Thousands of visitors are expected to pack out the streets of Newport for this Saturday’s food festival – sponsored by Tiny Rebel.
The award-winning brewery which runs Urban Tap in the city centre is the headline sponsor of the free, one-day event which will see 80 stalls and more than a dozen food demonstrations or talks.
Tiny Rebel’s Bradley Cummings said: “We’re a proud Newport business so coming on board as headline sponsor of the festival is a great honour.”
The Golden Lion at Magor is a supporting sponsor – and two of its chefs are on the bill.
The mouth-watering line-up of chefs includes the Celtic Manor Resort’s TV chef Larkin Cen, Ben Periam of Mojo The Food Bar, James Sommerin of The Esplanade in Penarth, and Steve White of The Ruperra Arms.
The festival’s hotly-contested teen chef competition final will be staged at 10am upstairs in Newport Market, and there will be a battle of the burgers there between Pretentious Burger Kitchen and Meat Bar & Grill at 4pm.
There’s also a packed programme of entertainment with choirs and bands performing throughout the day.
Hywel Jones
Here are 9 tasty things to do at the festival:
Learn how to make perfect pasta – including a simple dish anyone can replicate at home – with the Executive Chef of The Park Michelin-starred restaurant and The Brasserie at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Hywel Jones. His session will take place at 11am in the upper area of Newport Market.
Spice up your life with a tasting of some of the hot and fiery sauces from Monmouthshire producers Sorai. If you love chillis, these sauces are for you! We recommend the onion and balsamic sauce which has a hot tang.
Brush up on your cake decorating skills at a demonstration with Nia Thomas in 44 High Street at 2pm. Nia has 18 years of experience in decoration and sugar craft – and she has passed on her skills in classes and day schools for the past two years.
Sample fantastic, fresh, and funky vegetarian food at the Parsnipship stall – created at their base in South Wales. We’re in love with Parsnipship’s haloumi burgers.
Catch a demonstration by Gwent chef James Sommerin, whose Penarth restaurant has been awarded title of Best in Wales in the Good Food Guide 2016. He’ll be at the Pobl offices at 11.30am. He has inspired his 17-year-old daughter to work alongside him in his kitchen.
Clam’s Handmade Cakes
Check out the sweet taste of Clam’s Handmade Cakes at their stall – last year, they did a roaring trade. So pop along early to get the widest selection of cakes!
Learn how to cook with beer with the help of Tiny Rebel’s Paul Turley. His demonstration will be in the Pobl offices at 2.30pm.
Taste some wine or liqueur from exhibitors Cwm Deri Vineyard. We caught up with them at the recent Abergavenny Food Festival and loved their light and bright elderflower gin and smooth sloe gin.
Grab an ice lolly with a kick from Mojo The Food Bar’s pop-up cocktail bar – or a special cocktail created by mixologist and head bartender, Andrej Madaras.
From top chefs and food writers to TV presenters and a former star of the Great British Bake Off – this year’s Abergavenny Food Festival will be a feast for its tens of thousands of visitors.
Last year’s event attracted 30,000 people, and this year’s festival will run from Friday night (September 16) to Sunday.
This year’s line-up has a taste of cooking from India, Italy, France, Spain, Malaysia, Poland, Japan, Korea, and the UK.
MasterChef: The Professionals presenter and former Le Gavroche senior sous chef Monica Galetti talks about her new book, The Skills, and stages a masterclass at the Borough Theatre on Friday evening.
On Saturday, Abergavenny Food Festival favourite Cyrus Todiwala will be at the Borough Theatre showing visitors how to get 120 dishes out of 10 spices with recipes from his new book, Mr Todiwala’s Spice Box. The chef, restaurateur, and author has been called the UK’s best Indian chef.
Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Jose Pizzaro will share culinary secrets from his new book, Basque, during a session at the Borough Theatre on Saturday.
Founder of the Riverford Field Kitchen, Jane Baxter, will give a taste of her new book, Leon Happy Salads, at the Masonic Hall on Sunday.
