Creating a Community Garden 4

In a series of posts (links below) I am following the creation of a Community Growing Area in Dinas Powys, on an abandoned play area between Sir Ivor Place and Nightingale Place.

This project was initiated by Elizabeth Millard (Chairperson of the Dinas Powys Residents Group) and Councillor Keith Hatton. The project is supported by Creative Rural Communities (Vale of Glamorgan Council), with Rob McGhee being the Rural Regeneration Officer involved. More specifically, the Dinas Powys Community Growing Area falls within the Community Foodie initiative, which aims to identify, develop and support community food growing activities.

Rob (pictured) came to Dinas Powys on Saturday (20 Oct) to give an update on progress. The meeting, in Youldon House, was attended by over 30 people. Keith outlined the history of the project and introduced Rob, who summarized achievements to date (see previous posts) that include identification of the site, fund-raising, community engagement, and an initial plan for the site that takes into account all skill levels and includes raised beds for those with restricted mobility. He also talked about successful community growing projects in other parts of Wales.

Funding is in place and a contractor (Gerald Davies) is due to start clearing the site later this month. Security fencing will be erected, top-soil put down, and water pipes extended into the site. A communal shed will be erected near the electrical sub-station.

A tour of the site was followed by a discussion back at Youldon House, in which everyone stuck post-it notes with ideas on the proposed plan (pictured below). Suggestions included a brick BBQ, the use of wood from the felled trees to make benches, water butts, communal compost, solar lighting, increasing the proportion of raised beds, establishing links with schools and the recently-established Food Bank in Dinas Powys, a play area for young children, and a skills database.

The meeting was used to identify those who want to serve on a Growing Group, which will help to drive the project forward. Further meet-ups, including a clearance day, will be held on-site in the coming months. I’ll keep you posted.

 

This well-attended meeting was a significant step forward in raising awareness and channelling enthusiasm for the project. Elizabeth’s vision of turning this ugly derelict area into an attractive community gathering and food-growing area, where she can come to sit in the sun and read a book, became a step closer to reality.

As a footnote, an upcoming date for your diary: Paul Mobbs (author of ‘Energy Beyond Oil’) will be speaking in Lee Hall Dinas Powys on Thursday 22 Nov (7pm). There will be a small entrance fee to cover costs. Greater community self-reliance, in which growing areas play a significant part, is a key theme of the Transition Town Movement that is planning for the post-oil future. Linda Ware, the organizer of this talk, has initiated another community growing project in the village - the Dinas Powys Orchard Project.

Previous posts on Dinas Powys Community Garden:

Aug 2012

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/creating-community-garden-3.html
 

Feb 2012

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/creating-community-garden-2.html

Jan 2012

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.com/2012/01/creating-community-garden.html

 

 

Wales on the Menu

Recently, I interviewed Simon Wright for a profile that was published in the Buzz Food & Drink Guide 2012 (link below).

In a wide-ranging career, Simon has been a food critic, author, restaurateur, consultant and broadcaster.  In May this year, Simon opened Wright’s Independent Food Emporium, with his wife Maryann. This shop in Nantgaredig sells a range of Welsh products, including meat, cheeses, and fresh fruit and vegetables, and has a café at the heart of the operation. Last year, Simon was involved in the planning stages of Sospan, a new restaurant in Llanelli.

Simon is currently presenting the fourth series of Wales on the Menu, which started on BBC Radio Wales last Saturday lunchtime (1pm). In the programme, he challenges home cooks to put their speciality dish on the menu of a top restaurant.

In the first show, amateur chef and food blogger Bill King tried to get his salmon quiche up to standard for the menu of Y Polyn, a restaurant near Carmarthen that the Wrights at one time co-owned. Among the judges was food blogger Ed Gilbert (a.k.a. Gourmet Gorro). The quiche sounded good, but was judged not quite good enough to meet Y Polyn’s high standards.

The Wales on the Menu team are looking for keen cooks from across Wales who would like to participate in future challenges. If you are interested you can email them on walesonthemenu@presentable.co.uk

There is also a Wales on the Menu Facebook page, where you can find recipes, behind the scenes photographs, and further details of how to apply to take part in the series either as a novice cook or a judge: https://www.facebook.com/WalesOnTheMenuBBCRadioWales?ref=hl

If you miss the programmes themselves, you can find them on the BBC iplayer.

Buzz Food & Drink Guide 2012. The Wright Taste (pp. 28-29):

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1y455/FoodandDringGuide201/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffree.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F577403%2FFood-and-Dring-Guide-2012

 

Y Polyn:

http://www.ypolynrestaurant.co.uk/

 

Fellow Bloggers on Twitter:

Bill King @billking

Ed Gilbert @gourmetgorro

Vale Foodbank in Dinas Powys

One of the big under-reported stories of the summer has been the impact of government austerity measures on individuals, families and communities. The recent figures have been shocking. For instance, 13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK; while here in Wales over one in ten people of working age are now out of work, a level of unemployment not seen for almost twenty years.

Communities can act to combat local poverty and hidden hunger by supporting schemes such as foodbanks. The Trussell Trust acts as an umbrella organization for foodbanks across the UK. The Vale Foodbank was established under this umbrella in October 2011. It is based at Coastlands Family Church in Barry, and aims to open food distribution centres around the Vale of Glamorgan to help people who are struggling to make ends meet.

