National Geographic Traveller (UK)
A recipe for change
Make a difference and celebrate Wales this year by visiting the shops, farms and cafes of the country’s most resourceful and passionate producers
The Welsh food and drink scene has never been more exciting — and that’s real cause for celebration on St David’s Day. One look at the country’s fertile pastures, forests and vast coastline reveals why: exceptional produce, ingredients sourced with care and an eye for provenance, natural flavours and sustainability. Now producers are putting Wales firmly on the gastro map by foraging and fermenting, farming and fishing, and mixing back-to-the-roots tradition with creative flair. Excelling in everything from single-estate tea to meadow-fed hogget, each of these rising stars has a unique and surprising story to tell. You can order their goods online, but for a true taste of Wales, nothing beats visiting in person. Here are four businesses to watch.
1 WELSH HOMESTEAD SMOKERY, CEREDIGION
Where the gentle, rolling hills of Ceredigion meet the higher peaks of the Cambrian Mountains, Claire and Chris Jesse deliver ‘smoky food magic’ at their small-batch, sustainably minded artisan smokery in the Welsh sticks. Their cold-smoked bacon, beef and lamb, as well as UK-grown smoked chillies, smoked chilli jams and flavoured smoked salts, are full of intense, natural flavours. Book a workshop on their farmstead or visit to learn how to use smoke and fire to cook and preserve.
DON’T MISS: The signature smoked lamb bacon: a miniature rasher of cured lamb, flavoured with Pembrokeshire honey and smoked gently over wood.
TRY IT: The smoked meats feature regularly on the menu at Michelin-starred restaurant Sosban & The Old Butchers on Anglesey. You can also buy the products online and at local delis and food fairs.
welshsmokery.co.uk
2 CRWST, CARDIGAN
In castle-topped Cardigan in west Wales, Osian and Catrin Jones hand-bake and shape artisan breads using traditional methods and pure ingredients: organic Shipton Mill flour, water, salt and organic yeast. Inspired by extensive travels in France, they ditched their day jobs a few years ago to follow their dreams by setting up this micro-bakery and cafe. Brunches make the most of terrific local produce in the likes of creamy truffle mushrooms on sourdough toast with poached egg, Welsh bacon and smashed avocado. But you’ll also want to save room for the cakes and pastries that flake just so.
DON’T MISS: Christmassy cinnamon swirls and zingy lemon-curd doughnuts that taste like summer.
TRY IT: Visit the cafe, bistro and deli in Cardigan to taste the signature breads and warming, flavourful dishes, or order a bakeat-home kit.
crwst.cymru/crwst-cardigan
3
PETERSTON TEA ESTATE, VALE OF GLAMORGAN
It takes guts and foresight to look at the Vale of Glamorgan’s drizzly hills and think ‘tea plantation’. But Lucy George did just that in 2013, when she pinned her aspirations on growing from seed the first handcrafted, single-estate tea in Wales. Using an ethical agroforestry approach, Lucy helped those tiny seeds to bloom into richly aromatic teas. Mellow and smooth, the estate’s single-batch black, green and oolong teas have done phenomenally well at the Great Taste Awards.
DON’T MISS: Pale amber Lloer Moon Oolong tea, with notes of milk chocolate and jammy tropical fruits.
TRY IT: Fortnum & Mason stocks Peterston teas. This year there are plans to open the farm for visits and host courses covering growing, picking and processing.
peterstontea.com
4
PEMBROKESHIRE LAMB
Steve and Kara Lewis hit the ground running when they set up a 100-acre farm in north Pembrokeshire in 2019. Following a slow, conservation-focused ‘fresh is best’ mantra, their meltingly tender Pembrokeshire lamb tastes of the surrounding hills and spring meadows lush with grass, clover and herbs. Sheep are free to graze naturally on their farm, and meat is hung for longer — up to two weeks for hogget and mutton — to develop its full-bodied flavour and texture, then cut by a local award-winning butcher.
DON’T MISS: Well-aged, deep-flavoured hogget shoulder, awarded the Golden Fork at the 2021 Great Taste Awards.
TRY IT: At cafes and restaurants such as the Runwayskiln in coast-hugging Marloes, which regularly features hogget on the menu. The farm’s meats can be bought online or at food fairs like the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham. pembrokeshirelamb.co.uk
For more details on great Welsh producers, see gov.wales/foodanddrinkwales. For recipes, see gov.wales/foodanddrink/about-us/recipes. #CaruCymruCaruBlas #LoveWalesLoveTaste campaign