Tim McDougall
What To Eat Now star Valentine Warner returns to the festival with new fish recipes at the Priory Centre on Sunday, and Llansantffraed Court chef Tim McDougall will be demonstrating recipes with Usk Valley beef, Monmouthshire lamb, and Bristol Channel sea bass at the Priory Centre on Sunday.
If you’ve been diagnosed as a coeliac, Naomi Devlin will be holding a masterclass at the Priory Centre on Saturday called River Cottage Gluten Free. She will be preparing some of the 120 recipes in her book – which don’t compromise on taste.
Miss Foodwise blog editor Regina Ysewijn will prepare 17th Century puddings from her book, Pride and Pudding, at the Masonic Hall on Saturday.
You could learn Japanese cooking with food writer and chef Kimiko Barber at the Borough Theatre on Saturday.
Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn
Or you could pick up expert barbecue tips from the dynamic funders of the Hang Fire Smokehouse at the Priory Centre on Saturday. Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn will also be sharing tales of their cooking misadventure from their book, Recipes and Adventures in American BBQ.
Richard Burr
Builder-turned-baker Richard Burr, a finalist in last year’s Great British Bake Off, will tell you how to be a star baker during a session at the Masonic Hall on Saturday. He will demonstrate recipes from his first cookbook, Bake It Yourself.
Norman Musa will demonstrate recipes from his book Amazing Malaysian at the Priory Centre on Saturday, Marie Cheong-Thong and Jon Old will be talking about sake and wasabi at the Masonic Hall on Saturday, and Eleonara Galasso will talk about modern Roman cuisine at the Priory Centre on Saturday.
Vegetarians will find a feast of ideas from Alice Hart when she talks about her new book The Modern Vegetarian at the Masonic Hall on Saturday.
Also on the bill: pop-up restaurateurs Terry and George; food writer William Sitwell; writer and recipe developer Eleanor Ford; Zuza Zak; Brad McDonald; Martha Collison.
The festival features a packed programme of forages and tours, tutored tastings, and sessions at the Artisan Kitchen School.
Byddwch yn dod i’r Fenni am yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr wythnos yma? Croeso!
Dw i wedi byw yn Y Fenni am bymtheng mlynedd – a dyma rhai o’r lleoedd gorau i fwyta o gwmpas y dref:
The Hardwick, yn Hardwick ger Y Fenni
Mae’r cogydd Stephen Terry’n enwog am ddefnyddio mwyd lleol. Mae’r bwyd yr Hardwick yn syml ac yn flasus iawn. Rhaid i chi archebu bwrdd ‘na – mae’r Hardwick yn boblogaidd iawn gydag ymwelwyr a phobol leol.
The Angel, Stryd y Croes
Mae’r Angel yn enwog am fwyta gwych a the yn y prynhawn. Dewiswch o’r fwydlen a la carte, neu archebu bwrdd am de gyda brechdanau gwych a chacennau.
Marches Deli, Heol Nevill
Perffaith am brynu cigoedd a chawsai lleol, gwînau o Sir Fynwy, brechdanau, a photelau’r cwrw Iechyd Da.
Gurkha Corner, Stryd Nevill
Bwyd o Nepal ydy’r arbenigedd y bwyty yma. Trio’r ‘daal bhat’ (reis a chorbys) ac yr ‘achar’ (siytni).
Mae’r cogydd yn paratoi’r perlysiau a sbeisys yn forter carreg a phestl, fel sy’n draddodiadol yn Nepal Mae hwn yn gan roi blas unigryw i’r fwyd.
Fig Tree Espresso, Stryd Nevill
Coffi gwych, te, tartenni sawrus, a chacennau blasus.
Hoffi Coffi, Stryd Nevill
Caffi newydd sy’n gweini coffi, te, cacennau, a brechdanau.
The Trading Post, Stryd Nevill
Coffi gwych, te, brechdanau ffres, a chacennau.
Cwtch Café, Stryd y Croes
Coffi a the da, cacennau gwych, ac mae’r caffi yma’n enwog am grempogau.