A Vale Foodbank distribution centre opened today in Dinas Powys, in the Bethesda Chapel. It will open for an hour every Wednesday. Free emergency food supplies will be exchanged for vouchers given to people particularly identified as being in need by social workers, doctors, police and other community groups (in total 40 partners across the Vale). One voucher can be exchanged for enough food for three days.

Mike Grove from Bethesda Chapel welcomed people to the official opening this afternoon. Susan Lloyd-Selby, the Vale Foodbank co-ordinator, then talked about the success of their first year, in which they have managed to feed everyone who has been referred to them. When they started they expected to feed 800, but in fact have fed 1,643 people since October 2011.

Of those referred, 30% have been plunged into crisis due to delays in benefit payments. Others are referred due to low income, while there has been a dramatic rise in the number in debt. 68% of the food distributed has gone to feed children under the age of 16.

Sue related some stories of the real people behind the statistics: a man who hadn't eaten for two days, a woman homeless after leaving home due to domestic violence, a couple suddenly plunged into debt after an accident. She stressed that it was not just about giving food, but providing wider support and advice through contact with the regular volunteers. Sue thanked these “lifechangers” (with reference to Olympic “gamesmakers”), and also thanked all the people who donated over 115 kg of food during the past year. Future Vale Foodbank plans include free money management courses.

Photo: Councillor Val Hartrey (Chair of Dinas Powys Community Council), Jane Hutt AM, Mike Grove and Susan Lloyd-Selby (the cakes spell "Vale Food Bank").

Jane Hutt AM opened the Dinas Powys distribution centre today, just as she opened the first Vale Foodbank in Barry last year. An active supporter, she noted that action needs to be taken to stop so many people falling into poverty, especially through reasons such as delays in benefit payments and loss of tax credits. Jane also stressed that Foodbanks provide a framework for offering wider help and support, to give people back some dignity and restore hope.

The food given out at the Vale Foodbank is donated by businesses and individuals. You can donate to the Bethesda Chapel during Foodbank opening hours. Individuals are asked to give dried and tinned foods (see contact details below).

In addition to making donations of tins and packaged food, Jan and Tony Mapstone of Valley View Fruit Stores in Dinas Powys also donate fresh fruit and vegetables (they wear dark blue in the photo below).

To those who have questioned why a relatively prosperous community in the Vale of Glamorgan needs a foodbank: wake up, this is the reality of life today.

The Vale Foodbank

Coastlands Family Church, Tennyson Road, Colcot, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan CF62 9TN

admin@valefoodbank.org.uk

The Trussell Trust:

http://www.trusselltrust.org/

Reference for Welsh Unemployment:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/09/04/welsh-unemployment-much-worse-than-official-stats-claims-new-report-91466-31758526/

 

We noted the Olympics earlier. Therefore, just room to note that ATOS, partners for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, are the firm charged with assessing disability benefit payments in a government money-saving operation. Removal of benefits is fuelling the need for foodbanks. Currently, at least one new foodback opens every week in the UK.

An Olympic Diet: Final Part

One of the ironies evident on visiting the Olympic Park during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was that sponsorship restrictions helped create an environment largely devoid of branding. It was very refreshing to see such a brandless environment at a major sporting event, both inside the venues and around the food areas (e.g., World Square, Britannia Row, Orbit Circus).

The Locog catering operation, headed by Jan Matthews, was said to have been the largest attempted in the UK during peacetime. They succeeded in offering a dizzying range of dishes to competitors and visitors.

 

Outside the obvious sponsor outlets, all the food stores were labelled generically (and usually offered three simple menu choices). This “calling-a-spade-a-spade” catering had a certain charm.

 

Among the outlets were: Fish and Chips, Pies, Pasties, Cornish Pasties, Deli, Traditional Roast, British Bakery, Gourmet Sausage, Hog Roast, Jacket Potatoes, Fresh Salad Bar, Speciality Coffee, Bar, Ice Cream, and the Champagne and Seafood Pavilion.

 

World cuisine was represented, for example, by Asian, a French-style Brasserie, Indian, Italian, Mexican and much more besides.

The three Asian options, for example, were Thai curries, Singapore noodles and Vegetarian stir fry. Our Thai Curry was pretty good. Other things we sampled (e.g., bacon roll) were basic. Most of the food we ate was from the Deli outlets, where reasonably-priced sandwiches could be obtained with minimal queuing.

 

Some feared that it would be branded burgers and fizzy drinks, and little else, for sale on site. In reality, there was plenty of no-nonsense food and drink choices; even some healthy salads if you sought them out!

Finally, what a great atmosphere there was on the Olympic Park and I am sure everyone who visited will remember the experience for a long time to come.

See also:
An Olympic Diet: Part Two
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/an-olympic-diet-part-two.html

An Olympic Diet: Part One
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/olympic-diet-part-one.html

 

 

Welsh Wines: Ancre Hill Estates

We are drinking Welsh wines on the Food Blog. That is more of a challenge than you might think, because there are now around twenty Welsh vineyards producing a range of different wines.
 
