Wales

With its varied landscape of rolling moorland, craggy mountains and huge coastline, Wales' very landscape reflects the freshness and variety of its food, from cheeses and wines, Welsh beef and lamb to fresh fish and seafood.

History and tradition

The food of Wales developed to satisfy the appetites of hard-working farm labourers, coal miners, quarrymen and fishermen. From the mining valleys of the south to the rugged upland farms of the north, the Welsh landscape produces food of freshness, quality and variety and, in turn, the Welsh people cooked dishes that were hearty and filling.

Traditional Welsh foods include bacon, cheeses, crempog (pancakes spread with salty Welsh butter), bara brith (tea bread) and cawl - a rich stew made with bacon, scraps of Welsh lamb and vegetables including Wales' emblem, the leek.

Meat

Although Welsh lamb is one of the country's most famous exports today, it would have been considered a rare treat not long ago, with pork being far more common for the mid-week meal. Welsh Black beef has almost overtaken Welsh lamb in its fame and along the coast, of course, fishing remains an important industry. Great shoals of herring and mackerel are caught off the west coast, perfect for frying in bacon fat for a simple supper.

Laverbread

Available already cooked and prepared, laverbread (seaweed) is a Welsh speciality that is often served rolled with fine Welsh oatmeal into little cakes and fried into crisp patties with eggs, bacon and cockles for a traditional Welsh breakfast.

Welsh tea

Although no longer a daily indulgence, the traditional Welsh tea was a mainstay. A mammoth baking session would take place once a week in most households. Bara brith is a rich tea loaf (sometimes known as 'speckled bread') and is still the centrepiece of many a Welsh table at teatime. Welsh cakes are a bit like a flat scone, baked on a griddle and with a distinctive flavour and texture, usually served hot spread with butter.

Producers

Spurred on by success stories such as Rachel's Dairy - a Welsh organic dairy based in Aberystwyth whose products are widely sold in the UK - many Welsh producers are now supplying large supermarkets and food halls. Welsh cheeses (especially goats' cheese), mineral water and even Welsh wines are readily available across the country.

Llanerch Vineyard near Cardiff produces wines called Cariad (a term of endearment meaning "sweetheart") plus cider and elderflower drinks. Graig Farm is an award-winning organic meat mail-order service. Much of the recent success of Welsh producers is thanks to an accreditation scheme called True Taste of Wales (Gwir Flas). It was launched a few years and promotes the use of Welsh produce on the menus of hotels, restaurants, guesthouses, pubs and cafes throughout Wales. The first Wales Food and Drink Awards were launched in 2002.