Luigi’s, Stryd y Croes
Caffi traddodiadol Eidaleg sy’n gweini te, coffi, cwrw, gwin, a mwyd Cymraeg ac Eidaleg.
Boonta Too, Stryd y Croes
Bwyty Thai poblogaidd iawn gyda’r bobl Sir Fynwy ydy Boonta Too. Does dim trwydded alcohol am y bwyty yma – felly rhaid i chi ddod â chwrw neu gwîn.
For The Love Of Cake, Stryd Frogmore
Caffi anhygwyl sy’n gweini te, coffi, brechdanau, a chacennau a gwneud â llaw.
Lazy Days Café, Stryd Frogmore
Mae’r caffi’n drws nesaf i siop cigydd ac yn enwog am cigaoedd – yn frechdanau a chiniawau rhost.
Pizzorante, Stryd y Farchnad
Bwyty gwych am bitsa – poblogaidd iawn gyda’r bobl Y Fenni.
Ac ar y maes…
Edrychwch am y cwrw’r Eisteddfod Genedlaethol ar werth ar y maes o’r bragdy Mad Dog. Cwrw coch gyda’r blas o siocled ac sydd oren ydy Iechyd Da. Darllenwch mwy am Mad Dog ac yr Eisteddfod yma.
Passionate brewer Alexis Jones has been cooking up a great 2016 for his company, Mad Dog Brewing.
The Goytre company is currently brewing the official beer for the National Eisteddfod 2016 which will be staged in nearby Abergavenny. Europe’s biggest cultural festival is expected to welcome 160,000 visitors between July 29 and August 6.
He’s also poised to take on his first two staff, both experienced brewers, and to expand into a nearby unit as his business grows. He also has plans to open a family venue in Abergavenny.
The company’s beers can now be bought across South Wales. Mad Dog Brewing supplies Wetherspoon’s pubs from Llanelli in the west to the English border in Monmouthshire.
It’s a DIY success story born from home-brewing in his kitchen after watching a number of videos on YouTube. After learning his trade, qualifying in microbiology for brewing, and working for a brewery in Caerphilly, he started his own company just two years ago.
Now, he’s begun his eight brews of the Eisteddfod beer Iechyd Da, a red ale which tastes of oranges and chocolate and has a spicy finish on the tongue.
“It’s clean and crisp and is 4.1%,” he says.
The beer has a lower AVB than some other craft ales because it is designed to be a refreshing drink for the Eisteddfod maes, where Mad Dog will have a bar. It will also be sold in bars in South Wales.
The brewery is making 160 casks for the festival, along with 1,000 500ml bottles.
Iechyd Da will be launched at The Bridge in Llanfoist on June 4 – and Alexis will also be showing off one of his most popular beers, Bohemian Hipster.
“I was asked to brew the beer by Monmouthshire Council. When I first got the email, I thought it was a wind-up, but I went to a meeting two days later and found out it was serious,” Alexis says.
“As well as having a bar on the Eisteddfod field, we’ll be staging a brewing demonstration on the first Saturday of the festival.”
The event will provide a huge audience for Mad Dog’s beers – and a massive boost to the company’s profile.
The secret to Mad Dog’s success is the fact Alexis is a perfectionist who uses unusual and local produce, like juniper berries and granola, as part of the brewing process to create unusual and delicious tastes.
Brewing begins on Iechyd Da
The brewery carries out a pilot brew on its ales as they perfect the recipes, ensuring all its beers meet Alexis’s exacting standards. Even its used mash doesn’t go to waste – it becomes cattle feed for a nearby beef farm.
The brewery is planning its own beer festival with guest ales from around the UK in September at its site in Goytre, to raise funds for mental health charity MIND.
In July, Mad Dog will also be involved in a ‘tap takeover’ at Cardiff’s Urban Tap House, and Alexis is in the process of planning a Christmas event too.
“Our two new brewers start work in the next few months, which will help us meet the growing demand for our beers,” Alexis says.
He can’t reveal more details about his plan for an Abergavenny venue as yet – watch this space!
