Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Trending
    • Interview with the Vice-Chancellor
    • Country Highlight: The Netherlands
    • If You’re Moving Back Home After Uni …
    • Jane Austen in Lockdown: How her six novels are more relevant than ever
    • All About … Period Poverty
    • My Veggie Journey: How not being strictly Vegetarian is OK
    • Watch with Pride: Your Top TV Picks this Pride Month
    • Globe Trotting on Screen: Your Guide to Summer 2021
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Flickr
    Seren
    • News & Politics
      1. Local News
      2. UK News
      3. Uni News
      4. World News
      5. Politics
      6. Comment
      7. Business
      Featured

      SABB Election: The Full Result Breakdown

      By Emily ReadMarch 20, 20210
      Recent

      Interview with the Vice-Chancellor

      May 23, 2022

      Retro? Chip shortage may bring vintage tech to your car.

      May 6, 2021

      Manizha – the artist causing a stir as the Russian representative for Eurovision 2021:

      May 6, 2021
    • Arts & Culture
      1. Books
      2. Games
      3. Film
      4. Music
      5. TV
      6. Creative Corner
      Featured

      Bangor alumni podcast earns Hollywood cameo & BBC features

      By Amelia SmithMarch 7, 20210
      Recent

      Jane Austen in Lockdown: How her six novels are more relevant than ever

      July 7, 2021

      Watch with Pride: Your Top TV Picks this Pride Month

      May 17, 2021

      Globe Trotting on Screen: Your Guide to Summer 2021

      May 16, 2021
    • Lifestyle
      1. Fashion
      2. Food and Drink
      3. Social
      4. Health and Beauty
      5. Travel
      Featured

      Country Highlight: The Netherlands

      By Emily ShoultsMay 6, 20220
      Recent

      Country Highlight: The Netherlands

      May 6, 2022

      If You’re Moving Back Home After Uni …

      August 3, 2021

      All About … Period Poverty

      May 17, 2021
    • Discovery
      1. Science
      2. Environment
      3. History
      4. International
      Featured

      Brewing up a Storm: The History of Guinness

      By Emily ReadMarch 20, 20210
      Recent

      Manizha – the artist causing a stir as the Russian representative for Eurovision 2021:

      May 6, 2021

      Japan plan to release radioactive water into the ocean

      May 6, 2021

      The link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots

      April 29, 2021
    • Sport
      1. Varsity 2019
      2. Varsity 2018
      3. Varsity 2017
      4. Varsity 2016
      5. Varsity 2015
      6. Varsity 2014
      7. Varsity 2013
        • Varsity 2013 Results
        • Varsity 2013 – In tweets
      Featured

      Bangor Muddogs’ American Football: a young woman finding her place

      By Jade HillMarch 23, 20210
      Recent

      The 48-hour rise and fall of the European Super League

      April 27, 2021

      The European Super League is announced

      April 19, 2021

      Formula 1’s ‘Drive to Survive S3’ is released

      April 7, 2021
    • Students’ Union
      1. Union News
      2. Societies
      3. Volunteering
      4. Clubs
      Featured

      INTERVIEW: Be Period Positive

      By Caroline CartmillMarch 17, 20210
      Recent

      Bangor University Feminist Society

      March 30, 2021

      INTERVIEW: Be Period Positive

      March 17, 2021

      LGBT History Month in Bangor

      March 4, 2021
    • Issues
      • Current Issue
      • This year’s issues
      • Last year’s issues
      • Seren Archive
      • Seren Teams
    Seren
    Home»Lifestyle»Food and Drink»Welsh Gastronomy – in decline or on the rise?
    Food and Drink

    Welsh Gastronomy – in decline or on the rise?

    Joe RussellBy Joe RussellMarch 17, 2013Updated:March 17, 20132 Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    welsh cawlThe Welsh larder is phenomenal. Quintessentially Welsh ingredients such as lamb and leeks define its farming landscape, while its shores (especially those surrounding Anglesey) are pregnant with salty water fit for the production of arguably the world’s most revered sea salt – Halen Môn – and sea bass. The Menai Strait is home to plump mussels and the glowing hue of rapeseed buds now lights up the fields of Conwy.

    The list of amazing produce doesn’t stop there. Glamorgan sausages are rich with Caerphilly cheese and its history; each time you eat a sausage, its sour tang resonates its past. Supposedly first made to replenish miners with salt lost during work, Caerphilly cheese replaced Glamorgan cheese, a now defunct variety of cows’ milk cheese.

    Bara brith, deep and fruity; cawl, nourishing and savoury, and perhaps the country’s most well-known dish, Welsh rarebit, all create the impression that if you’re a chef in Wales, you’d be hard-pressed to make a cawl of it.

    Indeed, there are several restaurants in Wales that serve good food. Aled William’s Beaumaris venture, Cennin, received 8/10 from Giles Coren in The Times. Further south, Stephen Terry’s Abergavenny-based restaurant The Hardwick was described by Michel Roux Jr. as his “favourite Welsh restaurant”. And of course, as ever, there is Shaun Hill’s The Walnut Tree, also in Abergavenny. Short, concise menu descriptions – skate with shrimps and dill – emphasise Hill’s ability to produce wonderful yet simple food.

