Members of a pioneering food partnership in Gwynedd heard how a leading restaurant chain spent £1.3 million with local artisan producers last year.
Dylan’s, which serves 400,000 customers a year at its restaurants in Menai Bridge, Criccieth, Llandudno and Conwy, specialises in locally produced food and is now looking for more suppliers closer to home.
David Retallick, Dylan’s Marketing, Media and Community Relations Manager, issued the appeal at a Gwynedd Food Partnership event at the business’s Criccieth restaurant.
The event was organised as part of the Anglesey and Gwynedd Food Partnerships, run by Menter Môn, a social enterprise based in Anglesey on behalf of the local councils. A similar event will be organised in Anglesey before the end of the year.
David Wylie, Food Lead at Menter Môn said: “Gwynedd Food Partnership does what is says on the tin.
“Events like this provide a great opportunity for networking so that local companies can work together for mutual benefit, creating employment and boosting the county’s economy.
“We have so many natural resources here in North Wales and we produce such high quality food and we need to take ownership to make sure the income comes back to North Wales as part of the circular economy so that, whenever possible, we can keep the Welsh pound in Wales.”
The meeting also featured a presentation by Matt Swarbrick, former BBC TV Natural History programme producer who gave that up to run an 80-acre holistic farm, Henbant Permaculture, with his wife Jenny.
Over 50 people attended and there were stands by local food businesses ranging in size from major Criccieth-based food wholesaler Harlech Foodservice to artisan producers.
David Retallick from Dylan’s who said: “When we’re looking for suppliers we start on our doorstep and work outwards because we want to be as close to home as possible and then it’s about that supplier and if they can meet demand.
“Even if they can’t we’ve developed ways of getting their food onto our menus by doing specials – we might not be able to do it long term but we can try it out and then look at the price and logistics.
“We know it can be a challenge for small producers who may see us as a big operator which we really are not.
“They worry about us being too demanding but for me if they can start small then let’s build on that because we can start by putting something on a special for three or four days over a weekend.
“We do like to hear from local small suppliers because we are always looking for something new that’s made in Wales.”
Among those who attended the event was artisan cheesemaker Carrie Rimes, whose company, Cosyn Cymru, makes cheeses from sheep’s milk and sells online and from her shop in Bethesda.
She said: “It has been a really good event. Matt is an inspirational speaker and I have taken on a lot of what he said.
“It was very interesting to hear from David of Dylan’s as well and the commitment they have to Welsh-based small-scale producers.
“Geraint from Lafan is very good at putting on events like this and it was a great opportunity to do some networking.”
Mark Scott and Kevin Moran, who launched Anglesey Foods which makes condiments and chutneys as well as frozen yoghurts at their base in Gaerwen earlier this year, were also impressed by the event.
Kevin said: “Our business is picking up and it was good to get exposure at the event. It has helped us make new connections and we were a bit overwhelmed at the great reaction to our products.
Mark added: “It was a real benefit to us. We have a good range of condiments which people seemed to love so now we just need to drive what we do and get more of that kind of exposure.”
Dylan’s has a track record of supporting North Wales producers – their coffee is specially blended for them by Nantlle-based Poblado Coffi, the sea bass they serve is line-caught off Anglesey, Menai mussels and ice-cream from Môn ar Lwy and Red Boat from Anglesey.
In addition to their restaurants Dylan’s also has its headquarters at Llangefni on Anglesey and a bakery at its premises in Llandudno and the two sites produce 80 per cent of the food served at the restaurants.
David added: “It’s a win-win for us putting something closer to home on the menu so a lot of the time we are thinking about finding local suppliers.
“We serve 400,000 customers a year so there’s a lot going on and the money they spend is spent in Wales and on local food producers.
“When we opened our restaurant in Conwy last year on the first day Ieuan Edwards of Edwards the Welsh Butcher walked across the street from his shop with our order.
“Our relationship with our suppliers is important. It’s helped Poblado grow and it’s key to how we have grown as well.
“Now when we order from Menai Mussels we order 500 kilos at a time. When we started that was inconceivable but they are still able to meet that demand and we’d be happy to take it up to everything they take our of the water.
“The sea food we serve comes straight to us from the boat and from our point of view that’s really important.
“We won’t compete on price but we’re happy to compete with other businesses on provenance and the experience we create in our restaurants.
“It’s about the experience we create and maintaining our mission statement to celebrate the natural beauty and produce of North Wales and our commitment to the area.”
