The Cywain stand at next week’s Royal Welsh Winter Fair (November 30th – December 1st) will be a veritable cornucopia of Welsh food and drink encompassing both land and sea.
The Food Hall at the Winter Fair is a magnet for visitors, and provides an important festive shop-window for Welsh food and drink producers.
Seven small and up and coming food producers will be featured in the Food Hall under the auspices of Cywain – a project created to bring added value to primary produce within the agriculture sector.
DAY 1
Four companies will take to the Cywain stand on the first day of the Winter Fair (Monday) – Gwaun Valley Meats, Casa Del Cymru, Mostyn Kitchen Garden and Teifiside Beekeepers Association.
Gwaun Valley Meats is an artisan butchers in the heart of Pembrokeshire, supplying meat and poultry which it sources locally, and from across Wales.
Currently in its 15th year of trading the family-run business operates from its shop in Letterston and on-line at www.gwaunvalleymeats.co.uk
The company has been working with Cywain on a box scheme, and visitors to the Winter Fair will see samples of Christmas boxes containing turkey, bacon and ham, which may then be ordered online.
Specialists in bacon and gammon, these meats will be available to buy at the stand as will cooked and honey roast ham, and delicious homemade Turkey & Cranberry Pies.
For sale on the stand too will be Pembrokeshire Heathland Beef. Gwaun Valley Meats is the sole supplier for the beef, which is produced by a group of farmers working with the National Trust.
Casa Del Cymru combines the flavours of Wales and Italy to create delicious and an innovative pasta and ravioli.
Husband and wife team Simon and Gina Sarracini Pope use the best ingredients Wales has to offer to make their pasta, and take recipe inspiration from Gina’s Italian ancestry.
Llechryd based Casa Del Cymru will be selling a number of pastas at the Winter Fair including: Wild Swansea Salmon Red Pepper & Dill Ravioli in a Spinach Pasta, Perl Las Chives & Walnut Ravioli in a Carrot Pasta, Chorizo Coriander & Riccota Ravioli in a Beetroot Pasta, and Cardigan Bay Crab Mascarpone & Lime Ravioli in a Squid Ink Pasta.
Spinach & Cracked Black Pepper Pasta, Beetroot & Roasted Garlic Pasta, and Carrot & Citrus Pasta will also be available to buy along with hot pots of ravioli and ‘Nanna’s Sauce’ for visitors who fancy a snack on the go.
Mostyn Kitchen Garden is a social enterprise located in the grounds of Mostyn Hall in Flintshire.
Hundreds of people from across the local community are involved in the garden, which has enabled volunteer groups and individuals enjoy and experience growing fruit and vegetables.
Now, with Cywain’s help, Mostyn Kitchen Garden is turning the fruits of its labours into delicious jams, pickles and preserves – a flavour of which will be for sale at the Winter Fair.
Delicious extra jams include Raspberry, Strawberry, Blackcurrant, Rhubarb, Gooseberry, and Mixed Berries. While Runner Beans, Tomatoes and Red Onions from the garden are turned into wonderful chutneys.
Also available at Llanelwedd will be Pickled Chillies and a number of limited edition preserves – just some of over 200 different crops grown in the two and a half acre Kitchen Garden.
www.facebook.com/Mostyn-Kitchen-Garden
Celebrating its 75th anniversary year, Teifiside Beekeepers Association will be taking to the Cywain stand with a range of honey and bee products.
Based between Coed y Bryn and Maesllyn where it has a teaching apiary, Teifiside Beekeepers Association has 60 members drawn from its core area – Fishguard in the south, Aberaeron in the North and Llanybydder in the East.
The Association has been working with the Cywain Bee project, and at the Winter Fair will be selling hand-dipped beeswax candles and a variety of honey, including – cut comb, chunk, set, and liquid honey.
There will also be the opportunity to buy hampers featuring honey and preserves and chocolates made with honey – ideal for Christmas and all made in west Wales.
DAY 2
One the second day of the Winter Fair it will be the turn of Cardigan Bay Fish, Vale Cider, and Mrs O’s Kitchen to wow the crowds.
A taste of the sea will be brought to the stand with an array of fresh seafood courtesy of Cardigan Bay Fish, who will also be doing a cooking demonstration in the Food Hall at 11.30am.
Run by Len and Mandy Walters, the Cardigan-based business will be selling a selection of their catch including dressed and potted crab, and lobster. Mandy cooks, prepares and sells much of the catch.
The family-run enterprise fishes lobster all year-round, and depending on the season, adds spider crabs, bass, mackerel and scallops to their catch. Also in the spring and summer Len and son Aaron – who both hold special licences – fish the River Teifi for sewin and salmon.
With Cywain support they are developing ways to add value to their catch and establishing outlets in their region.
It is only a few months since family-run craft cider maker, Vale Cider, made its first foray into the commercial world by selling its cider at the Vale of Glamorgan Show.
Now with Cywain’s help the company, which makes Medium Sweet and Medium Dry bottled ciders from the apples grown in its own orchards, will be taking the leap and selling direct to visitors at the Winter Fair.
The Craddock family grow more than 20 varieties of apples in their orchards, including specialist cider apples Dabinett, Kingston Black and Yarlington Mill.
While beehives sited around the orchard help with pollination of the trees and also provide honey, which is used to make Vale Mulled Cider Punch.
A delicious blend of Vale Cider, Vale Apple Juice and eight spices the Mulled Cider Punch will also be on sale at the Winter Fair along with festive cider gift boxes.
Among the sweet delights from Vale of Glamorgan baker Mrs O’s Kitchen will be its 3 star Great Taste Award-winning Carrot Cake.
Also on sale at the Cywain stand will be a range of other signature bakes including Chocolate Fudge Cake and Almond Cake, as well as Sticky Toffee Pudding.
For those who like to nibble on the go there will be brownies and cookies, while loaf cakes such as Orange and Cranberry can be easily frozen at home ready for Christmas.
Mrs O’s Kitchen cakes are sold at local markets and restaurants as well as through the company’s own Pop-Up Tearoom service, which can be hired for a range of events including parties and baby-showers.
NOTES TO EDITORS
For more information about companies exhibiting on the Cywain stand at the Winter Fair please contact:
Caroline Dawson
Assistant Manager – Cywain
01745 770272 / 07813 084386
caroline.dawson@menterabusnes.co.uk
About Cywain
Cywain was set up by Menter a Busnes to bring added value to primary produce within the agriculture sector. The project has received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
About Menter a Busnes
Menter a Busnes was established in 1989. With headquarters in Aberystwyth it specializes in supporting new businesses, business growth, agriculture, skills development and food and drink sectors throughout Wales. It manages a number of programmes on behalf of the Welsh Government including Farming Connect and Cywain.