Food businesses bite back during the recession

Two new Montgomeryshire food products were launched at the Royal Welsh Show this year, at a reception held jointly by Glasu’s Taste of Powys project and Powys County Council to promote Powys produce.

Two new Montgomeryshire food products were launched at the Royal Welsh Show this year, at a reception held jointly by Glasu’s Taste of Powys project and Powys County Council to promote Powys produce. Local chef Suzanne Beaumont-Davies cooked up a feast of local food sourced from across the county to showcase the high quality of produce available. Two new Montgomeryshire food products were launched at the Royal Welsh Show this year, at a reception held jointly by Glasu’s Taste of Powys project and Powys County Council to promote Powys produce. Local chef Suzanne Beaumont-Davies cooked up a feast of local food sourced from across the county to showcase the high quality of produce available. This was the ideal opportunity for Lynda and Ithyl Brown to promote the latest quality product from their Llandinam based Neuadd Fach Baconry, their Bacon & Sausage Wrap, launched after proving extremely popular at food fairs and farmers markets. It is the attention to detail that has made Lynda and Ithyl so successful, driven by their passion and dedication and refusing to cut any corners to achieve a quality product, with their sausages and pork winning numerous awards over the years.

Also launched was ‘Sunshine’ the latest addition to the collection of beers at Monty’s Brewery, described as “an award winning Golden, Hoppy, Floral ale.” Pam Honeyman is one of only a handful of brewsters (female brewers) in the UK and is proud to be the first brewery in Montgomeryshire since the Eagle Brewery closed in the 1980’s. What makes Pam’s success even more impressive is she only opened the brewery at the beginning of 2009, in a financial climate that would deter most people from setting up business.

Cllr Wynne Jones, Powys County Council’s Board Member for Regeneration and Development, was among those who sampled the two new products and said “the event was a great success. It is part of our ongoing work to highlight high quality food produce in Powys. We were also delighted to launch two new products at the Royal Welsh Show.”

Local businesses such as Neuadd Fach Baconry and Monty’s Brewery are proving how Mid Wales can pride itself on supplying some of the finest produce in the world, offering quality, as well as variety.

Food is travelling further than it ever has before, often hundreds of miles from where it was produced to the homes where it is consumed. There is now a drive to reassesses the way we live our lives and invest in our local communities and by buying local, it is the businesses closest to you that benefit the most. Family farms, local farm shops and farmers markets are able to offer distinctive, seasonal food at prices which often compete with local supermarkets.

To make it easier for local food and drink to reach their consumers, the recently launched Taste of Powys website is inviting all food and drink producers across Powys to register their details. If you want to increase your potential profit making, and help your business to thrive and grow please register your details at www.tasteofpowys.org.uk.

If you feel that your business could benefit from support from the Taste of Powys project, please contact Glasu on 01982 552224 or email liz.morrison@powys.gov.uk.