"I have been taking part in cooking demonstrations, food fairs and making anniversary cakes for a number of years now, but I decided to go into the business full time in autumn 2003 and targeted the Christmas hamper market.

The business has just grown and grown, and in the spring of 2004, I moved out of my mother's kitchen and built my own state-of-the-art kitchen on the farm, with a farm shop attached to it.

When it comes to food, it's really important to use good locally produced ingredients, because I believe that we should avoid as many food miles as possible.

Welsh lamb and local honey are some of the most versatile ingredients that we have and can be used in numerous ways. Also, cooking with the season is very important and at this time of year (September 2004), I'm really busy producing jams and pickles.

I start baking every morning at around 5 a.m and I'm one of the few bakers in Wales using Bacheldre Mill organic flour. In fact, Jamie Oliver uses this flour and is going to film the whole process from milling to baking with us soon.

Over the summer, I do a lot of cooking demos in food fairs and during the winter months, I do the Merched y Wawr and WI circuit as well as a weekly stint on S4C's Pnawn Da.

My cooking heroine is definitely the amazing Delia Smith - the mother of all cooks! I like to stick to traditional food and use simple methods but add a new twist." Gareth Richards from Lampeter

Here's one of Gareth's recipes:

Savoury Welsh Cakes

Ingredients

3oz Llangadog butter

8oz Self-raising flour

1 leek

1 teaspoonful of Welsh honey mustard

1 teaspoonful of poppy seeds

1 egg

Method
1. Sieve flour and rub in butter until it forms fine breadcrumbs.
2. Slice up the leeks thinly and add to mixture.
3. Add the poppy seeds.
4. Mix the beaten egg with the mustard and add to the dry ingredients to create a soft dough mixture. (If there is enough time, put it in the fridge to rest)
5. Roll out and cut into small rounds.
6. Cook on a hotplate or griddle for 4 minutes each side.

Perfect for breakfast with cockles, laverbread or bacon; a picnic or a Welsh tea; or to round off a meal served with Welsh cheeses and pickle.

If you want to share a favourite local recipe, get in touch.