Only about 1% of wine consumed in the UK is home-produced. However, climate change (milder winters and extended summers) is favouring wine production. Meanwhile, in Wales at least, local and regional produce is increasingly sought-after in restaurants and shops. Therefore, the market for Welsh wines could significantly expand in the future.

This week, we have been drinking White and Rosé wine (both 2010) from the Ancre Hill Estates vineyard, supplied by Fine Wines Direct (Penarth Road, Cardiff).

 

Ancre Hill Estates was the first wine to be recognized in the Wales the True Taste Awards. In 2010-2011 (Wine, Spirit and Other Alcohol category), Ancre Hill won a Gold Award for their 2009 Medium Dry White and a Bronze Award for their Rosé.

The White (11% ABV) is made using Seyval Blanc and Madeleine Angevine grapes. We found it to be dry, sharp and crisp. The taste was particularly clean, with pleasing citrus (limey) and elderflower notes. A good wine to pair with fish.

The Rosé (11% ABV, £12.79) is made from Seyval blanc and Triomphe grapes. We found it sharp and very fruity. I detected lots of strawberry. There were also floral and citrus notes. This was particularly refreshing when well-chilled. I usually consider rosé to be almost an aperitif, but this one stood up very well to mildly spicy food.

Both the White and Rosé sell for £12.79 a bottle.

Ancre Hill Estates also produce Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sparkling White and Sparkling Rosé wines, on a south-facing slopes in the Wye Valley just outside Monmouth. You can visit the vineyard during the summer months for lunch and tours.

The high quality of Welsh wines, such as Ancre Hill Estates, may surprise you if you've not tasted them before. Now is a good time to start checking out what the emerging wine nation of Wales has to offer.

Ancre Hill Estates

Richard and Joy Morris, Ancre Hill Vineyard, Monmouth NP25 5HS
01600 714151
http://www.ancrehillestates.co.uk
 

Fine Wines Direct

242 Penarth Road, Cardiff CF11 8TU
029 2078 7500
http://finewinesdirectuk.com/
Welsh wine:
http://finewinesdirectuk.com/wines/welsh-wines

Previously, on the Food Blog

Cock Hill from Bryn Ceiliog Vineyard, Vale of Glamorgan:
http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/winde-from-dinas-powys-cock-hill.html

The Ancre Hill Estates wines reviewed here were supplied free of charge by Fine Wines Direct.

The Welsh Menu Live, Swansea

The Welsh Menu Live (25-27 August 2012) is the first food festival to be staged in Swansea for many years. Swansea Market ("established 800 years") used to hold a food festival. This modern revival similarly champions local produce and independent local traders. I attended this afternoon (Sunday).

The Welsh Menu Food Theatre is located in The Dragon Hotel. Here, I saw Luke Thomas cook Welsh lamb with summer vegetable fricasse, braised lettuce and goats cheese. For the past six months Luke has been Head Chef at Sanctum on the Green in Berkshire; at 18 he's the youngest Head Chef in Britain. He passed on some useful tips. Wine Merchant N.D. John paired his food with a Martinez Lacuesta Rioja Crianza (plenty of oak, I do like a good Rioja).

A late addition to the programme proved to be my highlight of the day: Andrew Hanson (pictured) from the nearby Chelsea Café cooked poached salmon, risotto, scallops, asparagus and buerre blanc. Fish is a key feature of his restaurant's menu. There were generous portions for the audience afterwards; it tasted great. I'll definitely be cooking my salmon and scallops more delicately in the future.

The programme of chef demonstrations tomorrow (Monday) includes Bryan Williams and Anand George (from Cardiff's Purple Poppadom).

Elsewhere, the event centred on Castle Square (pictured). There was live music of a nostalgic variety (below the big screen showing the Aviva Athletics from Birmingham) and several food stalls.

 

I had a gourmet burger from the Got Beef bus: a Soprano (with chorizo, bacon, jalapeno mayo and mozzarella cheese). Some of the ingredients in their burgers (e.g., pesto, beetroot puree) seemed a bit "out there" (although fried onions and relish usually does it for me), but there was no doubting the quality of their Welsh black beef. Other "Live Street Feast" caterers offered hog roasts, a Taste of Persia, and ice cream.

The relatively small number of producers in the festival's pavilions was a little disappointing. However, there are lots of competing events and markets this weekend. The meats, seafood, cakes, cider and wines that were on offer looked good. Wales’ largest indoor market is nearby.

The Welsh Menu Live food festival marks the launch in June of the Welsh Menu Website, which promotes local and regional food and drink within Wales.

 

The Welsh Menu

http://www.thewelshmenu.com

 

Swansea Market / Marchnad Abertawe

http://www.swanseaindoormarket.co.uk

 

Hanson at the Chelsea

http://hansonatthechelsea.co.uk/

Got Beef

http://www.got-beef.co.uk

 

 

Creating a Community Garden 3

In a couple of previous posts (links below) I outlined how to go about turning an area of wasteland into a Community Garden. In particular, our project involves taking an abandoned play area in Dinas Powys (between Nightingale Place and Sir Ivor Place) and turning it into the Dinas Powys Community Growing Area.