    And yet, among all these fields of gold and plates of gastronomy, there is the rotting redolence of disappointment. Surely a country with such a plentiful bounty of amazing ingredients should be home to more than two restaurants in The Good Food Guide’s Top 50? Equally, in spite of its increasingly disputed reliability, the Michelin guide’s decision to award just four Welsh restaurants with a star in 2013 is worrying.

    Moreover, the recent closure of James Sommerin’s Michelin-starred The Crown at Whitebrook, described by Stephen Terry as a “sad day for Welsh cooking and the Welsh culinary scene” hints at a deeper problem.

    Its owners cited “financial difficulties” as the reason behind the restaurant’s closure. Similarly, Shaun Hill tweeted on the 9th January: “Christ I’m bored with this quiet time of year already. Come, book tables, eat and spend money you buggers.”

    Is there a market for these restaurants in Wales? Seven years ago, chef Craig Harnden condemned Wales’ inability to produce restaurants worthy of being considered among the best in the world: “We won’t get a world-class restaurant for at least 10 years, just because of the culture of people and what they expect when they go out.” It’s hard to disagree with Harnden. His contention is backed-up by the location of some of Wales’ most well-known chefs.

    Bryn Williams, who represented Wales in the BBC’s Great British Menu and cooked for the Queen at her 80th birthday party, resides in Primrose Hill, London. His restaurant, Odette’s, is joined by Angela Hartnett’s Murano, also based in London. Perhaps the most pertinent indictment of Welsh gastronomy will arrive next week in the competition that helped give Williams his revered reputation.

    The Great British Menu will feature its Welsh region round next week, though only Mary Ann Gilchrist of Carlton Riverside, Powys, plies her trade in Wales. The other two chefs, Richard Davies and Luke Thomas, are head chefs at English eateries.

    So why do some talented Welsh chefs elope to England? According to Harnden, it may be down to the remoteness of many of Wales’ towns: “it is not the place chefs talk about to go to eat,” he said. “I don’t see why it shouldn’t be but I think it may be down to its accessibility.”
    Sommerin, however, sees it differently. Despite his restaurant’s closure, he contended that “these are extremely exciting times for me….Plans for my new restaurant are progressing well and my goal is to achieve a Michelin-star once it opens.”

    In addition to this, the fantastic produce that’s “increasing year on year”, plus the government’s support for local produce and its ‘Wales the True Taste’ brand, have helped to promote the country’s food culture.

    Though there is currently a dearth of high-quality restaurants in Wales – something that doesn’t look set to change instantly – we live in a country that has the ingredients to succeed and if Sommerin’s excitement is even somewhat representative of his contemporaries, the chefs as well.

    drink food gastronomy issue230 restaurant restaurants Wales welsh
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Joe Russell

    I'm a 21-year-old student in my final year of an English Literature degree. I'm currently the food and drink editor for the paper because of my passion for all things food related. Following on from an essay on George Orwell's portrayal of food, I'll soon be starting my dissertation on the use of food in literature set in 1920s Paris. Feel free to send me an email if there's a restaurant, café or bar in North Wales that you've particularly enjoyed and I'll be sure to check it out.

    Related Posts

    My Veggie Journey: How not being strictly Vegetarian is OK

    May 17, 2021

    5 Must-Try Cocktails This National Beverage Day

    May 5, 2021

    I Tried the Popular Ketogenic Diet: Here’s What Happened…

    April 9, 2021

    2 Comments

    1. KeithR on August 5, 2013 11:59 am

      I grew up in Bangor and the mention of bara brith such as my old nain made made my mouth water. You’re right though – not many great restaurants last time I visited back in 2000. Welsh food should be celebrated along with the beautiful and ancient Welsh language.

      Reply
    2. Louisa Mills on July 16, 2014 12:44 pm

      Hi Joe,

      I really enjoyed reading your article which has made me very hungry. My favourite places to eat out are those that tend to have a lot of traditional Welsh food on their menus – it was The Cawdors hotel when I lived near Llandeilo and now I enjoy Miskin Manor and Ffresh at Wales Millenium Centre. I enjoy making cawl, welsh cakes and barabrith myself too.

      Your photographs are also excellent. Would you mind if I use it for a social media post I’m doing for the social enterprise I’m building, to encourage community spirit and an empowered, collaborative Welsh society? You can message me on Facebook if you like.

      Thanks, diolch,

      Louisa

      Reply

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    MORE INFORMATION
    • ABOUT
    • ADVERTISE
    • CONTACT US
    • GET INVOLVED
    • MEMBERS
    Links
    • Bangor University Bangor University
    • Google+ Google+
    • Undeb Bangor Undeb Bangor
    About

    Seren is Bangor University Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper

    We have editorial independence from both Bangor University and Bangor Students’ Union. Seren is written by students for students and we’d love you to get involved!

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.