Ingredients 1.5L local cider* 100g demerara sugar 1 small cinnamon stick, halved 6 cloves 1 star anise 1 bay leaf 150ml glass of Penderyn whiskey (optional for an extra kick!) Slices of apple to garnish
Method Pour the cider into a large saucepan along with the sugar.
Tie the spices and bay leaf in cheese cloth and add to the cider.
Bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, pour in the whisky if using and warm through.
Discard the spice parcel and serve hot garnished with the apple slices.
10.12.09 Wales on a Plate wins an award!
We’ve just received news that Nerys’ book ‘Wales on a Plate’ has won the ‘Best Local Cookbook Award’ at the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The Awards will be held in Paris in February when we will hear if the book has gone on to win ‘Best in the world’!
There’s still time to purchase the book in time for Christmas through www.carreg-gwalch.com
03.12.09 Coginio 2 - Regional Welsh Recipes
Following the success of step-by-step cooking DVD 'Coginio' the team have been busy producing Coginio 2 which will be launched on Monday 7th December at Acapela, Pentyrch, Cardiff. For this edition Sian, Trev and Nerys focussed on regional Welsh dishes including Glamorgan sausages, oat biscuits and Caraway cake.
An ideal Christmas gift, the DVD is available to order from the website, www.coginio.com, for just £8.99.
28.11.09 BBC Good Food Show
Howel Food Consultancy were once again flying the True Taste flag on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government at this year’s BBC Good Food Show, Birmingham. With over 100,000 visitors at the show, crowds flocked to the Wales the True Taste café to experience a range of hot and cold dishes prepared with True Taste award winning produce. Located alongside were nine of Wales’s True Taste producers reinforcing the Welsh presence at the Show. From traditional cawl to Gower Cottage chocolate brownies, the 400 seater Wales the True Taste Café included a number of exhibitors encouraging visitors to visit Wales for a unique food experience -with Visit Wales, Welsh Rarebits, Coginio and Graffeg promoting and selling books and DVD’s of Welsh food. The café proved extremely popular, often without one spare seat available during the lunch time!
03.10.09 Brecon Food Festival
Celebrating its 12th year the Food Festival this year attracted over 70 producers in and around the Market Hall as well as a record number of visitors. In addition to the producer’s stalls the Market Hall also featured a full demonstration kitchen which would stage cooking demonstrations by some of the town’s pubs and hotels and compered by Nerys Howell. Although more famous for their weather forecasting Derek Brockway and Ruth Wignall returned to the stage for a re-match of last year’s cooking competition. Being the re-match we expected some improvement on last year, but just in case that wouldn’t be the case, Nerys gave Derek a helping hand while Tony Davies from The Coach House, Brecon, stepped in to assist Ruth. The general consensus was that Derek should definitely stick to the weather and walking!
Tony Davies also took part in the Brecon Breakfast Battle versus Penycae Inn, Abercraf (winner of Gastro Pub of the Year) but it was Tony’s dish, Brychan Eggs which won the day. More success for the Coach House which has already won five stars from Visit Wales and the AA.
27.09.09 Bridgend Festival of Wales
This year, local food and drink producers were given centre stage at the festival and the all important connection between cook and gardener was Howel Food Consultancy’s main concern. The star gardener was Mel Saunders who has 6 allotments at Tondu, each one bursting with vegetables of all shapes and sizes. Nerys was given the opportunity to cook with some of the giant vegetables and she managed to make one enormous onion last a whole day, it weighed 2Kg! During the taster session, visitors were given the opportunity to compare different types of the same vegetables as Mel had 6 varieties of potato and 3 of tomato.
Meanwhile, children were given the opportunity to have a go at making their own supper. The Children’s Cooking Workshops gave children the opportunity to make spicy chicken wraps, smoothies and even pizza and apple and blackberry crumble which could be taken home to be cooked and enjoyed for supper!
19.09.09 Abergavenny Food Festival
During the festival, in the Market Hall, there was another opportunity to see Nerys bring her book alive when she cooked more of the recipes which are featured in it. There was also a chance to buy a signed copy of Blas ar Blât.
08.08.09 National Eisteddfod of Wales Meirion a’r Cyffiniau
In this year’s True Taste pavilion there was an opportunity for visitors to enjoy a selection of mouth watering dishes prepared with True Taste award-winning produce. Once again Nerys worked with Capital Cuisine to develop dishes and menus to impress diners.
