream cheese), skip the usual Philadelphia and opt for something Irish instead. Foodies in the know will swap the smoked salmon for smoked rainbow trout – unless you can get hold of wild Irish salmon, that is. Galway Bay Bakery Bagels Sally Barnes Wild Irish Salmon Killowen Cream Cheese Crisps Blanco Niño, corn tortilla chips from Co Tipperary No matter how fancy you plan it, no picnic will ever be complete without crisps. A sandy feed of Tayto on the beach is what most of us were reared on, and a classic cheese and onion is, of course, still a perfectly appropriate picnic crisp, but these days, there are so many other exciting options to try. You'll never go wrong with O'Donnell's Sweet Chilli flavour, but a new favourite for me this year is their crinkly crisps, the Furrows Classic Prawn Cocktail. Keogh's Chorizo & Cherry Tomato goes very well with a few slices of cheese. Chips and dips are a great idea. I love to pair Blanco Niño, corn tortilla chips made in Tipperary, with a delicious ranch dip. Generally, I've little time for a plain salted crisp, but when I'm feeling a bit extra, and want to serve up some sour cream and caviar with crisps, then the plainer the better. Blanco Niño Creamy Jalapeño Dunnes Stores Simply Better Handmade Buttermilk Ranch Dip Keogh's Irish Atlantic Sea Salt Goatsbridge Trout Caviar Spritz Mixing a cocktail with Valentia Island Vermouth. Photograph: Joleen Cronin For outdoor summery drinks, spritz is still where it's at, but skip the sticky Aperol and instead seek out the slick canned selection from Dublin Cocktail Lab. For 'swicy' (sweet and spicy) fans, try the Chilli Rita or Habanero & Lemongrass Spritz, with a no-alcohol version too. Purple Haze offers coconut and cardamom gin spritz with piña colada vibes. They also stock White Box cocktails – classics in cute cans. Whiskey Hi-Ball, from Dublin Cocktail Lab If you want to mix your own drinks, look out for Irish-made Valentia Island Vermouth. Poured over ice and topped off with Poacher's thyme tonic water and a slice of orange, this makes for an excellent, effervescent, relatively low-alcohol sip that's perfect for picnicking. Dublin Cocktail Lab Valentia Island Vermouth Poachers Tonic