Danny Curtis of Dash Shellfish catches another for the
pot
Bluestone guests to enjoy a feast of local flavours
A SIZZLING line-up of local companies have
been signed up to provide guests at Pembrokeshire’s new holiday
village with a truly mouth-watering array of Welsh food.
The food and beverage managers at Bluestone
spoke to over 500 potential suppliers, and after countless tasting
sessions, whittled the list down to a final 36.
As well as quality of product and closeness to
Bluestone, the criteria for potential suppliers included
environmental performance. Consequently, Hazelwell Organic Farm,
which will supply Bluestone with lamb and beef, was always going to
score highly.
Managed by Paul Oeppen, Hazelwell is a
350-acre farm at Ciffig, just 10 miles from Bluestone.
It has been certified by the Soil Association
as fully organic since 2005.
Says Paul: “The sheep and cattle breeds we use
are traditional breeds renowned for their eating quality and
suitability for organic farming - such as Welsh Black and Hereford
cattle and Hampshire Down and Lleyn sheep.
“In our first two years of entering the True
Taste of Wales awards [the Welsh ‘Food Oscars’], we have
already picked up four commended awards for our organic beef and
lamb.
“We look forward to working with Bluestone and
being part of their commitment to local food suppliers. We
hope that the chance to sample local organic beef and lamb reared
less than 10 miles from where they are staying will be one of the
culinary highlights of visitors’ holidays.”
Another recipient of a True Taste of Wales
award, Dash Shellfish – owned and run by the Curtis family - will
be supplying Bluestone with brown crab and lobster.
Dash’s shellfish is caught primarily in St
Brides Bay, so travels a minimal distance to the company’s premises
between the seaside villages of Little Haven and Broad Haven.
There, the shellfish is kept alive in advanced
vivier systems. It is only when the order is made that the
shellfish are removed from their tanks, cooked, processed and
delivered.
This commitment to ensuring their shellfish
has the freshest possible taste netted Dash a True Taste of Wales
award in the speciality foods category
“It’s fantastic to be involved with Bluestone”
said Danny Curtis. “It’s great to have our name associated with
such a prestigious project.”
At last year’s Pembrokeshire County Show, Dash
Shellfish were joint winners of the award for best new product.
Coincidentally, the other winners of that award, Pembrokeshire
Fudge, have also been selected to supply Bluestone.
Proprietor Yvonne Morgan is a former police
officer who now makes fudge in the kitchen of her Wiston home. Made
with a time-honoured technique and all-natural ingredients
including Bethesda butter and honey from the bees in her father
Ian’s apiary, Yvonne’s fudge is a quality confection for discerning
palates.
“I’m thrilled to be supplying Bluestone” she
said.
Bluestone food and beverage manager, John
Glasby, said: “Right from the beginning, we wanted to use as much
local produce as possible, but we still had to make sure everything
was of the quality our guests have a right to expect.
“We’re lucky to have a wealth of high quality
food locally, and we’re very pleased that the vast majority of our
food suppliers are based in Pembrokeshire or Carmarthenshire.”