The project was initiated and is being steered by Elizabeth Millard, Chair of the Dinas Powys Residents’ Group, and Councillor Keith Hatton (Plaid Cymru). Rob McGhee of Creative Rural Communities (Vale of Glamorgan Council) is project-managing:  that’s him on the left in this picture of the trio photographed on the site this week.

I previously reviewed the type of grants available in the Vale of Glamorgan for this type of project (they may be similar in other parts of the UK). A couple of weeks ago the project was awarded £28,000 by Tidy Towns Wales, a Welsh Assembly government initiative that funds community projects aiming to improve the quality of the environment.

Earlier this week, Emma Hancock met Rob, Elizabeth, Keith and I on the site. Emma is a Landscape Architect working within the Planning and Transportation Department of the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Among her tasks will be to look at Utility Plans (e.g., to decide on the best route to bring water pipes to the site) and to oversee the work of contractors.

A contractor - Gerald Davies - has been chosen from among those who put in estimates/bids for the work. The company has experience of similar work around the Vale.  Work can start after the bird nesting season, and the contractors are expected to be on the site by the end of October. Firstly, part of a wall will be taken down to allow vehicle access from Sir Ivor Place (the wall will be rebuilt afterwards). The rubber and concrete surfaces will then be broken up and removed, topsoil will be put down, and a security fence erected around the site.

Before the contractors start work, however, there will be an initial clearance day to cut back overgrown hedges etc. This will be held on Saturday 20 October, starting at nearby Youldon House around 10.30 am. Everyone is welcome (bring tools!); it will be an opportunity for those interesting in having a plot on the community garden to meet and find out more. Creative Rural Communities will be there with plans of the garden, which will include communal areas and individual plots. It will also be the first step in forming a Management Committee for the long-term maintenance of the community garden.

The Dinas Powys Community Garden has the backing of Community Foodie, a project under the umbrella of Creative Rural Communities and the Vale of Glamorgan Council, to identify, develop and support community food growing. Their aim is to strengthen communities by increasing the amount of food produce grown and consumed locally, to develop skills (e.g., local schools will be invited to participate in the project), to promote healthy lifestyles, and to bring people together. With a bit of luck, the Dinas Powys Community Growing Area will achieve all these things.

I will post again shortly, with a more detailed look at the plans for the site.

Previous Dinas Powys Community Garden posts:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/creating-community-garden-2.html

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/creating-community-garden.html

Festival Food: Green Man 2012

The best thing I ate at Green Man 2012 was probably the Spicy Lamb Bourek from Moorish: North African & Arabic Souk Food. It was a deep-fried filo-pastry parcel containing meat and goats cheese; served with a spicy tomato and pepper sauce, and salad (£7).

This was the tenth Green Man Festival. It has one of the most beautiful festival sites in the UK, on the Glanusk Estate in the Black Mountains of Wales.

Highly recommended are the home-made falafels served in the Chai Shop Organic tent. We shared a falafel platter (£8).

Chai Shop were again in prime spot on the top of the slope looking down to the main stage. In the nearby corner, in what seems to have become a guest spot, was Vegetarian Mexican, who did a good curry (there’s a whole family buying and sampling food here, not just me).

An interesting addition this year was Trealy Farm. They sold bread and smoked meats. I would like to see Green Man include more Farmers’ Market stalls, selling fresh fruit, breads, cheeses and meats; maybe even a Farmers’ Market area.

We have an annual trip to the Pieminister van at the Green Man. This year we bought Moo Pie! and Chicken of Aragon (made with tarragon) pies.

Our final evening meals were pretty good too. Bake and Stew in the courtyard served up an appetising Malaysian Chicken, while the ever-reliable Paella concession at the back of the main arena hit the mark with its chicken paella.

My breakfast coffee, as in previous years, was from the Community Café run as a fund-raiser by the local Cwmdu church and school (see link below); they also do good-value bacon baps.

Also enjoyed were ice creams from Shepherds of Hay-on-Wye, who use sheep’s milk in their ice creams. My choice of flavour was the coffee and hazelnut (our youngest, predictably, went for the chocolate).

My food was washed down with real ales from the bar, mainly the festival’s own brew – growler from Wye Valley Brewery) - and some Otter ale.

Among my music highlights this year were Van Morrison, King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, Feist, Dexys, The Walkmen and Michael Kiwanuka.

 

My Review of Green Man 2011 (last year) for Buzz:

http://www.buzzmag.co.uk/uncategorized/green-man-2011-festival-review/
 

More Green Man Festival Food

Cymdu School:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/festival-food-cymdu-school.html

Iechyd Da:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/festival-food-iechyd-da.html

Goan Seafood Company:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/festival-food-goan-seafood-company.html

Hall’s Dorset Smokery:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/festival-food-halls-dorset-smokery.html

An Olympic Diet: Part Two

The first action of the London 2012 Olympic Games was the Woman’s Football, and the first game kicked off at 4pm yesterday at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. We were there for both matches: Team GB beating New Zealand 1-0 and Brazil beating Cameroon 5-0. The football played by the Brazilians was a joy to watch. There was a great atmosphere, and I could go on about all the positive things that happened. Unfortunately though, this is a Food Blog.

