South Caernarfon Creameries is opening its doors, to mark their 80th anniversary, to give a behind-the-scenes look at the award-winning creamery. The Open Day is being held on Saturday 7th July from 10am until 4pm with local people and visitors very welcome to come along.
Visitors can experience a guided tour of the creamery with it’s newly built multi-million pound cheese production and packing facilities. The tour will offer an insight into what happens to milk once it arrives on site from member farms and will follow its journey to the end process when the milk is made into traditional Welsh cheese and butter. Tours will be running all day and available on a first-come-first-served basis and anyone wishing to participate is required to wear closed, flat shoes. Only children over the age of 8 are able to join a tour.
The Open Day promises to be a great event with lots of activities planned. There will be a cookery demonstration to showcase recipes from the new Dragon recipe booklet using the creamery’s own Dragon cheese and butter. There’s a chance to take on the role of a Cheese Grader and taste a wide selection of cheeses which will also be available to buy from the pop-up cheese shop. Visitors can learn how to split slate to make a Welsh slate cheeseboard; demonstrated by Llechwedd Slate Caverns, the home of the maturation caverns where Dragon’s signature slate cavern aged cheddar is matured. Local farmers Ela and Huw, Oinc Oink will be barbecuing should visitors get hungry and wish to try, buy and eat some locally-reared pork.
Managing Director of South Caernarfon Creameries, Alan Wyn-Jones said
“The Open Day provides us with the perfect way to celebrate our 80th year in business. We look forward to welcoming our farmers, customers, local people and tourists in order to give all the opportunity to see our new production and packing facilities in operation as well as to showcase our extensive range of Welsh cheese and butter that we sell under the Dragon brand.”
South Caernarfon Creameries Limited was established in 1938 by a group of local farmers and today is Wales’ leading dairy farmer owned co-operative with 125 supplying members. Based on the Llyn Peninsula, Chwilog Nr Pwllheli, the creamery is at the heart of the community and employs 130 full-time local staff with the majority living within 20 miles of the Creamery.
Farmer members supply the creamery with over 100 million litres of quality Welsh milk thanks to their cows grazing on the lush Welsh pastures. Using the locally sourced Welsh milk, together with the skills and knowledge garnered over the generations, allows SCC to produce exceptional quality Welsh cheese and Welsh butter that have been recognised by major awards both nationally and internationally. A wide range of cheese and butter is supplied to the local Welsh market, to most UK major multiples and to international markets.
Proud of our Welsh roots, the Creamery retains a policy to only processing Welsh milk, has dual language on packaging and a successful brand of Welsh cheese and butter called Dragon.
Feature image: L-R Alan Wyn-Jones, Managing Director, Morgan Owen, Cheese Department and Gareth Parry, bulk milk reception.
