Wales Farmer 18 COOK’Scorner by Jake Whitson FOOD APRIL 2014


Ambitious plan for food sector


AMBITIOUS plans could see Wales’ food and farm- ing sector increase by


30% by 2020. The target forms part of the


WITH the atrocious weather we’ve had over the past few months, I’ve scarcely wanted to set foot in my garden. But the other week, as I trudged down to survey my veg patch through slushy grey snow, I realised that there’s actually a fair amount of vegetables still in good shape. Best looking among these was a row of leeks. I have never grown them before, however early last summer I was given a set of seedling leeks as a present, so I stuck them in the ground in a corner of my garden, and then, almost immediately, forgot about them. But my goodness, it seems that they thrive on neglect, as the plants that were once as thin and delicate as human hairs are now as thick as a child’s forearm. But what to do with them? I usually just add leeks to soups and stocks to add body and lend their subtle onion flavour, but this month I decided to cook a dish which really puts leeks centre stage - a Belgian flamiche, or leek tart.


Flamiche (leek tart)


Ingredients 250g leeks Knob of butter Oil 1 egg 1 egg yolk 75ml milk 50ml double cream Half teaspoon nutmeg Large pinch salt and pepper Shortcrust pastry base


Method * Wash and finely slice the leeks.


* Heat up a knob of butter and a splash of oil in a large frying pan until the butter turns slightly brown, then add the leeks and sauté until tender and silky. Tip into a large ceramic or glass bowl so that they cool quickly and retain their lovely dark green colour.


* Make a savoury custard by whisking together the whole egg and egg yolk, milk, double cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper.


* Combine the leeks with the custard and tip gently into an 8 inch, blind-baked shortcrust pastry case, then bake in a very low oven until the custard just sets.


* Serve hot or cold, with salad, for a wonderful early spring lunch.


Destination Dubai


WELSHfood and drink produc- ers headed to Dubai to promote quality Welsh produce at an important international trade exhibition. The Gulfood exhibition


attracts more than 77,000 domestic and international traders and provides an impor- tant opportunity for producers looking to develop new markets


in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).


Speaking ahead of the trade mission, minister for natural resources and food Alun Davies said: “This is a really exciting opportunity. The UAE is by far the UK’s largest growing export market and is the main consumer of Welsh food in the Middle East.”


Welsh Government’s food and drink action plan, which has out- lined increased growth of 30% in terms of turnover to £6.7billion and a 10% growth in gross value added to £1.4 billion, by 2020. Minister for natural resources


and food Alun Davies said: “I am committed to


Wales’s food and drinks sector and will do all I can to ensure Wales makes the most of these opportunities so that our food industry can continue to grow and reach its full potential. “By supporting and encourag-


strengthening


ing Welsh companies to develop newmarkets overseas we can pro- mote sustainable economic growth.” Responding to the consultation


on the plan,NFUCymru says the targets are ambitious but achiev- able, given the right backing from Government. John Davies, NFU Cymru


deputy president said: “It is encouraging to see the recogni- tion that has been given to the value of the food and farming sector inWales and we hope these growth targets will be achieved. “We do however believe that a


close monitoring programme will need to be developed whereby a focussed plan of actions can be used as short-term goals, which


will ensure the proposed targets can be delivered during the life- time of the plan.” One of the key priority areas


within the Welsh Government action plan is market develop- ment and growth. John Davies added: “The poli-


cy for food procurement needs to be urgently addressed. It is most disappointing to see the survey of Public Sector Food Purchasing in Wales in 2013 estimating that 40% of meat products were of Welsh origin, down from 60% in 2009. “In our view, this is absolutely unacceptable and the Welsh Gov- ernment must take the lead and seek to source more Welsh pro- duce in public sector establish- ments including Welsh hospitals,


schools, local authorities and the Ministry of Defence.” NFU Cymru also highlighted


the importance of clear and con- cise food labelling, allowing con- sumers to make informed deci- sions on their product choice, and the need for more collaboration between the food and tourism sec- tors.