At the bar, the prominent taps were dispensing Olympic-sponsor beer products. So, looking for something to drink, we spotted some taps at the end labelled generically “ale” and “cider.” As non-sponsor products cannot be identified by name, lest it be deemed advertising, this seemed hopeful. We anticipated a pint of Brains, the beer that usually flows from these taps, produced by the brewery that is just a stones-throw from the Millennium Stadium. However, it was not to be. “Ale” is John Smiths (£4.10 pint) and “cider” is Strongbow (this will be the case at all Olympic venues). Alcoholic drinks could only be consumed in the bar area and not taken to the seats.

At the food outlet, things were dominated by Olympic-sponsor soft drink products. On the food menu where bacon baguette (£5.50), Steak pie, Cheese and onion pasty, noodles, soup, sandwiches, hot or cold wraps, crisps, sweets and Olympic-sponsor chocolates. Most of the food was in the £4 to £6 range.

There were big queues for the food between the two games. By the time we approached the food outlet at half-time of the second game, all the food had sold out. People were buying small tubs of official-sponsor crisps (£2) and sweets to keep them going.

So, it was a fantastic sporting event that was thoroughly enjoyed by all the family. The staff and stewards at the Millennium Stadium were very polite, helpful and efficient. However, the food and drink on offer was a little disappointing.

Meanwhile, local businesses in the vicinity of the Stadium who tried to benefit from any Olympic association were pulled up by Locog’s “Brand Police”, a continuation of the heavy-handed treatment of independent cafes and sandwich bars seen during the Torch Relay. Taste on the High Street, for instance, had to change the name of one of their sandwiches. Even Michael Payne, a former marketing director at the International Olympic Committee, has said over-zealous enforcement of brand protection risks damaging the Games image (see link below).

The tickets come with the written promise: “There’s a variety of healthy and tasty food for you inside the venue.” This covers all the venues and in particular the main London venues. Cardiff has whetted our appetite for our next Olympics experience, which will be in London. Will this prove more of a positive showcase for British food and drink products? We’ll see!

An Olympic Diet: Part One:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/olympic-diet-part-one.html

Independent article on Olympic brand-protection:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/news/father-of-olympic-branding-my-rules-are-being-abused-7962593.html

Taste, Cardiff:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/taste-cardiff.html

Cardiff International Food Festival 2012

This year’s Cardiff International Food Festival (6-8 July) was one of the best yet. Around 100 exhibitors attended, with stalls in Roald Dahl Plaza, in front of the Pierhead Building, and along toward the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay. The food available ranged from Welsh venison burgers and Glamorgan Vale hog roast to French-style crepes and a Taste of Persia.

There was a strong programme of events in the John Lewis Food Theatre. Highlights included Chef Anand George, owner of Purple Poppadom, cooking up some nouvelle Indian dishes from the celebrated restaurant’s new menu; Norman Musa demonstrating Malaysian dishes; and Angela Gray showcasing the afternoon tea menu at Llanerch Vineyard.

Chef Richard Yearnshire demonstrated some items from the Tempus at Tides menu (St David’s Hotel): Baked cod fillet and sweet chilli crust, pea and mint risotto, followed by Tiramisu. Samples were snapped up smartly by the audience.

Three dishes from the Laguna Kitchen in Park Plaza Cardiff were demonstrated by Chef Justin Llewellyn. His Bruschetta included heritage tomatoes, chorizo sausage, mozzarella balls and sourdough bread. Justin extolled the virtues of Welsh rapeseed oil, which was used liberally instead of olive oil (it has half the saturated fat of olive oil and is rich in 3-omega). Tuna Niçoise was made with seared but practically raw sushi-grade tuna, Jersey Royal potatoes, quail eggs in breadcrumbs, anchovies, black olives, green beans, samphire and rocket cress. At Lugana, this dish is served on a slate with a wedge of lime.

There seemed to be a lack of coordination between the different chefs. On Saturday, for instance, three different versions of Eton Mess were made. My favourite was by Jane, the John Lewis chef, whose version was made using rhubarb.

Apart from Eton Mess, what’s in this year? Well, anything that’s gluten-free it seems. I have never before seen such a concentration of food businesses promoting gluten-free ranges.

I liked the central positioning of the music bandstand this year. Pick of the cats for me were Zervas and Pepper, excellent as always, and Funhouse, who had their audience dancing in the rain with their infectious ska music.

The Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival is part of the wider Cardiff Festival. Still to come is The Harbour Festival (31 Aug – 2 Sept) on the same site, which features The British Fishcraft Championships (which may partly explain the very few fish and seafood exhibitors at the Food Festival).

Considered on its own, The Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival is not a Premier League event, such as Abergavenny or Cowbridge, but it has firmly established itself as an essential date in the calendar and it gets a little bit better each year.

Cardiff Festival:

http://www.cardiff

Summer Country Fair and Food Festival, Fonmon Castle

The weekend (June 30/July 1) saw the first Summer Country Fair and Food Festival at Fonmon Castle, in the Vale of Glamorgan. We went along before the crowds to see what was on offer (admission £6).

Fonmon Castle is one of the few mediaeval castles still lived in as a home, according to their brochure. It’s a homely sort of place, with Georgian interiors and pretty gardens, and a popular location for weddings. The Library was the location for the chef demonstrations.

