We wanted to do something a little different with our Foodies gift guide this year. The existing format was getting rather large and quite diverse and we wanted to bring it back to its original focus. Having moved to south Wales over the summer (but having had close connections with the area for over 25 years [and Huw was born here]) one of our new routines is to visit local craft and artisan food markets and farm shops. In fact we try to avoid supermarkets now, buying our fruit, veg and dairy from local farm shops and meat from the local butcher. Our aim is to make all the bread we eat too, but at the moment we rely on the baker (who happens to be next to the butcher!) It feels a nicer way to shop, and the food quality is really good. We’ve cut back on processed food and we feel better for it.
Over the months/years we have sampled lots of local brands; many are too small to have their own webshop so alas I’ve had to leave them out of this guide. The idea for this ‘Wales edit’ is to champion some of our favourite Wales-made produce, with links to where you can buy the same items direct via the post. So it doesn’t matter where you live, you too can enjoy the delights that I’m about to introduce you to 😊 All of our previous gift guides can be found here if you’d like to check them out.
CRWST
‘It’s Crwstmas!’
I have just two words to start off this review … honey butter (£7.50). Oh my word, if you haven’t tried it you’ve not lived! It’s addictive. It’s gorgeous! In fact, I’ve just had some spread on my breakfast crumpets – yum! It is made using Welsh honey from Cardigan, Welsh dairy and Halen Mon Salt. It’s to die for, honestly!
But Crwst (Welsh for ‘crust’) is more than just their honey butter. They also produce their own chocolate and caramel spreads and sauces, hot chocolate, coffee and mulled drink mixes. They have a cafe in Cardigan, and I’ve not visited yet. But we will!
BARTI
‘I just wanted to make the best tasting spiced rum in the world, so I could drink it. The decision was as simple as that.’
Jonathan Williams – Founder
We first came across Barti in the gift shop of Kidwelly Castle – I was drawn by the pretty label so had to investigate further! That led to the purchase of bottles of both the spiced rum and the cream … and subsequent purchases since.
I’m not an alcohol connoisseur, but I really like the Barti Spiced Rum (£33.00). It was awarded ‘Best Rum’ at the Great British Food Awards in 2024. The spices used include vanilla, clove, cinnamon and sweet citrus. This is then infused with hand-picked laver seaweed from the Pembrokeshire coast, which introduces umami undertones that soften and enrich the taste.
The Barti Cream (£24.00) isn’t what you first expect (let’s be honest, I expected Baileys!) Firstly, it is plant-based, so no cream. It uses the same spices as in the spiced rum, but with coconut milk – yet it doesn’t taste of coconut. It is a very pleasant creamy mildly-spiced liqueur. I drink it ‘as is’ with ice, but there’s also the Barti Latte (equal parts Barti Cream, Barti Spiced and Kahlua) – now that’s a bit special! Barti Cream has also won some prestigious awards. If you’ve not heard of them, or tried them, I seriously suggest you check them out.
THE PEMBROKESHIRE CHOCOLATE CO.
‘All made in small batches.
We only make what we can wrap by hand’
We came across The Pembrokeshire Chocolate Co. at a recent Christmas market at a (very busy) woollen mill in Pembrokeshire. I loved the simple packaging. And I loved the unusual flavours … which (obviously) I had to try, once I could fight my way through the crowd that were also drawn to the stall! And as soon as I tried them, I bought one of each! It’s just really good chocolate. The flavours are lovely (seaweed is a particular favourite) and it feels like a real treat to snap a row off the bar and enjoy it while watching TV in the evening.
They sell online, but they really need to find a stockist here on Gower!
HALEN MÔN
‘Hand-harvested Sea Salt: From Tide to Table’
Back in 2018 we joined a tour around the Halen Môn Sea Salt Factory, overlooking the Menai Straits on Anglesey. We didn’t really know the brand at the time, but we love visiting quirky places so I booked us in. The tour was amazing, as was the tasting at the end, and we purchased lots from the obligatory gift shop at the end of the tour! That started our love of Halen Môn sea salt, and we’ve been using Halen Môn at home ever since.
