December 2021 and into 2022

Christmas opening times and Christmas gifts for 2022

Another blog post to let you know that that we are open throughout December for the food experience but have limited dates as follows:-

 Available: 17th, 18th, 19th, 22nd, 23rd and 24th. 

Closed: Christmas Day and Boxing day 

Available: New Years Eve

Closed: 1st Jan to 14th Jan inclusive

 Pembrokeshire is still stunning in the winter months and there’s still foraging opportunities to be had. We are selling gift cards for Dining and foraging experiences for 2022 for the run-up to Christmas, so please do get in touch if you'd like to book or purchase a gift card for someone else.

Looking back over 2021 and the first blog post I wrote this year….. it’s been such a busy and successful year. I really would like to take this chance to thank everyone who has been foraging with us, dined with us, worked with us or has overall supported us. Anyone that's booked in for next year is in for a real treat and we can't wait to welcome you all.

I honestly can't thank you all enough.

 For those who are lucky enough to of already booked in for 2022 then here's a little insight for you as you prepare to become part of our journey at Annwn.

We have an open kitchen at Annwn as well so this is also an experience in itself.

Our food is what people may say is unusual, but in most senses, it’s the way food should be. This is real food not shipped in from thousands of miles away. The culinary creations are focused on an area that is undoubtedly beautiful, and from a creative chefs perspective, it’s so exciting to be able to celebrate the best of what Pembrokeshire has to offer.

 We have just four tables in the intimate dining room and each table will give you a different experience.

The two front tables are within talking distance of the kitchen and during service, you can get to chat with Matt during breaks in a typically hectic service. You see everything that's going on, a real in-depth view. 

This dining experience is unique and I don’t believe there is anything quite like it in the United Kingdom at the moment. This truly is Wales on a plate, served with love and without pretence. 

 As the colder weather sets in, I look from my kitchen at Annwn across to the raised beds where our home-grown vegetables have thrived and say a silent and heartfelt thank you for the hundreds of beetroots and carrots which have been used in the ten-course dinner.

One of the favourite dishes this season has been carrot, sea buckthorn emulsification and preserved hogweed seeds.

We use every part of the carrot even the leaves, dressed in siphon weed oil and a touch of sea buckthorn. We make the siphon weed oil ourselves and it’s really very special, you have to smell and taste this just to believe it. It has aromas of earthy truffle and the sea, it is just magical! 

Leeks have also been a real favourite this year in the garden and we use every part of the leek in a complex dish involving cooking the leek bottom section in seawater, and then the roots cooked crispy in rye flour.

In the coming weeks and into deeper winter we will be using our preserved Beetroots, plus the Celeriac that is still in the ground.

We also use old Welsh staples that never get used anymore. One good example is our limpet dish below, which sometimes gets unfairly ridiculed when I post it up on social media. Originally in Wales people would eat limpets and bacon, not cockles and bacon. Everyone will have seen limpets clinging steadfastly to the rocks all around the UK, but I have refined things to make an overlooked element into something very special. This light, complex and flavoursome dish has deep connections to past days around the coast of the British isles. 

I do use quite a bit of game this time of the year in place of the lobster we have available throughout the summer.

I guess some people may be afraid to try elements like hare or Mallard, but guests this year who have been served these dishes, even those with little or no prior experience of eating game, have universally said it’s been a revelation and a fantastic experience.

I think a lot of people have a problem with eating wild game as they have either had a bad experience with the game being overcooked or see it as cruel.

I would say that the two dishes I serve at this time of the year are truly sustainable.

Mallards are very plentiful and only have a lifespan in the wild of about three to five years. The wild birds I use would probably be close to that age.

The hares I use come from a farm across the border that is teeming with them, again lifespan is about four years in the wild and they can have up to three or four litters. I don’t think that using the small amounts we use is going to affect numbers in a big way, and this is about as far away as you can get from the factory-farmed meats that fill our supermarket shelves.

Next year there will also be dates to join me in person for fungi days out again these will be limited and will be available in July, August and late September.

As well as our standard foraging days with Steph and Garry next year, there will be dates to join me or us together as a team in February and March.

 These dates will be exclusive and very limited as I am now busy in the kitchen arranging paperwork and preparing and keeping things clean. So early booking will be essential. There will then be the option of dining with us on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings as usual. You can also book in to stay at the Little Retreats which is less than a stone’s throw away from Annwn.

Late winter into early spring are great times to forage on the seashore and I will be setting some dates soon for you to join me in gathering seaweeds. These dates will be exclusive and very limited as I am now very busy in the kitchen,  so early booking will be essential. There will then be the option of dining with us on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings as usual.

Hunting for wonderful boletus like this summer cep above doesn’t get much better on the foraging excitement meter.

Setting up the new dining room and foraging experience base has been tough going, but we are so pleased and proud with the way it has turned out. With a limited budget and not wanting to compromise on quality, we have had to take things slowly, but that suits us just fine. 

Our next goal moving forward is to get our small wine list stocked up ready for springtime, so guests can enjoy fine wines as well as fine dining.

Notice* At the end of last month we were busy filming with Visit Wales for a Welsh tourism campaign to welcome visitors to Wales in the later months of the year as well as the summer months.

Please keep an eye out for us on the TV and at cinemas.

Thanks - Diolch

To book any experience please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via email or by telephone.

Email - matt@fishingandforagingwales.co.uk

Telephone - 07308313107

Stay safe.