We went to see Mr G (aka George Ikamba), owner and one of the cooks at Mr G’s Soul Kitchen in Bute Street, cook his Jamaican Jerk Chicken. His restaurant specializes in Caribbean cuisine; Jerk Chicken is one of their most popular dishes. Mr G put on some Bob Marley and got down to business. His Jerk Chicken marinade contains spring onions, red onion, pimento berries (allspice), ginger, bay leaf, thyme, ground nutmeg, a red scotch bonnet chilli (with seeds), salt and pepper, juice squeezed from a lime, orange juice, dark soy sauce, vegetable oil and rum. (A recipe was given in a recent newspaper article - see link below). All the ingredients are blended, before pouring over chicken legs as a marinade. The secret here is to peel the skin back and make deep incisions into the meat, massage the marinade into the chicken, and fold the skin back into place. Mr G had some chicken that had marinaded for 24 hours, which he fried up for us. It was the spiciest and most succulent jerk chicken I’ve ever tasted. The jerk sauce can also be used on other meats, fish and vegetables.

In another chef demonstration, Mint and Mustard were showcasing one of their fish curries (we’ll catch up with Mint and Mustard in a future post). There were also wine tastings, and presentations on cider and tea.

Cream teas were being served at the castle; we had coffee with slices of cake. We also took a pleasant walk around the gardens, including the extensive kitchen garden.

There were two marquees devoted to food and drink in the large field (also the site of The Vale of Glamorgan Show later in the year), along with a range of stand-alone stalls and vans, a “Champagne marquee” with live music, and a craft fair marquee.

We bought cheese from three different stalls. From Caws Cenarth: Cennin Cenarth (made with leeks and white wine), Caws Cryf, and Golden Caws; the latter a semi-soft cheese that we will bake. Snowdonia Cheese had an interesting range of flavours, including mild cheddar with chocolate chips. The milk chocolate had a similar texture to the creamy cheese, but I remain to be convinced on this one. I bought one of my favourites from Snowdonia instead: Smoked Cheddar. Another stall was selling two very distinctive cheddars from nearby dairies in Somerset, both of which have been making cheddar for at least 100 years. Worthy Farm Mature Cheddar (Shepton Mallet) was rich and smooth, though we opted for the harder and stronger Green’s Organic Cheddar (from near Glastonbury).

Vegetarians were well served at this Food Festival. The Ethical Chef was cooking up halloumi, mushrooms and courgettes for burgers. Meanwhile, we stocked up for a couple of dinners at The Parsnipship: Thai Chickpea Cake; Glamorgan Crumble; Beetroot, Sesame Seed and Cumin Bombe; Brie, Pea, Lemon and Nettle Pasty Pie; and Roasted Butternut and Herb Polenta.

Next door to The Parsnipship was food of a very different complexion. Chipstix are a new catering van concept, whereby potatoes are cut into spirals in a special machine, spread along a stick and seasoned with one of a range of flavours from a jar, and then deep-fried. Hot, but cooling quickly, and somewhat gimmicky. The Gloucestershire-based company is looking to expand, with their Chinese-imported Caterpods™ expected to be at many festivals this summer. The company is looking for operators. They boast “huge gross profit potential,” not surprising as one medium-sized potato can be sold for up to £3 (£2.50 at this show).

There were three small breweries among the stallholders. A pint of draught Gold Beacons from Brecon Brewing slipped down nicely; a bitter for those who like their bitter bitter. Untapped and Vale of Glamorgan Brewery were also selling their bottled ales.

There was some fine-looking meat from Penlan Uchaf Gardens in Pembrokeshire, where Longhorn cattle graze. Eric Smith the butcher from Llantwit Major was selling home-made sausages in front of his distinctive grass-covered van (the grass is artificial, by the way, though the sausages are the real deal).

The full range of exhibitors can be found on the Welsh Country Fairs website. We bought some sourdough bread from Tortoise Bakery and went home to eat some bread-and-cheese.

The Food Festival calendar in South Wales is fairly crowded, but most events are in the late summer/autumn. Welsh Country Fair organizer Kim Dowdell has opted for an early summer gap in the market, while giving the non-food Country Fair elements (e.g., fashion, jewellery, wood and glass crafts, live music etc) equal billing. However, the food is definitely the main draw at this event. As we were leaving, the cars were queuing back across the bridge to get in. It looked like a big success for Fonmon Castle. With plenty of room to expand in the large field near the castle, I am sure this is an event that we’ll be seeing here again.

Selected links:

Welsh Country Fairs:

http://www.welshcountryfairs.co.uk

Fonmon Castle, Barry CF62 3ZN (01446 710206)

Mr G’s Soul Kitchen, 106 Bute Street, Cardiff Bay CF10 5AD (029 2132 8969):

http://www.mrgs-soulkitchen.co.uk

Mr G’s Jerk Chicken recipe:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/food-in-wales/eating-in/2012/04/28/recipes-from-mr-g-s-soul-kitchen-91466-30855925/

Caws Cenarth Cheese:

http://www.cawscenarth.co.uk/

Chipstix:

http://www.lovechipstix.com

Brecon Brewing:

http://www.breconbrewing.co.uk

Nick Otley and The Kings Arms, Pentyrch

Dating from the 16^th century, The Kings Arms in Pentyrch is steeped in history. A handsome refurbishment has recently secured its future. The Kings Arms is owned by Brains but, in a significant move, it is to be run by Nick Otley and his team from the Otley Brewing Company.

