Carmarthenshire chefs were ‘let loose’ last week in a special introductory event held by Ffres, the South West Wales Food Tourism Initiative and Carmarthenshire Tourist Association, to promote networking and the sharing of ideas to help grow food and tourism businesses in the local area.
The half day event was specially designed for local chefs and food business owners or managers to gain a rare and important opportunity to informally meet with a number of local producers at their own premises. Attendees included Llwynhelyg Country House, Welsh Green Weddings, The Grove and Ffynnon Rhosfa Farm.
Ffres Coordinator Lowri Edwards commented:
“We wanted the event to provide a useful networking opportunity, offering participants the chance to chat with others working in the same role as them in similar businesses across the region. It was an excellent opportunity to make new contacts and get new ideas, as well as to share challenges, solutions and stories.
“The day proved a great success, and we’ve received lots of positive feedback from participants; it will hopefully be the first of many.”
The Chefs Let Loose event is a great opportunity for businesses to meet together, share experiences, taste and find out about the wonderful array of local produce that there is in the region. Hopefully this will encourage them to incorporate any new ideas within their business.
The day started with visits to local producers – cnwd, producers of quality pâtés and terrines made to traditional recipes, and Gower View Foods, a new company offering contract packing services – both located in Cross Hands.
Next stop was Con Passionata in Carmarthen, where owner Marc Scaife shared his experience of setting up and running his restaurant in the heart of the town, which specialises in combining diverse culinary influences with traditional Welsh recipes and ingredients on menus that are revised weekly to keeps the produce fresh and seasonal.
Participants then had the chance to chat informally and sample some dishes, which also included some of the ingredients and produce from cnwd and Gower View Foods. To round off the day, Steve Peace from the Carmarthenshire Cheese Company gave a quick guide to cheese followed by a structured cheese tasting session. This included a variety of their cheeses such as Pont Gar soft white mould cheese, Llangloffan Farmhouse cheese, Boksburg speciality range and Carmarthenshire Goats Cheese.
Ffres links everyone in the food, tourism and hospitality sectors in South West Wales together, with the aim of developing South West Wales as a Food Tourism Destination. To discover more about food and drink in Carmarthenshire please visit www.ffres.org.