A new development at this year’s Eisteddfod was Blas ar Feirionydd, (Taste of Meirionydd) a stall exhibiting local produce as well as True Taste winners. This venture was launched during the first Saturday of the Eisteddfod. Howel Food Consultancy was asked by Annog, Gwynedd Council to host a very special workshop. As we all know the best way to start the day is with a healthy breakfast, and what could be better before a day on the Eisteddfod field in Bala, than a Meirionydd Eisteddfod Breakfast. Howel Food Consultancy’s task was to hold a workshop with the aim of developing a ‘Meirionydd Eisteddfod Breakfast’ using local suppliers which could be served by hospitality providers during and after the Eisteddfod. Some of the recipes prepared by Nerys during the session included Gill’s Plaice smoked trout kedgeree, open breakfast sandwich and Welsh brunch bruschetta. They received a very warm welcome:-
“It helped with ideas to vary the traditional ‘bacon and egg’ breakfast.”
“...good, simple ideas that I can take away.”
“It gave me good ideas for breakfast and the coffee shop.”
Following the workshop, Annog has produced a booklet of recipes containing some from Howel Food Consultancy. This was distributed by e-mail to those hospitality providers on Annog’s data base. It was also available in the Eisteddfod.
04.08.09 Hospitality Guide
Jointly launched at the National Eisteddfod by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones AM and Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones AM the Hospitality Guide should prove to be an invaluable guide for hospitality providers in Wales. The Guide, which Howel Food Consultancy produced on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government, highlights the commercial benefits of using quality local produce and gives tips on how to give a warm, Welsh welcome to visitors. Available in Welsh and English from the Welsh Assembly Government or online at www.walesthetruetaste.co.uk
24.07.09 The Royal Welsh Agricultural Festival
Food tourism was the theme of the Food Theatre this year and Howel Food Consultancy was once again responsible for preparing a lively programme of events including exhibitions, workshops and master classes by Shaun Hill, James Sommerin and Ian Simpson.
The connection between food producer and chef is an all important one and that is evident in Peterstone Court near Brecon, Wales’ highest new entry in the Good Food Guide 2010. Here the chef, Ian Simpson relies totally on the family’s farm, Glaisfer Uchaf seven miles away, for all his lamb, beef, poultry (including ducks) and vegetables. During the show Nerys was able to interview both farmer and chef about their close working relationship and also about using the whole animal.
Other chefs and producers also came together to hold demonstrations and to enlighten us about their work: Shaun Hill talked about his connection with The Welsh Venison Centre, James Sommerin about Caws Mynydd Du (Black Mountain Cheese) and Brian Webb about Village Dairy, Llaeth y Llan.
20.07.09 Launch Wales on a Plate! At last the book has arrived, and is being launched today at the Royal Welsh Show. Wales on a Plate brings to life the traditions, lifestyles and cooking of Wales. Authentic classic Welsh dishes and recipes such as Bara Brith, Roasted Lamb and Cockles are combined with Nerys’s exciting contemporary recipes based on Welsh produce. It has already been announced as WHSmith’s book of the month for August. Make sure you buy o copy of this book that is sure to inspire anyone who has an interest in Wales and its heritage.
19.07.09 Caerleon Arts Festival 2009
The humble sheep was the theme of the seventh Caerleon Arts Festival. While Nerys cooked dishes to promote Welsh lamb on behalf of Meat Promotion Wales, an enormous sheep pictured on a nearly hill kept a beady eye on the proceedings!
12.07.09 Cardigan Bay Sea Food Festival
This year’s festival in Aberaeron saw the launch of a recipe booklet produced by the Fisheries Unit of the Welsh Assembly Government. The recipes were inspired by some of Wales’ most famous chefs and developed by Howel Food Constancy so that they are easy to follow and simple to prepare. Howel Food Consultancy were also responsible for the food styling for the handy booklet.
22.06.09 Taste of London 2009
Now widely considered alongside Wimbledon and Ascot as one of the must-attend summer events in London, this year’s Taste of London saw sessions sold out as world-famous chefs from the capital’s finest restaurants combined with star food and drink producers to create a memorable four days.
