Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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calls Snowdonia Cheese Company's offerings consistently good, and he's a big fan of Halen Môn salt. "They have a charcoal salt and you can truly taste the minerality, as well as a vanilla salt and an herbed salt with wild rosemary," he says. "Even the plain salt is just incred- ible. The crystals are gorgeous." Alison Lea-Wilson, co-founder of The Anglesey Sea Salt Company, which makes Halen Môn, began producing salt with her husband, David, 18 years ago after other business forays in Anglesey including farming oysters and sea horses. "The first batch of salt we made was in a saucepan on the kitchen stove," she recalls. "That progressed into a bathtub made of metal, and that grew into a huge glass f lask, and now we've gotten more professional and are making it on a greater scale." Today, the couple's products are carried in the U.S. by retailer Zingerman's and seasoning supplier Victoria Gourmet, and are used by Fran's Chocolates on its smoked sea salt caramels and in restaurant kitchens widely. Expanding International Reach Halen Môn salts have recently earned PDO status by the European Commission. Many companies, Morris says, are working toward that name status. Official recognition of the special qualities of its local products is just one of the ways Wales is hoping to strengthen its food identity around the world. The government is also working to more clearly brand products as being Welsh so that consumers can immediately understand the origins. There is some confusion among American consumers about the distinctive identities of the isles that warrants education, says David Porat, owner of Chelsea Market Baskets in New York City, which offers a wide selection of British products. But he also believes that the origin of a product goes only so far with consumers these days. "Each product has to be sold on its own merit," Porat says. Today consumers are easily able to get foods from around the world, he explains, so simply being from a particular geographic place is not enough of a draw to make a product a success. But a great product with a great story will resonate with customers, like Tregroes waff le cookies, which have sold well at Chelsea Market Baskets. An appreciation for Wales vibrant food culture is rising in some parts of the world, Lea-Wilson notes. "The Japanese love Wales; they love the music and the rugby team," she says. "Americans aren't generally as well-informed." But that is something that the country intends to change—one food product at a time.—S.S. WELSH IMPORTS Here are just some Wales-made products already appearing on retail shelves in the U.S. The Anglesey Sea Salt Company Halen Môn: award-winning sea salt crystals famed for crisp texture and distinctive taste; also available in such flavors as garlic, umami, vanilla, and more. halenmon.com Bravura Foods Peanut Hottie: peanut-flavored hot beverage that debuted in the U.S. at the 2014 Summer Fancy Food Show. bravurafoods.com Burts Biscuits & Cakes: traditional handcrafted teatime cakes and shortbread biscuits based on family recipes. burtsbiscuitsandcakes.com Caws Cenarth Cheese: organic, handmade cheeses; traditional varieties include Caerffili, Perl Las blue, Perl Wen soft white, and washed-rind Golden Cenarth. cawscenarth.co.uk Henllan Bread: white tin loaves, fresh brown baps (rolls), specialty Welsh cakes, and more from this traditional bakery. henllanbread.co.uk Llanllyr Water Company Source: award-winning bottled water drawn from certified organic land, available in still/sparkling, glass/PET, and for foodservice. llanllyrwater.com Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky: products include Madeira Single Malt award-winning whiskey matured in bourbon barrels and finished in Madeira casks. penderyn-distillery.co.uk Snowdonia Cheese: Black Bomber extra-mature cheddar, Red Devil Leicester cheese with chiles and pepper, and Amber Mist, a blend of cheddar and whiskey. snowdoniacheese.co.uk Tregroes Waffles: waffle cookies in butter toffee, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate, made in Southwest Wales' Teifi Valley. tregroeswaffles.co.uk Welsh Lady Preserves: lemon curd and more than 100 other products available from this small, family company based on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. welshladypreserves.com Julie Besonen is the food editor for Paper magazine and restaurant columnist for nycgo.com; Anneliese Klainbaum is a communications consultant/writer working with food, beverage, and lifestyle clients; Denise Purcell and Susan Segrest are editor and contributing editor, respectively, of Specialty Food Magazine. SPRING 2015 69