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Welsh Country is the pan Wales magazine that is essential reading for those that are passionate about the countryside of Wales, Welsh Food, Arts in Wales, Welsh Property, the history of Wales and its people, lifestyle, gardening and much more...
Local pie producer Elm Tree Foods are delighted to have scooped a bevy of awards at the annual British Pie Awards which took place in Melton Mowbray on 25th April 2012. Elm Tree Foods received 3 Gold Awards for their Individual Pork Pie, Boozy Beef (Pub Pie class) and Butternut Scrunchie (Vegetarian), a Silver Award for their Celebration Cold Meat Slicing Pie and a Bronze for their Minty Mutton Pie. The winning Pies competed in the contest with a record number of 900 pies created by professional bakers and butchers at this year's event organised and hosted by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association.
The pies submitted in 18 classes underwent a stringent judging process by 93 food experts and celebrity chefs led by Andrew Chisholm. The panel, which included top food critic Charles Campion and food writer Xanthe Clay, TV chefs Rachel Green and Phil Vickery, scored the pies on a range of criteria including appearance and texture and taste of both pastry and filling.
Collette Crewe, of Elm Tree Foods commented "We put a lot of hard work into making the best pies possible to represent our City. As such a young family company it's an honour to be recognised and rewarded in Melton Mowbray, the home of pies and amongst such other excellent bakers! We are thrilled to have received these awards which build upon our success of last year, we hope this will help to grow our brand and encourage new customers to try our award winning pies"
Matthew O'Callaghan, Chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association added: "Pies are one of our nations favourite traditional foods and we organise this event to celebrate the quality and heritage of these iconic products. This year's event was a resounding success and yet again we were impressed with the high quality of the pies entered by passionate pie makers.
Our judges, who faced the difficult task of choosing the winning pie out of 900 entries, did a superb job. It is fantastic to see that the value of these Awards is recognised not only by large pie makers but also by small producers who submitted over 70% of entries.
The pies submitted in 18 classes underwent a stringent judging process by 93 food experts and celebrity chefs led by Andrew Chisholm. The panel, which included top food critic Charles Campion and food writer Xanthe Clay, TV chefs Rachel Green and Phil Vickery, scored the pies on a range of criteria including appearance and texture and taste of both pastry and filling.
Collette Crewe, of Elm Tree Foods commented "We put a lot of hard work into making the best pies possible to represent our City. As such a young family company it's an honour to be recognised and rewarded in Melton Mowbray, the home of pies and amongst such other excellent bakers! We are thrilled to have received these awards which build upon our success of last year, we hope this will help to grow our brand and encourage new customers to try our award winning pies"
Matthew O'Callaghan, Chairman of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association added: "Pies are one of our nations favourite traditional foods and we organise this event to celebrate the quality and heritage of these iconic products. This year's event was a resounding success and yet again we were impressed with the high quality of the pies entered by passionate pie makers.
Our judges, who faced the difficult task of choosing the winning pie out of 900 entries, did a superb job. It is fantastic to see that the value of these Awards is recognised not only by large pie makers but also by small producers who submitted over 70% of entries.
A sous chef at Ffresh Restaurant at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff moved a step closer to the coveted National Chef of Wales title by winning the South Wales regional final.
Ryan Jones, 28, from Maesteg, beat three other chefs to claim the regional honour and is now looking forward to a St Valentine’s Day cook-off at the Welsh International Culinary Championships at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, Rhos on Sea next year.
His winning menu opened with pan fried brill with oxtail cheroles and white truffle followed by a main course of breast of Madgett’s Farm duck with fondant potato, salsify, butternut squash and duck leg and liver faggot. Dessert was bitter chocolate mousse and passion fruit.
“I was confident that what I had cooked was good but I was still surprised to win,” said Jones, who was making his debut in the bi-annual competition. “I have wanted to enter this competition for years, as my former pastry lecturer Doug Windsor is a past winner and I have worked with members of the Welsh National Culinary Team. Hopefully, I can now go on and win the competition.”
Ryan Jones, 28, from Maesteg, beat three other chefs to claim the regional honour and is now looking forward to a St Valentine’s Day cook-off at the Welsh International Culinary Championships at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, Rhos on Sea next year.
His winning menu opened with pan fried brill with oxtail cheroles and white truffle followed by a main course of breast of Madgett’s Farm duck with fondant potato, salsify, butternut squash and duck leg and liver faggot. Dessert was bitter chocolate mousse and passion fruit.
“I was confident that what I had cooked was good but I was still surprised to win,” said Jones, who was making his debut in the bi-annual competition. “I have wanted to enter this competition for years, as my former pastry lecturer Doug Windsor is a past winner and I have worked with members of the Welsh National Culinary Team. Hopefully, I can now go on and win the competition.”
It’s been quite a week for young Welsh chef Chris Owen from Llandudno. Apart from reaching the televised quarter finals of Masterchef: the Professionals on BBC 2 tonight (Thursday), he also clinched a place in the National Chef of Wales final.
Former Junior Chef of Wales champion, Owen, 25, sous chef at the Castle Hotel, Conwy, won the North Wales regional final of the prestigious competition at Deeside College, Connah’s Quay today.
He will be joined in the final at the Welsh International Culinary Championships at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru on St Valentine’s Day by North Wales runner up, Jonathan Reed, senior chef de partie at the Royal Sportsman Hotel, Porthmadog.
