The
Welsh cook from the heart, using fresh and simple ingredients. This part of The
United Kingdom has an amazingly diverse range of unspoilt landscapes, including
a long coastline; hence it boasts a vast array of produce that can be
proclaimed as local and organic. Fortunately for me I came across some awesome
produce and producers on a one stop shop on my trip to Wales where I spent an
entire day with my family!
A ONE STOP SHOP
As
I arrived from London onto wales my first stop was at the Hawarden Estate farm
shop in Flintshire which includes a butchery section, delicatessen and coffee
shop and they stock approximately 250 products from 60 Welsh producers making
them one of the largest stockists of Welsh food in the region. The deli boasts
of everything that is Farm fresh and home-made and sourced from local trusted
suppliers i.e. Fruits, vegetables, pies, puddings, cakes, chutneys, meat,
bread, cider, beers, wines, spirits and oils. Most of the locals ( read like us
tourists )also spend an entire day here as on offer at the Estate are also
cookery workshops, a cafe, nature trail, children’s play fort and food tastings
aka a family day out all under one roof!
STAWBERRY PICKING
Luckily
for me it was the strawberry season so I picked up my punnet and rushed to the
fields (a part of the so many acres of this large Estate). The lush, red
strawberries lay quietly beneath their leaves and I thoroughly examined each
fruit carefully before accepting it. Only the brightest, plumpest choices would
be going back with me. After getting them weighed and paying for it, I dug into
them, absolutely delicious and more so in comparison to those in the
supermarket, these were about hundred notches ahead on the flavour scale. Rosy,
sweet and juicy, freshly picked by my own green fingers if I may add.
TRADITIONALLY WELSCH
Soon
it was time for lunch and between my family and me we ordered a ‘Meat Platter’
which included slices of home cooked meats, marmalade ham, rare roast beef and
butter poached chicken. A ‘Cheese platter’ which was a selection of five Welsh
cheeses including Black Bomber, Mr Bourne’s Cheshire, Caws Cenarth brie,
Bouncing berry and Per Las all served with Pant Glas Bach farmhouse pickle,
grapes, celery and chunky bread…delicious to the core! Interestingly ewes’ milk
is used to produce gorgeous yoghurt and cheeses and goat’s milk cheeses are
also widely available. The Homemade beef and beer pie seemed tempting so
ordered that as well along with some ciders and Hawarden Estate pressed apple
juice. One of the most enduring Welsh traditions is the weekly bake and items
like ‘bara birth’ aka speckled bread eaten on its own, buttered or as I did
with cheese, and cakes like ‘teisen lap’ which is a fruit cake and reisen
sinamon i.e. cinnamon are tea time delights. So after a slow browsing at the
store and the Estate tea time was a divine dip in the pool of indulgence with ‘sultana
scones with jam, butter and Cornish cream’, ‘Coffee & walnut Bakewell tart’, ‘Carrot cake’ along
with pots of Tea. After a delightfully amazing day we bought some Welsh cakes
and bottles of freshly squeezed Apple juice , some freshly caught fish to take
back home for dinner that night!
FAST FACTS
Best Way to
Reach: Drive down from Chester.
Address: Chester Rd, Hawarden, Flintshire CH5 3FB
Phone: 01244 533442
Email: manager@hawardenestate.co.uk
Timings: Monday to Friday – 9 Am to 6pm, Saturday closed &
Sunday- 10 Am to 5 Pm
MUST TRY WHEN IN WALES
LAVER: Not really a Nation of seaweed fans and the closest
the welsh get to seaweed is Samphire. The one unique ingredient in the Welsh
kitchen is the ‘laver’, delicate purplish seaweed harvested from the rocks in
South Wales and yes the nori sheets in which sushi rolls are wrapped is from
the same seaweed. Once cooked it is called ‘laver bread’ though I couldn’t
figure out why as it has nothing to do with bread and it is served with mutton,
grilled or steamed fish or as a side dish. As for me I thought they paired best
with cockles.
COCKLES: Welsh Cockles are highly rated across the United
Kingdom and the Penclawdd Bury inlet is supposed to be judged a sustainable
rated fishery and an environmentally responsible area by the Marine Stewardship
Council. Anyways the best time to try these cockles at their best is during
autumn as they are sweet and absolutely plum then.
WELSH RABBIT: Yes it’s ‘Rabbit’ and not ‘Rarebit’ and for those who
do not know Dorothy Hartley’s ‘Food in England’ (1954) and Hannah Glasse from
1747 confirm that it’s the original name for ‘Cheese on Toast’. I guess the ‘rarebit’ adaption must have been
a joke that caught on. Caerphilly cheese makes the best refined cheese on toast
or ‘rabbit’ with savoury additions.
published in TLF
