4 days ago
- Business
- Powys County Times
Radnor Preserves named one of UK's top 25 producers
AN award-winning Powys company is toasting yet another accolade, after being named one of Britain's best regional food and drink producers.
Radnor Preserves is one of 25 small-scale businesses that have been hand-picked as flag-bearers for Speciality Food Magazine and Speciality & Fine Food Fair's Regional Stars initiative.
Launched by Joanna Morgan in Radnorshire in 2010, Radnor Preserves is one of two Welsh artisan food producers on the list, along with Matthew Rees, of Carmarthen Ham.
Radnor Preserves is included in a special feature running in the June issue of Speciality Food Magazine, with the 25 businesses now set to feature at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair, taking place at Olympia London from September 9-10, which will celebrate the best of Britain's regional food and drink.
'Thank you so much to Speciality Food Magazine and Speciality & Fine Food Fair for selecting Radnor Preserves as one of Britain's best regional food and drink star producers,' Joanna said in a post on the Radnor Preserves Facebook page earlier this month.
'So proud to represent Wales as one of the key flagbearers of the region's food scene – such a great honour.
'Congratulations to all the chosen stars including Matthew Rees at Carmarthen Ham, also representing Wales. Wonderful to be in such fantastic company.
'Many thanks indeed, this is amazing.'
Radnor Preserves is now based in Newtown, having moved from previous premises in Caersws, but started life as a micro-business in Joanna's kitchen, in and off-grid cottage that had no electricity, in 2010.
A producer of marmalades, chutneys, preserves and jellies, Joanna has been described as the maker of the world's best marmalade and her products have won more than 40 awards.
The former theatre producer's old cottage in the Forest of Arden, in Warwickshire boasted a garden full of fruit and vegetables but she had no television, phone or electricity and worked by candlelight, from a recipe book given to her by her grandfather.
Her crops perished without a fridge, so Joanna taught herself preserve making to prevent her produce going to waste. One year she had made enough jams, chutneys and jellies to create Christmas hampers for all her family and friends.
She then moved to Radnorshire, where the landscape offered an abundance of elderflowers, blackberries and other fruit. Now with electricity and a freezer, Joanna began selling at local farmers' markets and Radnor Preserves was born.
Speciality Food Magazine feature's feature said: 'A particularly stand-out product in the range is the Welsh Cider & Leek Chutney – a unique combination which celebrates the Welsh heritage at the heart of the business.
'New to the range is an attractive tin filled with Radnor Preserves sweet and savoury preserves, which boasts a stunning image of the region's famous Cambrian Mountains.
'Indeed, the brand is such a passionate advocate of its provenance that the images used on its packaging have inspired holidayers and locals alike to explore the area.'
Holly Shackleton, editor of Speciality Food Magazine, said: 'As a nation, we have a proud heritage of excellent produce and it's exciting to see how these 25 businesses have not only joined forces with other producers to create supportive ecosystems in their local area, but worked tirelessly with a pure focus on quality to ensure that what they create is a celebration of the land under their feet.
'I'm proud to profile the following businesses in the pages of Speciality Food and look forward to celebrating them in person at Speciality & Fine Food Fair in September.'