“Effective marketing of Welsh


produce and securing new mar- kets will be essential elements to increasing demand for our prod- uct,”said Mr Davies. “Fairness within the supply


chain will also be critical in ensur- ing that Welsh farmers get a fair return for their product.” The final plan is due to be pub- lished in the spring.


Frozen yogurt is truly hot stuff


A WORLDWIDE boom in the frozen yogurt market could not have come at a better time for a north Wales producer. The European frozen yogurt


market was almost ten times big- ger in 2013 than it was in 2008, which is great news for Anglesey producer Plas Farm Ltd, a UK leader in the manufacture of zero fat, probiotic frozen yogurt. The award-winning business


makes a range of frozen yogurt products and now sells to a grow- ing domestic and export customer base, doubling its production over the past two years. “People questioned at first


whether the UK and Northern Europe’s notoriously poor weath- er would prevent frozen yogurt from catching on, but those fears have proved unfounded as the soft serve frozen yogurt market has exploded,”said Plas Farm direc- tor Rhian Williams. “Over the last five or six years


the bulk of the growth has been in the soft serve market, but now we’re seeing retail frozen yogurt start to establish itself too. Super-


markets across Europe are now starting to stock frozen yogurts, and it is showing some unexpect- ed trends.” Working with the Welsh Gov- ernment, exhibiting on the Food and Drink Wales stand at trade events in the UK and all over the world, Plas Farm has seen its export sales increase fromaround 5% of turnover to 40%. Timing has been crucial to the


company’s development, with investment made in products and manufacturing facilities con- tributing


to its £2million


turnover. “With funding from the Welsh


Government we were able to build an extension and triple our frozen storage capacity, without it we would not have been able to meet the growing worldwide demand for frozen yogurt,”added Rhian. “The increased freezer storage


in particular helped us increase production capacity and grow with the market, as opposed to getting left behind.” Future plans include newprod- ucts such as high protein frozen


TASTING SUCCESS: Plas Farm Ltd’s director Rhian Williams with one of her company’s frozen yogurt products.


yogurts and dairy-free dessert options, and it is hoped these developments, combined with increased sales, will lead to more


Accolade for market


ABERYSTWYTH Farmers’ Market has been shortlisted for a prestigious industry award. The twice-monthly market is one of


three finalists in the best food market cate- gory of the Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards.


Launched in May 2000, Aberystwyth


Market has up to 30 stalls every first and third Saturday in the month. In 2010 the market was voted among the top 10 farm- ers’ market in the UK by the Times, the only Welsh market to be included. The award celebrates regular markets


that bring together a wide range of great producers and serves a local community by providing fresh, quality, affordable food. Ceredigion MPMark Williams congrat-


ulated the market, which was shortlisted from a record breaking 6,000 nominations.


He added: “This is testament to all those


who organise Aberystwyth Farmers Mar- ket, and those who attend and sell the pro- duce. The market is incredibly important to the area, and this accolade is well deserved.”


Aberystwyth is up against St Georges


Market, Belfast and BrockleyMarket, Lon- don.


Also making the shortlist is the Pem-


brokeshire Beach Food Company in the best street food or takeaway category. Aiming to celebrate the produce of the


area, combining foraged seashore ingredi- ents with fresh local seafood, the Pem- brokeshire Beach Food Company has five mobile beach shacks offering signature local dishes. The award winners will be announced at a ceremony onMay 1st.


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


staffjoining the current 20 full- time employees. For details about Plas Farm Ltd, go towww.plas-farm.co.uk.


Connecting local growers and shops


A NEW campaign to connect food growers with local retailers is gathering pace. More than 250 retailers have already signed up


to the Crop for the Shop campaign, which aims to connect fruit and veg growers with independent retailers. Anthony Davison, founder of the website which launched the campaign, said: “The idea of Crop for the Shop is that they can take their surplus to their local shop, sell it for 70% of the retail value and be safe in the knowledge that they are not only helping feed their local community and economy, but they are helping their local shops survive.” The next stage of the campaign is to get a seed


company involved that can offer packets of seeds to schools and parents, and supply local shops with seeds that can be handed out to customers. For more information about Crop for the Shop visitwww.bigbarn.co.uk.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28