This weekend marks the pub’s official opening, with a Beer Festival, BBQ and live music. At an event on Friday (15 June), Nick Otley (managing director of Otley; pictured) said, “we wanted to make it into a community pub again, but at the same time bring a bit of modernity and a contemporary feel to it.” The sympathetic renovation has incorporated many original features of the Grade II listed building, including the flagstone floor, fireplace and oak beams. The contemporary feel extends to the food and drink on offer.

The menu showcases Welsh produce, and dishes cooked using beer. Ingredients include Welsh mussels (e.g., sautéed mariniére style with home-made bread), Breconshire lamb (e.g., slow-braised shank in Otley ale, with laverbread and new potatoes), Welsh sirloin steak (from W.J. George Butcher in Talgarth), and Madgett’s Farm free-range chicken (e.g., with chorizo and Otley ale jus). Expect pheasant, locally-produced sausages, duck and other meats to feature seasonally. There is a Goan beef curry and deep-fried Pollock fillet (in Otley ale beer batter) on the current menu; while vegetarian dishes include Ratatouille of Charred Mediterranean vegetables (e.g., with pasta or grilled polenta, and Cardiff-grown tomato compote). Desserts include Welsh gold home-made ice cream. The head chef is Ken Bell.

My selection from the BBQ was the line-caught “Chesil beach” Mackerel (pictured), served with bread, tapenade and selected salads. Own-label chutneys were to hand. The mackerel was large and meaty. The salads were varied, with some flavour surprises (star anise?) and excellent olives, and the home-made bread was light and very good.

Nick Otley led a beer tasting in a marquee in the pub’s garden, as the wind outside played havoc with the adjacent awning. He talked, in particular, about the Otley ales Croeso and Thai-Bo.

Croeso (ABV 4.2%) was described as a really good session beer, refreshing and easy-to-drink, with “a good hop presence and a lot of citrus notes,” by Nick. “You’re going to get grapefruit, some people say lemon, others grass – green grass, cut grass, that sort of thing,” he said. Nick noted that we were drinking a “green beer” that was “fresh-to-cask” (casked 2 weeks previously), so it also had a sulphurous nose (known as “Burton snatch”) that naturally disappears. Nick described Croeso as “having an open palate food-wise,” although it won’t compete with strong food flavours. Croeso (Welsh for “welcome”) has become one of the company’s bestselling main product beers.

Thai-Bo (ABV 4.6%) was first launched as a speciality beer in summer 2001, but its success may result in it becoming available year-round. “It was born out of a conversation I had in London with beer writer Melissa Cole”, said Nick, “it’s a golden ale flavoured with lime peel, lime leaf, lemongrass and galangal – flavours you would normally associate with a Thai green curry.” It’s a combination (with Sorachi Ace hops) that you wouldn’t normally expect to work; but they have done it rather well, with the right amount of understatement. “You have sharpness of lime leaf and lime zest there, giving a clean flavour, the subtlety of galangal, giving a little bit of warmth to the back of the throat, and lemongrass in the aroma”, said Nick. “It is well suited to food, although we are still searching for the perfect food match.” It may not be Thai green curry, according to Nick, as the clash may not be to the benefit of either beer of curry.

Other Otley ales showcased at the Beer Festival include Motley Brew (ABV 7.5%), a seasonal IPA beer named after head brewer Matthew Otley.

Ffion Jones from Brains Brewery led the tasting of two of her company’s beers. The first was the classic Brains SA (ABV 4.2%), which has been brewed in Cardiff for over 50 years. “It’s made from a trio of hops - Challenger, Fuggles and Golding - and has a note of spirit in its aroma that adds a bit of mystique,” said Ffion, “and it goes especially well with chicken dishes.”

The other beer was the first product from the Brains Craft Brewery, which opened less than a month ago on their main brewery site in Cardiff. “The Craft Brewery is a 10-barrel plant for trying out different techniques, flavours and hops,” explained Ffion, “basically to let our brewers loose on experimenting.” All at Sea (ABV 5.2%) is a traditional-style IPA, made with Admiral and Bramling Cross hops. “The hops give it a bit of an appley taste, with spice notes. It’s different from anything Brains has done before”, said Ffion.  I thought this relatively strong beer benefited from the presence of food; that’s a glass of it in the photo, appropriately enough, next to my mackerel. The second release from the Brains Craft Brewery will be Barry Island IPA (ABV 6.0%), created by “Barry boy” Simon Martin using hops from the USA.

Brains Craft Beers will be available at a range of their top cask pubs, including The Albany in Roath, Goat Major and City Arms in Cardiff city centre and, of course, The Kings Arms.

The Otley Brewing Company’s first pub was The Bunch of Grapes in Pontypridd, not far from Cilfynydd (where the brewery was founded in 2005). The Kings Arms is their fourth pub, and the nearest to Cardiff.

The Kings Arms looks set to flourish as a local community pub, and is certain to attract beer lovers from miles around to sample the latest ales from Otley and the Brains Craft Brewery. The collaboration between Brains and Otley here raises the enticing prospect of a future collaboration between artisan brewers from Otley and Brains Craft Brewery. Watch this space!

