Living Learning in Action - TU Dublin Students Transform Airfield Estate into a Sustainable Culinary Showcase
TU Dublin’s practice-based approach to education was in full bloom this week as students of the BA (Hons) in Botanical Cuisine culminated their studies with an immersive, sustainability-driven performance assessment like no other. Held in the vibrant and dynamic grounds of Airfield Estate, the event served as a ‘living thesis’, highlighting the power of applied learning, collaboration, and creativity.
This annual end-of-year showcase challenges students not only to cook but to create, curate, and project manage an original, immersive dining experience for a live audience of industry patrons, programme collaborators, academic examiners, and invited guests. It is a hallmark of TU Dublin’s commitment to experiential, real-world learning that integrates sustainability and innovation with culinary artistry.
This year’s theme, "Athrú", meaning change in Irish, invited attendees to rethink the culinary landscape and reconsider perceptions of Irish cuisine. Rooted in a plant-forward ethos, the event celebrated local ingredients, global influences, and zero-waste philosophies. Dishes and paired botanical drinks drew on Irish traditions while integrating innovative, sustainable techniques from around the world. From the group’s outdoor learning garden to specially curated spaces across the estate, each course told a story of memory, culture, and transformation through food.
The programme’s values, respect for the earth, commitment to sustainability, and creativity in culinary expression, were further embodied in the announcement of the Charles Michel Interpreting the Earth Award, an annual creative challenge in food sustainability. This year’s award went to Nicola Kenny of McNally’s Organic Farm, whose work compellingly reflected the programme’s impact on her personal and professional food philosophy.
The Botanical Cuisine programme (TU941) is a unique add-on honours degree for chefs and other professionals passionate about sustainability and food. Through hands-on learning, interdisciplinary thinking, and deep engagement with food systems, it empowers students to become leaders in the future of food.
As this year’s students demonstrated, learning at TU Dublin is not confined to classrooms. It grows in gardens, it’s plated in kitchens, and it’s shared in conversations around the table, shaping a more sustainable, thoughtful, and delicious future for Irish cuisine and beyond.