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The Welsh Cheese Book - A Collection of Mouth-Watering Recipes

 By Angela Gray. Photographs by Harry Williams and Introduction by Eurwen Richards. Gomer Press, Llandysul, Ceredigion in Association with WDA. Published 2003, 60 Pages, Compact Size 6 by 6 inches, $9.75 US.

Review by Ken Thorne, Food Editor, Ninnau.

Is this book really a collection of mouth-watering recipes? Does this book have high quality food photography? Is relatively more of the book’s content devoted to color pictures than any other Welsh cookbook? Is this book one of the best designed of all Welsh cookbooks? It is all of these and more!

The book is an outcome of collaboration between the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) and the private sector Gomer Press. It features the work of some of the best people on the Welsh food scene today - chef Angela Gray, food photographer Harry Williams and cheese industry consultant Eurwen Richards.

Introducing the book, Eurwen describes the fascinating history of Welsh cheese making, an industry that has not been without its difficulties.  She indicates the Welsh farmhouse cheese making industry has now re-emerging as a success story. This is certainly validated by its growing international stature and the ability to garner prodigious awards, such as Teifi Farmhouse’s Cheese – “Celtic Promise” winning as the Supreme Champion in 1998 at the British Cheese Awards.

 The Welsh Cheese Book will please both carnivores and vegetarians. Angela Gray, a TV and radio celebrity chef and food writer has once again developed a set of recipes reflecting her considerable culinary talent.

Angela is a huge fan of Welsh farmhouse cheeses as readers of her earlier book, Hot Stuff would attest. She knows Welsh cheeses and can use them to their best advantage in all courses on the menu. Her recipes reflect the current popularity of this class of cheeses for use in home and professional recipes. They are on the cheese boards of all discriminating Welsh restaurants.

Angela’s cheese ingredients are baked, blended and fused into recipes; many are new while others are very creative variations on the familiar. Many of her recipes have the taste, texture and style of the Mediterranean, dating back to her days as a personal chef to the well to do of Europe including a period with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The book conveniently categorizes the recipes into Starters, Main Courses, Desserts and ends with a nice section on Sauces and Dips. Angela makes the promise that all her recipes are mouth watering but there is no promise of low calorie count. The recipes are boastful in flavor and most would be very suitable for entertaining. Expect to receive compliments!

Try the Llanboidy Vegetable Rarebit with Laverbread – this dish, a caramelized cheese sauce over roasted fresh vegetables is fabulous! In addition, wildly tempting is the beef based Snowdonia Cobbler; the sight of its roasted golden brown Snowdonia Cheese and Potato Cobbler top will jump-start your hunger pangs!

A nice feature is Angela’s willingness to give a little background story on recipes, making the book a whole lot more readable. Her cook’s tips and suggestions of alternative ingredients are very helpful. A reader bonus is her beautifully stylised food presentations.       

The Welsh Cheese Book is a little treasure. It could well become one of the most popular Welsh cookbooks to date.

 Note: Welsh Cheeses are sometimes not easy to obtain in the US and Canada but they are here. Currently, there is a project underway to try to rectify this difficulty. At your cheese store or supermarket ask for Welsh Cheese! If it is listed under “English Cheese” ask them to make a correction and assign a “Welsh Cheese” area to the cheese section!  

Contact Ken Thorne: 440 255-2214/email: WelshFoodie@aol.com.

Copyright ©  2003 by Ken Thorne

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