Llancaiach Fawr rings the changes with new chef and delicious menu
IT HAS been a busy but exciting time to be part of the catering team at Llancaiach Fawr Manor. Chef Caroline Owens started in November and certainly hit the ground running! By the end of her first week she had already cooked delicious meals for the cafe visitors, conference delegates and wedding guests!
This was all good preparation for December, which is always a crazy time, with fully-booked Christmas carveries, party nights and Christmas fairs on top of the usual busy conference and cafe business!
Visitors will have noticed a change in the style of meals served as Caroline’s fantastic new menus have gradually been introduced. All of the dishes are created using fresh, locally-sourced, Welsh ingredients.
Examples of some of the mouthwatering specials include Colliers Welsh cheddar and leek tartlet; salmon, prawn and cod in a white wine sauce with cheddar mash, or hand-cut chips and peas, and pan-fried breast of chicken with roasted vegetables and sweet-chilli dressing. Each of the dishes cost between £5.50 and £7.
The Sunday carveries have also been updated and new desserts introduced, including an amazing nom nom peanut-butter tartlet and an apricot and mixed-fruit bread and butter pudding.
Guests have given lovely feedback. Kate and Trevor Bulpitm from Southampton visited on January 29, and said: “Beautiful house, wonderful tour and a great Sunday lunch.” Mr Harding, who visited on January 20, said: “Really enjoyed the visit. Caroline in the kitchen excelled in her customer service, she is special and a credit”.
Caroline is from Blackwood and studied catering at Ystrad Mynach College. She spent time studying pastry skills in a hotel in Ireland before working in prestigious Cardiff restaurants and hotels, including Gilbys Culverhouse Cross, Churchills Hotel in Llandaff and Metropolis Restaurant which held two AA Rosettes.
Caroline said she is delighted to join the Llancaiach Fawr Manor family and is looking forward to reinventing the wedding menu and putting together pop-up restaurant evenings with dishes using produce direct from the gardens on site.