A food expert who trained at the world-famous Ritz Hotel in London will be sharing his recipe for success with farmers. 
Gwyndaf Pritchard, the general manager at Bodnant Welsh Food in the Conwy Valley, has been asked by Leadership and Management Wales to deliver a business masterclass at this year’s Royal Welsh Show. He said: “They were looking for examples of how you actually take leadership and management and use it to develop a very successful business. “I was delighted to be picked to do that. Gwyndaf has a huge wealth of diverse management and employment experience to call upon. His CV includes the time he worked as a chef while still a teenager at the Ritz, co-ordinating operations at a Bermuda lobster restaurant and the five years he spent in charge of the school meals service in Anglesey. Bodnant Welsh Food Centre is located at Furnace Farm, in the stunning surroundings of the Conwy Valley. Originally built in the 18th century, the buildings have been lovingly restored to provide an excellent venue for a farm shop, tea room, restaurant, cookery school and farmhouse accommodation. The centre sells traditional Welsh food from its own estate and from carefully selected local producers with staff passionate about delivering the best local produce. Gwyndaf will be sharing some of that passion as well as his business expertise when he appears at the Royal Welsh Show on July 22 to take part in a series of “In Conversation” events with leading figures from food, drink and farming. Visitors will have the chance to hear Gwyndaf’s views on a range of topics and challenges that face the food industry in Wales today. With a huge business experience and a remit to develop Bodnant Welsh Food Centre as a centre of excellence for Wales and Welsh food, Gwyndaf is well placed to give a thoughtful insight into how the country’s food industry can grow and prosper in the future. Gwyndaf is a highly-trained professional, having won the UK Student of the Year Competition at Llandrillo Technical College in 1982, and then a two-year apprenticeship at the Ritz in London. This was followed by a series of starred restaurant positions, and he was accepted as a member of the UK Academie Culinaire de France. He said the principles of good business can be translated to any operation, whether it is a huge international operation or a father and son-run farm in rural Wales. Gwyndaf said: “Good management is all about communication, it is about getting information clearly to all the staff. “With regards to the centre it is quite easy, because I see them every day. “In my previous position where I ran the school meals contract for Anglesey while working for Eden Foodservice, dealing with 57 primary and secondary schools, communication was very different. “Memos were used, everything was in letter form so every single member of staff understood the business. “For me it was a step forward to understanding how international companies worked, the value of strategic planning and how you implement that at every level in your team and how you empower your managers into making decisions. “At the centre we have an operations meeting at 10am every Wednesday and an action log is created so everybody knows what they are supposed to do after the meeting. “That message is then passed on from the managers through cluster meetings to their staff in their department so again the strong communication is there. “The principle is the same from every business and that can also apply to a small farm where for example a father and son work together. “You may have a situation where a father doesn’t not want to change the business but the son does. “Through good communication and a strong team, any business can develop and move forward.” Gwyndaf, who hails from Abergwyngregyn, added: “I was brought up on a farm because my parents worked on a farm so I understand the Welsh farming industry. “It is a growing industry and a very passionate industry. “Whether it is farming or any other industry, the key messages are the same in business. “It is about communication and getting that message upline and downline and creating a team. “The product will only be as good as the team delivering it. “And I strongly believe you can’t run a business from behind a desk. “The importance of teamwork was vital when I worked at the Ritz. “I had left home at the age of 18 and found myself working in the bright lights of central London. “It was fantastic and the knowledge I took from that has stayed with me.” After leaving the Ritz, Gwyndaf moved on to a variety of leadership and management positions. One of the most memorable was when he worked in Bermuda at a seafood restaurant responsible for a variety of roles including co-ordinating the fishing boat operations to ensure customers got the freshest of catches. He said: “That was a fantastic experience. We were catching lobsters and within an hour they were being served. “I am passionate about high quality food. What I was doing in Bermuda is similar to what we are doing at Bodnant now because it is all about the best of produce. “I have been invited to be a guest speaker at various business conferences in recent years, particularly after I was awarded the Food Service Management award while I was at Eden Foodservice.” Gwyndaf won the Food Service Management Education Award for 2012 for his work with the Isle of Anglesey school meals contract. The award citation said he had led the team in successfully developing and delivering a high profile catering service, which continued to evolve to meet changing legislative requirements and customer expectations. Gwyndaf added: “I always look forward to the Royal Welsh Show because of my background and I am looking forward to going back this year. “The bottom line is that I am a chef and I am passionate about delivering the best quality produce and passionate about business. “At the end of the day work should have an element of fun because you spend an awful lot of your day at work. “Having a passion for what you do helps make your work enjoyable.” Gwyndaf’s Healthy Leadership master class at the Royal Welsh Show takes place at 3pm on July 22. There is no charge for this event, although attendees will have had to pay normal admission to the Royal Welsh Show. The Royal Welsh Show takes place at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, from July 21-24. For more information go to www.bodnant-welshfood.co.uk