Owen, who will be televised competing for Britain’s Best Dish on ITV on December 12, cooked a starter of a pressing of lobster with quail Scotch egg and saffron cream. His main course was fillet of Welsh Beef, oxtail ragout and baby vegetables and dessert was a symphony of white chocolate and raspberries. Good Way To End Week As Owen Wins Place In National Chef Of Wales Final
Former Junior Chef of Wales champion, Owen, 25, sous chef at the Castle Hotel, Conwy, won the North Wales regional final of the prestigious competition at Deeside College, Connah’s Quay today.
He will be joined in the final at the Welsh International Culinary Championships at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru on St Valentine’s Day by North Wales runner up, Jonathan Reed, senior chef de partie at the Royal Sportsman Hotel, Porthmadog.
Owen, who will be televised competing for Britain’s Best Dish on ITV on December 12, cooked a starter of a pressing of lobster with quail Scotch egg and saffron cream. His main course was fillet of Welsh Beef, oxtail ragout and baby vegetables and dessert was a symphony of white chocolate and raspberries. Good Way To End Week As Owen Wins Place In National Chef Of Wales Final
Read more: Good Way To End Week As Owen Wins Place In National Chef Of Wales Final
The annual Butcher Shop of the Year awards were recently held at the Landmark Hotel in London and a Narberth based butcher shop gained top honours. Andrew Rees and Sons Ltd were named the Best Butcher Shop in Wales and a UK runner up. This is a particularly prestigious award to win as it is sponsored by the Meat Trader Journal, meaning the butchers are judged by their expert peers.
Established in 1988 this award winning butchers was started by Andrew Rees who at the time was 23 years old and had a dream of owning his own butchery business. Narberth born and bred, Andrew was adamant that if he did ever own his own business, it would be in Narberth, a town about which he is passionate. As luck would have it, a premises came up for sale, and after a number of rejections Andrew was able to secure a loan from a bank and his future parents in law in order to fulfil his dream. The rest as they say is history! Andrew Rees and sons Ltd now consists of a superb retail shop along with a state of the art catering unit, supplying over 200 restaurants, pubs and tourist attractions.
Andrew believes the success of his business is down to the locally reared meat that he sells “we are fortunate in Pembrokeshire to have some superb farmers who rear top quality produce” he says “I am proud to be able to tell my customers exactly what farm the meat they are buying came from. Not only does this give them peace of mind, as very often they will know the farmer concerned, but it also dramatically cuts down on food miles” The shop specialises in Welsh beef, Welsh pork and Welsh lamb, not only in the prime joints but also in the home made mince, burgers and sausages. In addition all poultry is also sourced locally along with game and fish. The shop also has a hot counter serving pork and beef rolls, hot pies and pasties and cooked meats. The shop is managed by Dave Townsend, a butcher with many years of experience, ably supported by Chris Rogers assistant manager, and a team of butchers and shop assistants. Andrew is under no illusions as to the importance of a good team “the business would be nothing without my staff. They are all skilled and hard working and I am so lucky to have such a great team to work with”
This latest award will take pride of place in the shop along with other awards the business has won including bronze and silver True Taste awards, Pembrokeshire Business awards and the Daily Telegraph and Countryside Alliance Best Rural Retailer award.
Established in 1988 this award winning butchers was started by Andrew Rees who at the time was 23 years old and had a dream of owning his own butchery business. Narberth born and bred, Andrew was adamant that if he did ever own his own business, it would be in Narberth, a town about which he is passionate. As luck would have it, a premises came up for sale, and after a number of rejections Andrew was able to secure a loan from a bank and his future parents in law in order to fulfil his dream. The rest as they say is history! Andrew Rees and sons Ltd now consists of a superb retail shop along with a state of the art catering unit, supplying over 200 restaurants, pubs and tourist attractions.
Andrew believes the success of his business is down to the locally reared meat that he sells “we are fortunate in Pembrokeshire to have some superb farmers who rear top quality produce” he says “I am proud to be able to tell my customers exactly what farm the meat they are buying came from. Not only does this give them peace of mind, as very often they will know the farmer concerned, but it also dramatically cuts down on food miles” The shop specialises in Welsh beef, Welsh pork and Welsh lamb, not only in the prime joints but also in the home made mince, burgers and sausages. In addition all poultry is also sourced locally along with game and fish. The shop also has a hot counter serving pork and beef rolls, hot pies and pasties and cooked meats. The shop is managed by Dave Townsend, a butcher with many years of experience, ably supported by Chris Rogers assistant manager, and a team of butchers and shop assistants. Andrew is under no illusions as to the importance of a good team “the business would be nothing without my staff. They are all skilled and hard working and I am so lucky to have such a great team to work with”
This latest award will take pride of place in the shop along with other awards the business has won including bronze and silver True Taste awards, Pembrokeshire Business awards and the Daily Telegraph and Countryside Alliance Best Rural Retailer award.
Radnor Preserves was one of the prizewinners at the inaugural International Chutney Awards at Neidpath Castle in Scotland this weekend with its Roasted Nectarine Chutney. 10 judges including Jane, Henrietta Green and others from the Great Taste Awards placed Radnor Preserves 3rd in the ‘POSH’ section at the event held on the Weekend of 22nd and 23rd of October 2011.
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