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Cywain Producers Bring the Food of Love to Shoppers for St Dwynwen’s Day

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Romance will be in the air this weekend (January 25th-27th) when food and drink producers celebrate the Welsh patron saint of lovers by setting up stall at McArthur Glen designer outlet in Bridgend.

Regarded as the Welsh equivalent of St Valentine, Dwynwen was a Welsh princess, who when forbidden to marry the man she loved became a nun and prayed that God would help true lovers.

The popularity of St Dwynwen’s Day (January 25th) as a day for romance has grown steadily, and shoppers looking to purchase a gift for their loved-one can find inspiration by visiting Cywain’s stand at McArthur Glen.

The stand will feature six Welsh food and drink producers* who will be offering a range of products – many of them romantically themed – from chocolate, cookies, and welshcakes to preserves, botanical syrups, and easy-to-use ingredients from which to make that special meal.

The producers will be exhibiting under the auspices of Cywain – a Menter a Busnes delivered project that supports the development of growth orientated businesses in the food and drink sector in Wales.

Says Cywain Development Manager, Lowri Edwards,

“It's great for Cywain to have this opportunity to work with McArthur Glen, and it gives food producers from the region an opportunity to access a new audience and marketplace.”

As part of the St Dwynwen’s Weekend celebrations, McArthur Glen will also be hosting The Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of the Royal Welsh at 2.30pm on January 25th, featuring the Regimental Mascot – Shenkin the goat.

*The following producers will be featured at the Cywain stand:

COALPIT WELSH CAKES

Nothing quite says ‘I love you’ like a heart-shaped Welsh Cake! And shoppers will be spoilt for choice as Coalpit Welsh Cakes brings its 21st-century twist on the tea-time favourite to McArthur Glen.

The Ammanford baking business was set up almost a year ago by Erika Walker. Armed with her grandmother’s recipe and assisted by her cooking-loving son, the aim is to ‘make the humble Welsh Cake the most popular cake to have with your tea.’ Erika is also on a mission to bring a craft business to the town – boosting jobs and in particular employment for disadvantaged people.

On show at McArthur Glen will be the bakery’s innovative new Welsh Cake designs and flavours including their unique Black Welsh Cake, and heart-shaped dipped in chocolate, as well as Love-spoons, and products linked to Santes Dwynwen.

With St David’s Day only a few weeks away, the Cywian stand will also be the venue for the launch of Coalpit’s St David’s Daffodil Lemon Welsh Cake.

CASE FOR COOKING

Case For Cooking’s range of easy-to-use spice kits and pots are ideal for whipping- up that special meal.

Their new beautiful Rose Harissa mix – which is made with rose petals – is perfect for romantic dining, while their gift sets offer a different love token option!

It was only last autumn that Carmarthen couple Pete and Cathy Heritage launched their spicy sets and recipes which offer a fun and cost-effective way to spice up mealtimes at home.

Each Kit or Pot contains an easy-to-follow recipe card and the exact spices and herbs needed to create the dish several times over. No cooking experience is necessary, just some simple ingredients and a healthy appetite!

The Kits contain spices and recipes to make Orange & Basil Beef, Butter Chicken, Spicy Ginger Pork, and Vegetable Curry. With the Pots giving people the know-how to create curry pastes to make the meat, seafood, or vegetable curry of their choice.

PENYLAN PRESERVES

If you fancy something sweet, or savoury this Santes Dwynwen, then Penylan Preserves has just the flavour!

Clare Williams has turned her hobby into an unquenchable passion for creating good quality, locally produced, and most importantly, tasty preserves, in the heart of Cardiff.

All Clare’s products are hand-made, and the ingredients are freshly sourced from her allotment or local independent businesses.

There are nearly 30 delicious jams, marmalades, curds and chutneys in the award-winning Penylan Preserves range – including World Marmalade Championship winners and the Great Taste Award-winning Jalapeno Jam, Fig Chutney, and Piccalilli. Alongside them will be Clare’s fresh and versatile Lemon Curd.

Also making an appearance on the Cywain stand will be two luxury jams – Strawberry & Prosecco and Raspberry & Amaretto – which are perfect for spoiling that special someone with breakfast in bed.

Available on the stand too will be Penylan Preserve gift packs – a lovely present and a great way to enjoy the myriad of flavours.

TAST NATUR

Tast Natur harnesses the essence of nature in a range of innovative and versatile botanical syrups.

Non Rhys’ interest in Welsh flora and fauna and how they may be incorporated into food and drink led to the creation of her Cardiff-based enterprise.

She forages plants such as nettles, rosehips and honeysuckle and grows flowers and fruit, which she then makes into syrups to dilute, mix or drizzle – as well as creating bespoke syrups for special occasions.

Non will be showing her new ready-to-drink Sparkling Rowan product, as well as a broader range of sugar-free natural flavours to add to sparkling water – ideal for those looking for interesting alternatives to get through a healthier start to the year.

There will be tasters too, for customers looking for something different to add to their St Dwynwen’s Day Champagne or Prosecco, as one of Tast Natur’s flavours – Gorse Syrup – is closely associated with romance.

The saying goes that when ‘Gorse is out of bloom, kissing's out of fashion’. That’s good news for those looking for love, as Gorse is in full bloom this time of year!

THE NOURISH DELI

Looking to spoil someone this Santes Dwynwen, then The Nourish Deli’s chocolates and sweet treats are just the ticket!

Based in Caerphilly, the business is run by Craig Morgan and Nicola Pledger – who have combined their passion for healthy food with experience in nutrition and catering.

A qualified nutritional advisor with a background in diet catering, Nicola has developed a range of delicious sweet products.

Utilising Craig’s business studies and catering skills the pair launched The Nourish Deli last year, making filled chocolate bars which are organic and free-from gluten, dairy, soya, and cane sugar. Also, the wrappers are made from cellulose, a plant material, which is bio-degradable.

Health and organic-focused, only natural sweeteners are used – such as pure maple syrup, yacon syrup (a low Glycemic Index probiotic sweetener from Peru) Medjool dates and coconut sugar. Also, the cacao used is processed at low temperatures to retain its nutritional profile.

Available at the stand too will be truffles: Carob & Yacon (cacao-free), and Rich Chocolate Joy truffles. Also, especially for Santes Dwynwen will be heart-shaped boxes of The Nourish Deli’s miniature bar chocolates.

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