Under the Welsh Assembly Government’s True Taste brand, Howel Food Consultancy put together a programme of demonstrations which included Michelin starred James Sommerin of the Crown at Whitebrook, Shaun Hill of the Walnut Tree and Matt Tebutt of The Foxhunter restaurant and Market Kitchen fame. They cooked up True Taste themed dishes alongside True Taste award winning producers, all eagerly sampled by the audience. In addition to the cooking, visitors to the stand enjoyed wine and food pairing sessions by Mike Morgan of Llansantffraed Court Hotel, crab dressing by Glyn Phillips of Celtic Crabs and Beer Master Classes by Buster Grant of the Association of Welsh Brewers. Bryn Williams, the famous Welsh Chef who now runs Odette’s in London was a frequent visitor to the stand, adding his weight to the promotion of Welsh produce.
Also in attendance to sell their produce were True Taste award winning producers who supply retail outlets or restaurants in London. Following the event some producers reported a doubling of sales! The hope now is that many of these visitors will be eager to taste this produce again, only this time it will be during a holiday in Wales!
11.06.09 Promoting Welsh Lamb and Beef Tesco Swansea Fforestfach and Meat Promotion Wales Cooking Demonstration
Having reached the final stages of the Supermarket and Fish Awards 2009, staff at the meat counter at Teco Fforestfach were eager to show Welsh lamb and Welsh beef at its best. With the support of Meat Promotion Wales, Howel Food Consultancy was in store for the judging day, cooking recipes from Meat Promotion Wales’ summer recipe booklet. Customers as well as the judges were able to savour Welsh lamb, parmesan and rocket risotto, Welsh lamb brochettes, Welsh beef chilli stir fry and Welsh beef and horseradish new potato salad. Unfortunately the store didn’t win the award - but there’s always next year!
07.06.09 Bridgend Midsummer Madness
As part of Bridgend’s Midsummer Madness Festival Howel Food Consultancy, on behalf of Bridgend County Borough Council, hosted cooking workshops for local school children. The aim of the workshops was to encourage children to make healthy food choices and learn basic cooking skills. Recipes included hummus pitta pockets, strawberry smoothies and spicy lamb and rosemary burgers with Caerphilly cheese. The Saturday sessions, aimed at the whole family, were topically called ‘Credit Crunch Cooking’ and demonstrated how families could eat local, healthy meals whilst still keeping to a budget. The children were all eager to get stuck in and the adults were more than happy to sample the food!
31.05.09 Wales the True Taste at the Hay Festival
Visitors to the Hay Festival who visited the Wales the True Taste Pavilion this year were treated to a selection of activities. The theme of the pavilion was food tourism and Howel Food Consultancy was responsible for organising the programme on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. Our partners were Visit Wales, Welsh Rarebit, Adventa, the Brecon Beacons National Park and Local Food Talks.
As usual, the workshops offering practical activities were the liveliest. It’s no wonder that visitors flocked to James Sommerin’s masterclass. It’s not every day that one gets the opportunity to see a master chef at work, to hear his tips and then taste the food that earned him a Michelin star!
Masterclasses were also held by experts from the world of wine, Welsh beer, Penderyn Whisky and also on charcuterie by Trealy Farm’s James Swift.
At the end of the week a feast of fish was brought before the ‘pupils’ when Gill Reacord from Gill’s Plaice, Aberdyfi presented them with Cardigan Bay’s catch of the day. On the menu was a masterclass on how to dress a crab.
It wasn’t obligatory to roll up your sleeves, as there was ample opportunity to listen as some of Wales’ foremost chefs talked about their work and experiences. Amongst them were Gilli Davies, Simon Wright from Y Polyn, Bryan Webb from Tyddyn Llan, Stephen Terry, The Hardwick and Shaun Hill from The Walnut Tree.
The Pavilion also saw the launching of the latest edition of Great Little Places, the booklet which is indispensable for those looking for somewhere a little quieter for their holiday in Wales.
Amongst the visitors to the Pavilion was Elin Jones AM, the Rural Affairs Minister who was responsible for launching a new map by Local Food Talks. So in future, if you need information about food and drink producers, food festivals, markets or farm shops in Mid Wales, it’s all available in this publication.
28.05.09 The Urdd Eisteddfod
A healthy meal for the whole family costing just £5? Yes, it’s possible and demonstrating this was Howel Food Consultancy’s task in the Welsh Assembly Government’s stall at the Urdd Eisteddfod, held this year in Cardiff Bay. Nerys showed visitors how to prepare meals, which not only suited our purses but also ensured that we were eating healthily.