Since our visit, the company has gone from strength to strength with royal visitors and celebrities a-plenty. There wasn’t a cafe on site back in 2018 – there is now. Looking at their website, I’m really tempted by their ‘Wild Seaweed Bath in Darkness’ experience. This is a 45-minute soak in an upcycled whiskey barrel heated to 40C and filled with seaweed taking in the amazing dark skies, along with a sample of their bath salts, a warm tipple and something sweet. Where’s my cozzie, I need to go now!
PEMBROKESHIRE GOLD
‘Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil Offers a True Taste of the Countryside’
In the late 1990s/early 2000s we wrote industry reports for websites (in this case for food processing) and we wrote quite a few pieces on rapeseed oil. Not as an ingredient of ‘vegetable oil’, for which is was common at the time, but as an oil in its own right. It transpired that rapeseed oil is a versatile cooking oil that is high in monounsaturated omega 3 and 6 and low in saturated fats. This is good for heart, brain and joint health and a good source of vitamin E. As an oil it has a distinct nutty flavour – used not just for frying (as it can be used at high temperatures) but for salad dressings too.
As a family, we switched to rapeseed oil around this time, buying it in supermarkets – and more recently buying supermarket-branded rapeseed oil. And then we moved to Wales, saw the golden bottles of Pembrokeshire Gold (£5.50) cold-pressed rapeseed oil – and haven’t strayed from the brand since. Not only is it a quality product, but the whole process happens in Pembrokeshire – from growing the rapeseed to pressing and bottling.
They also produce infused rapeseed oils. We especially love the chilli, garlic and basil infused rapeseed oils.
THE COCOA COUNTER / PENDRAGON DRINKS
‘Welcome to the World of Luxury Chocolates’
The Cocoa Counter, a trading brand of Pendragon Drinks Ltd, is a North Wales-based enterprise that champions ‘good’ chocolate products. They make nearly 30 flavours of chocolate bars, along with an ever-expanding range of chocolate truffles. Their hot chocolate comes in three main styles; flakes, stirrers and bombs (all of which are made with real chocolate, no cocoa powder).
We love their hand-painted chocolate domes – they are so pretty, so a lovely gift. And you can pick from flavours such as orange burst, salted caramel, rum & raisin, apple crumble, black forest, raspberry ripple, and rhubarb & custard. I’ve not tried all of these yet, but the ones I have are delicious.
Their hot chocolate flakes work perfectly in our velvetiser. All you need is some squirty cream and some sprinkles for the top and that’s the Christmas Eve hot chocolate sorted!
TREGROES WAFFLES
‘The UK’s Only Baked Waffle’
I never knew that waffles were made in Wales. Knowing them as stroop waffles I just assumed they were a Dutch speciality. Apparently not! I’m rather partial to a waffle as a sweet treat, and Tregroes are the main brand stocked in shops and farm shops around me. They are really good.
Until very recently though, I didn’t realise that they also made savoury varieties. While visiting a deli shop in New Quay, West Wales, I saw the Tregroes Gift Box (£16.50) containing all their different types of sweet and savoury waffles. So in addition to their original caramel centered waffles, there is also milk chocolate coated, dark chocolate coated, mature cheddar, rustic wholemeal, and savoury crackers. That’s our Christmas cheese board sorted – no need for additional crackers now!
GOWER COFFEE
‘Our Blends are the Taste of our Land, Coastal Paths, Salt Air and Sunrise Surf’
25 years ago my mother-in-law took me to meet some of her friends at the Swansea institution that is the Kardomah Cafe. And I’ve been visiting ever since. This is where I first discovered Gower Coffee, and over the years I’ve tried all the blends – named after the bays on the Gower Peninsula.
