Deputy Minister congratulates winners of Gwynedd Taste and Talent awards
The Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food Fisheries and European Programmes has congratulated the winners of the third annual Gwynedd Taste and Talent Awards. The Awards ceremony was held on Saturday November 26th as part of the Gwynedd Local Produce Fair, which takes place every month in Porthmadog.
The awards celebrate the best of arts, craft and food produced in Gwynedd, much of which on sale at the monthly fair. Supported by the Rural Development Plan for Wales, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural fund for Rural Development, the fair is part of a wider programme which also includes the establishment of a series of wildlife events, and 12 wildlife information points across the county aimed at encouraging tourism in the area. The RDP has invested a total of £560,000 in the overall programme.
Congratulating the winners, the Deputy Minister said:
"There is clearly a great deal of talent in Gwynedd and I congratulate all those who have had their achievements recognised at the recent award ceremony. I am delighted that the Rural Development Plan is supporting local craftspeople and food producers by helping them to reach their markets more easily as well as making it easier for local people to get hold of the excellent produce the area has to offer. It is an excellent example of how the Rural Development Plan is helping to create active prosperous communities in Rural Wales."
The winners were:
•Food/drink producer of the year: Richard + Iola Huws, Pant Du, Penygroes for their white, red, sparkling and rosé wine, cider and apple juice.
•Local Product Eatery of the Year. Llinos Dobson, Taro Deg, Pwllheli. The Cafe offers breakfast, light meals, cakes and desserts based on a wide variety of local produce
•Group of the year (designed to recognise a group within Gwynedd who have excelled in collaborating with each other in order to ensure that their products reach new markets.) Cwrw Llŷn, a company of twelve local people who produce drinks with a local flavour.
•Craftsman / artist of the year: Anne Smith Glass Designs, Rhiw for her fused glass, stained glass and lampworked glass designs.
•Foreign market of the year (to recognise the producer, craftsman or artist with a foreign and interesting market for their items) Welsh Lady Preserves, who supply the USA, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden and Australia with their jams, marmalade, jellies, chutneys, sauces and mustards.
•High percentage of local contents / merchandise (to recognise the food/ drink producers, artists, craftsmen who have a high percentage of local origins in their products or merchandise.) Ian + Cath Parri, Tafarn y Plu, Llanystumdwy, who source as much produce as possible locally or from elsewhere in Wales.
