Spin-off events: Taking the 'Taste of Wales' to Italy
The Abergavenny Food Festival is participating in Divingusto 2011, the Puglian Festival of Food and Wine, which takes place on the weekend of the 6/7 August in Ceglie Messapica in the Puglia region of southern Italy.
Divingusto shares a common ethos with the Abergavenny Food Festival - inviting visitors to experience the historic and contemporary food cultures of their respective important agricultural regions. Producers and products from Puglia were on show at Abergavenny 2010 and will be again later this year (17 & 18 September). This will be the first participation of Welsh producers in the Italian festival.
About Divingusto
Avoiding the scorching daytime temperatures Divingusto takes place at night against the spectacular backdrop of the medieval hill-town, dominated by the colossus of the 15th century Sanseverino fortress from which cobbled streets fan out into splendid piazzas which provide the setting for the main festival venues.
The charming Centro Storico is the setting to sample artisanal products from the region, watch cookery demonstrations, live music, craft demonstrations or a photography exhibition.
Welsh Producers Showcased
It will also be the place to find the Abergavenny Food Festival stand and its team of helpers working hard to introduce the southern Italian audience to the delights of the principality and some of its most iconic products.
Present on the stall will be two of Wales' and the UK's top producers.
James Swift of Trealy Farm Charcuterie was last year voted Best UK Food Producer in the Observer Food Awards, won a Gold at 'Wales the True Taste'* and has just been awarded a three-star gold in the 'Great Taste Awards'. Trealy Farm will be exhibiting a selection of air-dried and hot smoked meats and salamis. There will be a particular focus on products made from locally-reared traditional breed Welsh lamb, beef and venison.
Carwyn Adams of Caws Cenarth picked up the Supreme Champion at the British Cheese Awards 2010, and Best Dairy Product at the Soil Association Organic Awards. Caws Cenarth will be exhibiting Golden Cenarth (an organic washed rind cheese), The Perl Las – a blue-veined cheese which has just won another award, Perl Wen – a creamy brie type cheese and the original Caerffili.
Also on the stand will be broadcaster and restaurateur Simon Wright - who in 2010 was awarded the 'Wales The True Taste Champion Award' for his "dedication and devotion to Welsh food and drink" – along with Kim Waters and Martin Orbach from the Abergavenny Food Festival.
Products from Trealy Farm and Caws Cenarth will be offered for sampling and for sale.
Gower Chocolate Brownies will also be present. The epitome of an expanding cottage industry they are sold in their thousands across the country. BBC Good Food Magazine said they were 'the best brownies we have ever tasted'.
Other True Taste Award winning products offered for sampling include:
Black Mountains Smokery – Smoked Salmon and Smoked Gressingham Duck, a Great Taste 2010 Gold Award winner; Penderyn Distillery – Penderyn Single Malt Whisky, premium strength single malt whisky matured in bourbon barrels, finished in rich Madeira wine casks; Merlyn Welsh Cream Liqueur; Brecon Gin; Brecon Vodka; Otley Brewery – who will be featuring their flagship brew, 01 – a pale straw colour ale with heavy hop aromas, and thirst-quenching bitterness, plus 06 – an old style porter with a deep and full flavour; and finally Blodynaur – Golden flower – cold-pressed rapeseed oil grown, pressed and bottled in Wales.
Wales on the Menu
Also accompanying the party will be a radio crew to record a special episode of the popular BBC Wales programme Wales on the Menu. The programme, presented by Simon Wright, will follow aspiring young Welsh chef Max Pasetti, currently sous-chef at Trullo Restaurant, Highbury Corner, as he cooks up some Welsh dishes to impress an audience of Italian food journalists at a special reception organised to welcome the Welsh delegation.
Sponsors
The Abergavenny Food Festival would like to record its thanks to the following organisations: The Welsh Government; STG Nagel who have sponsored the transportation of products to Italy; Eric Charriaux of Premier Cheese; and Elizabeth Jeffreys of Brecon Beacons Tourism who has helped put together Tourism Information for distribution at Divingusto.
* The 'True Taste Awards' are part of the Welsh Government's commitment to developing the sector and to building awareness of the Welsh food brand 'Wales the True Taste'.
Last year Martin Orbach (Programming Director) and colleagues visited Divingusto. Find out how it all went. Read his blog: 'First encounter – A marriage made in Heaven'
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