Our ‘go to’ coffee blend, that goes in our bean-to-cup machine, is their Three Cliffs Bay Coffee. It’s not too strong, but is full flavour with a little bit of sweetness. Not bitter (I don’t like bitter coffees). Three Cliffs Bay Coffee is great in a flat white. When we are looking for something a little more robust, we go for Worms Head Coffee, which has a mildly nutty taste. We’ve not tried their Christmas Blend (£17.49) – yet – it’s waiting by the coffee machine for the current beans to run out. Looking forward to trying it!
LITTLE GRANDMA’S KITCHEN
‘One Stop Shop for all your Welsh Chutney, Marmalade, Curd, Preserves, Mustard & Spreads’
Our closest farm shop is the wonderful Dunvant Farm Shop, where we wholeheartedly recommend the breakfast in their cafe! One one visit we fancied some nice jam, so bought a jar of Little Grandma’s Kitchen’s Rum & Black Preserve. Wow, it was really nice! So that is the only jam we buy now. ‘Posh jam’ as I call it, is a great cupboard staple for when guests stay over. All you need is a fresh loaf of sourdough (ideally homemade … we’re working on it), freshly made coffee, and these preserves (£5.50) with some Welsh butter. Easy, but lovely, breakfast.
For our guests, and us, this Christmas, we’ll be offering Rum & Black Preserve (obviously), Peach & Amaretto Preserve, and Strawberry & Prosecco Preserve.
PENDERYN DISTILLERY
‘The Home of Welsh Whisky’
Our move to Wales in the summer coincided with a milestone birthday for Huw, where he received quite a few bottles of Penderyn Whisky as gifts. This is a safe gift, as we’ve been drinking (in moderation!) Penderyn Whisky for a few years … in fact I’ve turned one of the empty bottles into a lamp! Last month we took two friends on the Penderyn Whisky Tour at the Copperworks in Swansea. We’ve done many whisky tours over the years – this one ranks best of all of them. It was a seriously rainy day, and the 4 of us were the only guests on our tour. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and personable. We learnt so much – not just about whisky production in Wales but also of the copper industry in Swansea. It was fascinating. And then came the tasting at the end, in their very swish bar. Got to confess I started to regret putting myself forward as the nominated driver that day!
We all had different favourites, but mine is their Penderyn Portwood Whisky (£60.00). It is very smooth, creamy even, and not overly smoky/peaty. The whisky is amazing, the tour is fantastic – recommend both wholeheartedly.
LLANGATTOCK APIARIES
‘Pure Welsh Honey Just as The Bees Make It!‘
I used to buy my honey from the lady who lives opposite as she had two established hives. Unfortunately she took the decision to no longer produce honey – so I had to look elsewhere. (Yes, I’d LOVE to have my own hives, and I have looked into it, but I’m not sure we have the right garden/space for it.)
Back at our old home in Hertfordshire, we occasionally bought pizzas from a mobile catering van that would visit the area each week – and one of their pizzas introduced me to hot honey. And now we’re all obsessed with it! So when I look to buy a jar of honey now, I’ll also buy a jar of chilli/hot honey too. I genuinely don’t like pizzas without chilli honey drizzle!
Llangattock Apiaries offer both of these on their website. I also ordered their ginger and tumeric infusion honey (£7.95) – when the seasonal colds hit, hot lemon with a spoon of this will work wonders I feel! We also added a jar of honey with assorted nuts – fabulous poured over some vanilla icecream.
WELSH LADY
‘At The Jam Factory on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, the Jones Family has been Making Award-Winning Sweet Preserves and Savoury Condiments for 50 years’
Toby is a brown sauce fiend so when we visit farm shops he’s always looking for a new brand to try out. In fairness he probably has now tried all the Welsh-made brown sauces – but the one he keeps going back to is Sôs Brown (£3.90) from Welsh Lady.
When we don’t have the time to make homemade sauces, I buy from Welsh Lady as the quality is so good. We’re currently really enjoying their Leek Mustard (£2.85) – goes amazingly well with cheese!
