When Ruth Davies welcomed the first little piglets to the family farm at Cwm, Ystradgynlais, little did she think they would one day take the world by storm.
But 12 years later, the Cwm Farm charcuterie is earning itself a place at some of the UK’s most prestigious eating places with hampers having been despatched to 10 Downing Street and even HRH the Prince of Wales.
But when you find out how those adorable little porkers spend their days, the Cwm Farm success is hardly a surprise.
Their days are spent outdoors munching on wild grasses and acorns and their pasture is kept completely free from additives.
“When I first saw that breed, I instantly fell in love,” says Ruth. “Up until then we’d tried keeping virtually every breed you could think of including Tamworths which are exceptionally naughty. But these Large Blacks crossed with Saddlebacks have the most docile nature and are so lovely to work with.”
They also produce meat of a high fat content which is an essential requirement for all charcuterie producers.
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Ruth learnt the skills of this highly complex industry after winning a place to study on a 52,000-pig unit in Denmark. There then followed several years of hard graft and exploration to perfect the intricate flavours of Cwm Farm’s charcuterie.
But then, never ones to rest complacent, the couple once again decided to think outside the box.
“People can make charcuterie virtually anywhere in the world, but we wanted to create a salami that could be labelled as exclusively Welsh,” explains Ruth.
And so the couple spent 18 months working alongside Food Centre Wales in Horeb to create the incredible laverbread salami which went on to win a Gold in the 2021 international World Food Awards in Greece. Cwmfarm also achieved two silvers and a bronze for the remainder of their charcuterie range.
“It’s been an incredible journey and we’ve had some amazing support along the way not just from the Welsh government but also from loyal customers such as Ken Owen and the Scarlets,” added Ruth. “They’ve all endorsed our products and, most importantly, they keep on enjoying them.”
The Cwm Farm charcuterie range can be ordered online from www.cwmfarm.co.uk or from the farm unit which is situated at the Ystradgynlais Workshops.
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