Top chefs will display their skills at this weekend’s Caernarfon Food Festival.
Bryn Williams (pictured), the star of TV’s Cegin Bryn and the owner and proprieter of Odette’s, is joined on the bill by Beca Lyne-Pirkis of Becws Beca and The Great British Bake Off, Masterchef The Professionals contestant Matt Guy, Blas restaurant owner Dan ap Geraint, and Ffres ambassador Lisa Fearn.
Demonstrations will also be staged by Anglesey Cookery School, and there will be sessions on recipes from World War II by the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum.
There will be dozens of stall selling everything from cakes and sweets to meat, wine, and cheeses at the event on May 14.
There will also be a dedicated children’s area and music from Cor Dre, Pon Bro, Bandana, and Cor Cofnod.
Wales’ craft cider revival is set to be recorded in a new project backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Welsh Perry and Cider Society (WPCS) is recruiting for the project, ‘The Heritage of Orchards & Cidermaking in Wales’.
The aim is to enlist community groups to develop orchards, to build a comprehensive list of Welsh perry and cider fruit varieties, and collect oral histories to build digital stories about the revival of cidermaking and the orchard tradition in Wales.
The society is looking to recruit a heritage project manager and project support assistant based at Blaengawney Farm near Hafodyrynys, Caerphilly county borough, and a heritage project officer based in north Wales. The jobs are full time and for a fixed two-year term. The deadline for applications is January 14, and anyone interested should email heritage@welshcider.co.uk or call 07702 942587 for more details.
Cidermaking in Wales, which had been established by the Normans in the 14th Century, went into decline after the Second World War.
The orchards remained standing, and the first of a new wave of craft cidermakers started to use the fruit from the old trees in the 1980s.
Mike Penney’s ‘Troggi Seidr’ began to make cider and perry with his Victorian machinery, and in Radnorshire Ralph Owen’s ‘Ralph’s Cider’ pressed local cider apples on an antique mobile twin-screw press. The national society was founded in the Clytha Arms near Raglan in 2001, and the first Welsh Perry and Cider Festival was staged in 2002.
There are now around 40 Welsh cider and perrymakers. Welsh cidermakers have won awards including CAMRA Gold Awards for Cider for Gwynt-y-Ddraig and Ralph’s, and CAMRA Gold Awards for Perry for Gwynt-y-Ddraig and Seidr Dai.
Welsh cidermakers use Welsh varieties of apples and pears including ‘Frederick’, ‘Breakwell’s Seedling’ and ‘Perthyre’. The ‘Broom Apple’ of Monmouthshire, and ‘Pen Caled’ from West Wales had to be propagated at Paul Davis’ Dolau-Hirion Nursery at Llandeilo.
Perry pears like ‘Monmouthshire Burgundy’ and the ‘Potato Pear’ have also been rediscovered. The work of the cider and perrymakers helps preserve heritage apples and pears, ensuring their future survival. The society has established a Museum Orchard with more than 20 varieties acting as a genetic bank.
For more information on the society and its work, and Welsh producers, click here.
There is set to be a feast for foodies at this weekend’s Monmouthshire Food Festival in Caldicot Castle.
The event will feature food and drink producers, chef demonstrations, a children’s quarter, and recipes cooked up by chefs from the Royal Navy.
Artisan baker Bill King
The festival’s Look and Learn section will feature demonstrations and tutored tastings from artisan baker Bill King, Black Mountain Gold chocolates, Brecon Brewing, Gwatkin Cider, Morgan’s Brew Tea, Rayeesa’s Indian Kitchen, Varsity Coffee, and Warner Edwards, craft distillers of gin.
The festival entry fee is £5, children under 12 go free. The event is held between 10am and 4.30pm on October 10 and 11.
Clive has a passion for local produce, and has held positions in many top restaurants and hotels in the area before moving to the Parkway Hotel as Head Chef in 2012.
Under Adrian’s management, Golden Valley Meat and Game has been supplying the highest quality meat, poultry and game to the retail and catering industry for nearly 25 years.