The Kings Arms

Church Road, Pentyrch, Cardiff CF15 9DF

(029) 20890202

http://www.kingsarmspentyrch.co.uk

Otley Brewing Company

http://www.otleybrewing.co.uk

Brains

http://www.sabrain.com

All food and drink mentioned in this post provided free by The Kings Arms.

An Olympic Diet: Part One

The London 2012 Olympic Games will provide a fantastic showcase for British Sport, while an ambitious arts programme has been attached. However, as a showcase for British food culture it will be a massive lost opportunity. Visitors from around the world will think we are a nation colonized by multinational fast-food outlets and foreign beer. Local food and drink products will be conspicuous by their absence.

This is the first impression that you might get when reading about London 2012. The only branded food and drink products allowed at Olympic events will be those of Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Cadbury and Heineken. Meanwhile, Brand Police working for Locog (The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) have already been very active in keeping it that way. They are clamping down on businesses making unauthorized use of Olympic symbols, and local cafés along the Olympic Torch route offering “Olympic breakfasts”, in a very heavy-handed way (e.g., see link below).

However, in addition to the corporate sponsor’s offerings, Locog will be mounting their own massive catering operation during the games to feed the athletics in the Olympic village, and some of this food will be available to spectators. So, will the simplistic picture painted in the opening paragraph come to pass, or will the organizers work around the ubiquitous branding to present visitors with some real British food culture? I’ll be reporting back from Olympic and Paralympic events in Cardiff and London during the summer to try and answer this question.

The Olympic Torch Relay has been bringing communities together, with locally-made food often to hand. The torch passed through Dinas Powys 7.00-7.10am on the morning of Saturday 26 May. It seemed like the whole village was lining the streets. Afterwards, the local school was serving bacon rolls and Danish pastries, with teas and coffees.

The previous evening, we attended the Olympic Concert in Cardiff (Friday 25 May). I must admit, I ate beforehand with my youngest daughter. We went to Pasta Pot (see link below). I had penne with salmon, prawns, samphire and creamy dill sauce; my daughter had pasta shells with Bolognese sauce topped with olives and sweetcorn (it’s a serious choice for kids, all those pasta shapes, sauces and toppings). We picnicked on the grass in the Druid’s stone circle, before the main area. I dwell on this, of course, because a pot of Pasta Pot is exactly the sort of locally branded product you are not going to get at (or into) an Olympic event. In fact, all food and drink was confiscated; including bottles of Coca Cola.

Inside the event, Coke and Olympic beer sponsor Heineken had the soft and alcoholic drink options sown up, respectively (in tents on opposite sides of the area). However, this was very much a Coke event, with McDonalds not represented. Local catering company First Cafés was therefore given the food gig. There was a greater variety of food available than I thought there would be.

Cardiff-based First Cafés (established 2000) operates mobile food vans under the “Posh Fast Food Company” brand. Several of their vans were at the Olympic Torch concert, including Posh Fish and Chips, Posh Pie and Mash, and Posh Sausages, Burger and Chips. There was also a Festival Pizza van, a Noodle Bar, Paella stall and more besides. The vans were doing good trade, rather than roaring trade; possibly because people (like us) assumed there would not be as much food choice inside.

During the actual Olympics, Locog’s massive catering operation will be run by multinational catering firm Aramark. It will involve over 800 chefs cooking around the clock for the athletes in the Olympic Village. In the main dining hall, which seats 5,000 people, around 65,000 meals a day will be served from four “pods”: Asian, African-Caribbean, Mediterranean and Western, and “Best of British”. Around 1,300 dishes will be on offer. The emphasis will be on getting regional dishes tasting authentic and, especially, on food hygiene (with up to 130 qualified environmental health inspectors on site). In addition to the main dining hall, there will be coffee carts around the village offering breakfasts, sandwiches and salads. One of the only independent caterers in the Olympic Village, Café Môr from Pembrokeshire will be serving seafood in a dedicated Street Food area.

Locog’s caterers will also be offering food to spectators, alongside the corporate giants and acting within their strict stipulations (e.g., fish and chips outlets cannot sell chips on their own). Jan Matthews, head of catering at the games, has said that they wish to create a food festival with some of the atmosphere of London’s Borough Market. Stalls will offer British cheeses, seafood and other products. (Guardian article by Robert Booth used as the main reference for these two paragraphs is linked to below).

In terms of food, the Olympic site will be dominated by Europe’s biggest McDonalds and the products of the corporate sponsors will be everywhere. American-style fast-food will be the main choice. However, the Olympic Games may not be the complete disaster for British food culture that some at first envisaged. I’ll be sampling the food on offer later this summer and will keep you posted!

Pasta Pot:

http://sfnottingham.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/pastapot-cardiff.html

First Cafés:

http://www.firstcafes.co.uk/

London 2012: Olympic organisers' pettiness risks undermining goodwill. Owen Gibson (Guardian Blog 24 may 2012): http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/may/24/london-2012-organisers-goodwill

London 2012: Why feeing Phelps and Bolt will be an Olympian feat. Robert Booth (The Guardian 25 May 2012): http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/may/25/olympics-feeding-the-athletes?INTCMP=SRCH