Caribbean coconut sauce and sea salt are launched

TWO foodie businesses from south Wales launched their products on the second day of the 2019 Royal Welsh Show.

For father-and-daughter team Earl and Charmaine Smikle it was the first time they had ever sold their special Caribbean sauce and seasoning.

The sauce and separate seasoning are sold under the name Earl’s Kitchen and the brand is just a few weeks old.

It is 63-year-old Earl who does all the cooking to make his warmly spiced coconut sauce.

Born in Jamaica, Earl arrived in Cardiff, aged 19, and he started out working in catering on film and TV sets.

In 1992, he bought the Caesars Arms restaurant in Creigiau, where he became famous for his Chicken Barbados and Fishcake Barbados signature dishes.

Since retiring from the catering world, Earl has been making his signature sauce at home in his kitchen in Fairwater, Cardiff.

Halen Dewi, run by 46-yearold Ben Lloyd, is a new company in St Davids, Pembrokeshire, selling sea salt harvested from the pristine waters at nearby Whitesands beach.

Ben was inspired to produce high-quality sea salt without using gas or electricity after what he called a “lightbulb moment” in 2016.

Ben, who also lectures at Pembrokeshire College in Haverfordwest, said: “I set up a makeshift experiment, using an old door and some plastic pipe, and left it out in the sun. When I came back, I had real, actual, salt.”

By autumn 2017, Ben had perfected the art of producing his solar-harvested salt and found it was popular at local delis and markets.