11.05.09 HOFEX 2009 Promoting Welsh Food in Hong Kong
Despite the recession and the threat of swine flu, thousands flocked to Asia’s largest food fair - Hofex 2009 in Hong Kong. Welsh companies were invited once more to display their wares, and Howel Food Consultancy was there to help them do this successfully. Amidst the hustle and bustle, Siwan prepared samples which would whet the appetite for more Welsh produce, including dishes of Welsh lamb and all sorts of Welsh Cakes. Amongst the Welsh foods sampled by some of the 32,000 visitors were products by Daioni, Dŵr Llanllŷr, Halen Môn a Rachel’s Organics.
06.05.09 West Wales Food Festival
Over 50 local food and drink producers turned up to a brand new food fair at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales over the Mayday bank holiday. The aim was to celebrate the wealth of local produce, which was done via tasting sessions, exhibitions and stalls, guided tours and workshops. The Howel Food Consultancy team was also there to demonstrate how to cook with the excellent local produce and seasonal produce.
The highlight of a successful weekend was the special meal prepared by Welsh celebrity chefs including Simon Wright, the event organiser and head chef at Y Polyn, who was responsible for the first course, Shaun Hill of the Walnut Tree who served up the second course and Stephen Terry of the Hardwick who prepared the dessert.
31.03.09 Local Food Talks
Spring saw Howel Food Consultancy travel to Aberystwyth, Brecon and Dolgellau to hold a series of workshops on behalf of Local Food Talks. The purpose of these sessions was to show people working in the hospitality sector the advantages of using local produce and marketing it effectively.
Menu clinics were also held with some hoteliers and hosts, and the whole event was greeted with enthusiasm. Change is already afoot in a number of places.
We’re taking a fresh look at our menus and are making serious efforts to use more local produce at the hotel, thanks to what we learnt with Nerys from Howel Food Consultancy. Rhian Evans, Joint Proprietor, Marine Hotel, Aberystwyth.
20.03.09 Recipe of the Month
Due to popular demand - we have decided to share with you some of our delicious recipes. Each month you will receive, directly into your inbox, a tasty, seasonal recipe along with latest news from the food and drink industry in Wales! Interested? Simply click on the link on our home page and enter your e-mail address – easy as pie!!
20.03.09 True Taste Awards Howel Food Consultancy are delighted to be working with Strata Matrix and Telesgop as the winning team appointed to manage the 2009/10 True Taste Food and Drink Awards which will be held in the autumn. Plans are well under way so watch this space for further developments…
26.02.09 Welsh Curry House of the Year 2009
This year’s Welsh Curry House of the Year came to a climax at Cardiff Bay’s The Point on 26 February with Kareem’s of Rhyl being awarded with the top honour. Nerys was joined by Sirajul Islam and Shuel Ahmed on the National Jury and visited the three finalists in Rhyl, Llanelli (Sher Khans) and Bridgend (Mumtaz) to sample curries specially created for the final judging using Welsh lamb and True Taste award winning products Halen Mon sea salt, Rachel’s Organics butter, yoghurt and cream and Really Welsh leeks and cauliflowers. Commenting on the winning restaurant Nerys said “We as judges felt privileged to have discovered this unique gem in the sea side town of Rhyl. Our experience was beyond expectation from the initial welcome to the tastefully restored surroundings. The standard of the food served at Kareems showed an understanding of ingredients which excelled. The quality and taste of the Welsh Lamb cutlets were further enhanced by the sensitive preparation, cooking and presentation – a superb dish."
21.02.09 Celtic Crusaders Family Fun Day
Healthy dishes with local food was on offer to visitors attending the Celtic Crusaders’ fun day on 21 February at the Brewery Field stadium in Bridgend. Hosted by Bridgend County Borough Council’s Rural Development Programme the day aimed to show families how healthy meals could be prepared using locally sourced products. Popular dishes included energising smoothies and Welsh beef chilli stir-fry which were extremely well received by some hunky rugby players and followers!
29.01.09 Sirha 2009
Lyon,France- famously known as the gastronomy capital of the world was, in January host to Sirha 2009, the International Hotel, Catering and Food trade exhibition. Visitors flocked to the International Business Wales stand where Nerys prepared a range of tasters from a selection of True Taste award winning food and drink such as Mary’s Farmhouse, Patchwork Pate, Otley, Radnor Hills, Ty Nant, Rachel’s Organics and Welsh Whiskey. All products were well received with many trade enquiries, but none as popular as the Welsh lamb which attracted long queues!
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