Leading Welsh Chefs Bring Restaurant Experience Closer to Home

‘Make it…’ the best campaign helps support local businesses

Some of Wales’s most renowned chefs are joining forces to support the Welsh food industry as the Coronavirus crisis continues to cause significant disruption to local farmers and the wider industry.

Due to the current lockdown conditions the ‘culinary dozen’, which includes a number of Michelin starred chefs, will be getting creative with their smartphones and producing a series of DIY video recipes to inspire people to replicate restaurant standard cooking at home using PGI Welsh Lamb and PGI Welsh Beef.

With people currently unable to enjoy dining out the impressive roll call of names, which include chef and recent Great British Menu Welsh winner Hywel Griffith, Bryn Williams, Anand George, Matt Waldron, Stephen Stevens and Sam and Shauna from the BBC’s Big Cook-out, will be sharing their considerable experience and letting people in on some of their secrets as they help make high-grade Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef dishes accessible to the general public.

It comes as Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales warned that whilst there has been a surge in retail demand for some meat products, the dramatic reduction of trade to hotels, restaurants, pubs, and other establishments has produced a destabilising effect on the supply and market prices for both lamb and beef.

One of the ‘culinary dozen’, as they have been dubbed by some in the trade, has called for the wider public to make the most of the extra time they currently have at home to brush up on their cooking skills and support local food and drink producers in challenging circumstances.

Hywel Griffith, head chef of the Michelin-starred Beach House restaurant in Oxwich, said:

“Through my video recipes I hope to show how creating a really high-quality Welsh Lamb or Welsh Beef dish doesn’t have to be that complicated and also provides a nutritious meal whether you’re cooking for one or for the whole family.

“With the closure of restaurants and cafes because of Coronavirus, we have come together to help people create the eating-out experience at home, while also supporting our local businesses and farmers.”

Commenting on the call to arms, Rhys Llywelyn Market Development Manager from Hybu Cig Cymru, added:

“It’s great to see such prominent chefs leading the charge in supporting our farmers and the wider supply chain during this challenging time. Usually, 20 per cent of beef is consumed in the eating-out market but current closures mean there will be 2.5 billion fewer eating-out occasions across the UK between April and June this year.

“With an increasing supply of Welsh Lamb coming onto the market into the early summer, this pattern is likely to be reflected even further with the supply and demand of lamb. Our message to all consumers therefore is to support our farmers through buying certified PGI Welsh and buying premium cuts of meat be they steaks or joints.”

Each chef will be posting their recipes across their social media channels over the coming weeks to offer some culinary inspiration as consumers increasingly look online at ways to entertain themselves in the kitchen as well as ensure a healthy balanced meal for themselves and their family.

For those who want to get cooking straight away follow the Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef social media channels or visit the campaign page: https://eatwelshlambandwelshbeef.com/en/Uniquely-Welsh