Welsh Government | Deputy Minister visits Talgarth businesses

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Deputy Minister visits Talgarth businesses

Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has visited three of Talgarth’s flagship food and drink businesses to see how they are working together to make the town a beacon for food lovers.

Friday 09 March 2012

Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Alun Davies with staff at W.G.George

The Deputy Minister began his tour at WJ George and Son Butchers, run by Brian George, his wife and eldest son to see how the award winning family business specialises in selling home killed beef, lamb and pork from local farms.

He then moved on to Melin Talgarth Mill to see how it has benefitted from the Rural Development Plan funded Low Carbon Communities Project to develop a community renewable energy project at the mill as part of a sustainable strategy for the village. The mill recently featured on the BBC’s Village SOS programme after winning Big Lottery funding to restore the mill, establish a bakery and café and use it as a centre of regeneration.

The café and bakery make and sell local seasonal food and drink, including meat from Brian George; Caws Mynydd Du, a cheese made from sheep’s milk solely from the flock at Lodge Farm in Talgarth; and chutneys and jams from Black Mountain Preserves using fruit grown in and around the town.

The final destination was Rotters Microbrewery, a small craft brewery based at the Towers Hotel, which brews bitters, stouts and pale ales from natural ingredients. Guided tours of the brewery are also on offer.

The Deputy Minister said:

"Talgarth is a very impressive town and I am delighted to see so many local producers working together to make sure the quality local food is readily available to the local community as well as providing visitors with an experience that will want them coming back for more.

"We are producing excellent food in Wales and shoppers are increasingly concerned with buying locally sourced food so working together to make sure this food is readily available and clearly identifiable makes perfect business sense. It is very heartening to see it working so well in Talgarth."