A firm foodie favorite

Welsh laver (bread) balls with ginger pickled vegetables.

Article by: David Atkinson, September 2008

Wales has waved bye-bye to bland and become a gourmet great in the last ten years. Wales author David Atkinson recommends his favourite places to eat and drink.

A quiet revolution has been taking place across the kitchens of Wales. Boosted by the abundance of fresh, local produce and a new generation of young masterchefs with an innovative, modern take on traditional Welsh recipes, the food scene is buzzing.

Meanwhile, Abergavenney, the Mid Wales town regarded by many as the spiritual home of the Welsh food movement, is home to Wales' biggest annual food festival, held in mid-September.

On the menu

There's a simple rule: when in Wales, play to its strengths. Most menus will feature Welsh lamb or Welsh Black beef and you rarely go wrong with these. On the coast try some sewin (wild sea trout) or cockles (heart-shaped shellfish). Inland, tempt your tastebuds with a bowl of cawl, a hearty meal of bacon, lamb, cabbage and potato. Equally traditional, laver bread, AKA boiled seaweed mixed with oatmeal, is served with bacon and toast for breakfast.

A top tip is to finish your meal with some great Welsh cheese. The cheese savvy head to the award-winning Blaenavon Cheddar Co, located in the industrial town of Blaenavon, where the hand-made cheeses are matured down the mine shaft of the Big Pit National Coal Museum.

To stock up on local produce, seek out Ultra Comida, a small, independent chain of delis. The main branch is in the coastal town of Aberystwyth, but there's a smaller outpost in Cardigan and a third, new deli due to open in Cardiff late 2008. With its blend of Spanish, French and Welsh produce, this is a foodies' Nirvana.

Top toasts

Overhead of Cardiff Market.

While village life in Wales traditionally revolved around the local pub, the new breed of drinking den offers a modern spin on a classic barstool. One of the latest openings in Cardiff is Zerodegrees, a huge microbrewery combining all-day food with six, lip-smacking, artisan-crafted beers - try the Black Lager with hints of caramel and coffee. Across town, the Brewery Quarter, located on the site of the old Brains Brewery dating from 1713, has a slew of modern bars for a drop of Brains Gold.

In North Wales, the town of Porthmadog, located on the fringes of the Snowdonia National Park, is home to the Purple Moose Brewery one of Wales' most successful microbreweries, supplying

Welsh whisky is also enjoying a renaissance with the Penderyn Distillery. Located in the southern reaches of the Brecon Beacons National Park, 14 miles southwest of Brecon on the A4059, its high-tech new visitors centre was opened earlier this year by HRH Price Charles, The Prince of Wales. The independently owned distillery released its first whisky in 2004 and remains, unlike the Scottish and Irish whisky, a single-distilled malt.

Hidden-gem hideaways

From the new breed of lavish country house hotels to the latest rustic gastropub, you can almost smell the new sense of pride in the Welsh food experience wafting out from under the kitchen door.

Some of the hottest tables currently are in Mid Wales. The best known of these is probably the Walnut Tree Inn, located two miles east of Abergavenny on the B4521. With executive chef Shaun Hill in charge, the elegant dining room has a modern-British menu of unpretentious but imaginative dishes, such as saddle of rabbit, liver and kidneys.

The Hardwick, located two miles south of Abergavenny on the B4598, is the domain of the much-lauded chef Stephen Terry. This is more of a country-inn affair but the menu nods to creative influences with the likes of double-cooked, stuffed shoulder of pork with creamy haricot beans.

Finally, the Felin Fach Griffin has a 'simple things, done well' mantra - and executes it perfectly. It combines cottage-style B&B rooms with a restaurant serving local and organic produce in relaxed, rustic surroundings. Local cask ales and organic wines, plus specialist tasting dinners for regular customers, complete the picture. It is located five miles northeast of Brecon on the A470.

All content and opinion sourced from Lonely Planet and specially produced for: Visit Wales