Matt heads up a small team, dedicated to producing exceptionally good food, with a focus to provide perfectly cooked, beautifully presented food using local ingredients.
Aidan trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu in London before working in a variety of excellent dining establishments including the 3 rosette Terry M restaurant for four years.
Producers:
A Lot of Waffle
American style waffles
Baked on Green Street
Artisan baker specialising in bread, doughnuts and savoury breads.
Thousands of people lined the streets of Newport today for the Admiral Newport Food Festival.
As chef demonstrations took place in locations like Newport Market, more than 70 stalls were selling produce to the public outside in the streets – from street food to home made chutneys, cakes, and chocolates.
Last year, the event attracted 13,000 people, and it’s hoped that number will be beaten when this year’s attendance total is totted up.
Many traders have been attracted by the fact the event is free – unlike some of the other food festivals in south Wales, including Abergavenny.
Odette Phillips of Clam’s Handmade Cakes
Odette Phillips, of the family firm Clam’s Handmade Cakes, said: “It’s better than Abergavenny for us as it’s free so people have more money to spend with traders like us.”
Mrs Phillips said trade had been brisk at today’s event.
“Many came because of the macaroons we made especially for the event – we’ve sold out now!” she said.
“This is our second year, and it’s been very busy. There’s a great atmosphere.”
Claire’s Kitchen preserves
Ant Cook, who set up Parc Pantry in Malpas 13 months ago with business partner Matt Ellis, agreed.
“It’s been very busy. We wanted to come last year, but we’d just set up and it wasn’t feasible. We’ve always wanted to be part of the city centre, though business rates make that difficult for many companies like ours. Events like this mean we can have a presence in the city centre and more people of Newport can get to know us,” he said.
Three months ago, Parc Pantry took over tea rooms in Belle Vue Park in the city – and have now obtained a licence to hold weddings there.
“We’ve had around 12 weddings. We also have control of the bandstand, and we are planning a Christmas market in Belle Vue,” Mr Cook added.
Chocolates on display
Alex Culpin of Ty Gwyn Cider, which started life in the Monnow Valley and is now based at Pontrilas on the Monmouthshire/Herefordshire border, was at the event for the first time.
“We’ve been impressed with this event,” he said.
“We go to a number of food festivals including Abergavenny and Ludlow. This event has been really busy – a lot of people are buying rather than just sampling and moving on.
“A number of other alcohol producers might be put off because the event itself doesn’t have an alcohol licence. But it’s very simple to get a special licence yourselves, and it shouldn’t put people off.”
On the Ty Gwyn stall was the Ty Gwyn Dabinett cider, which I sampled.
The cider is produced from a mixture of Michelin and Dabinett apples, and is a sparkling medium cider which I found refreshing, perfectly fruity and with just the right amount of spritz. Little surprise that Ty Gwyn’s ciders have won fans across the UK, including Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi.
Share your pictures and video of the Admiral Newport Food Festival with Gusto.
I’ll be attending the event on Saturday, and I’d love to see your images from the big day which is set to attract thousands of visitors. You can tweet me on @MWilliamsJourno, email maria-williams1967@blackberry.orange.co.uk, or leave your images on the Gusto Facebook page here.
To get your mouths watering, here’s the line-up for the chef and producer demonstrations, headlined by Lucknam Parks’s Hywel Jones, and all are free. There will be more than 70 stalls in the city centre.
One of the demonstrators, Hang Fire Smoke House, has just announced it will be publishing a new book. The slow barbecue specialists say: “We’ve completed the first draft already and will be finalising the photoshoots and last edits soon. We’re looking at a release in May 2016. In our book, we’ll show you how we built our trailer smoker, tips on converting any grill into a home smoker, take you though our road trip where we went coast-to-coast and, of course, tons of recipes to try at home.”
Demonstrations will be held upstairs in Newport Market and due to a last minute change the other stage will be in the foyer of the Seren Group offices at the top of High Street (bus stop end)
The festival also has a bonus demonstration area- the Coleg Gwent training suite in the Royal Chambers building on High Street.
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