Posts Tagged ‘restaurant of the year award’

We were very proud to be the hospitality partner for the ‘Welsh Menu Live Food Festival’ that took place over the Bank Holiday weekend.

On Friday night we hosted the ‘Festival Launch Dinner’, which was a sumptuous 8 course tasting menu featuring some of the finest local produce that Swansea could offer.

Hosted by Jamie Owen, he spoke about the different courses and the suppliers that helped us to produce the fantastic dishes. Some of the generous supplies included: Gower Salt Marsh Lamb, Swansea Fish, Abrahams, Goodies & The Choice is Yours from Swansea Market, as well as support from Sainsbury’s.

From Saturday through to the Bank Holiday Monday, we hosted ‘The Welsh Menu Live – Food Theatre’ in association with Swansea Market.

Throughout the weekend, Welsh chefs, food and drink connoisseurs demonstrated their skills to the  willing audience. Some of the experts included: Sophie Grigson, Fiona Faulkner, Anthony Evans, Jo Wheatley, Luke Thomas, Bryn Williams, Susy Atkins & Gareth Johns.

For those of you who were lucky enough to soak up the ‘foodie’ atmosphere over that weekend, we hope you enjoyed the experience!

The whole team at The Dragon wish Chef Sam Thomas, who’s served us well for the last 6 years, the best of luck and success with his new venture – the kitchen certainly won’t be the same without him! But there’s no fear as long suffering Chef Steve Williams is stepping up to spearhead the culinary operations with support from Chefs Kevin Wingrave and Hayley James.

Local lad Chef Steve is no stranger to life at The Dragon Hotel having been here for well over a decade masterminding thousands of Christmas Parties, Weddings and Dinner Dances. Not easily flustered, Steve takes everything in his stride and likes nothing better than to unwind with a few cans of cider over a fishing rod.

Kevin Wingrave could easily have been lost to the culinary world if he had stuck to his first career choice of carpentry. A few too many splinters made Kevlar decide to swap his wood chips for potato chips and Swansea Bay has now sampled his cooking at both Morgans Hotel and 698 prior to his arrival at The Dragon in 2005.

Chef Hayley James is by far the prettiest of The Dragon Hotel’s culinary team and has known Kevin since they attended Neath Port Talbot College together. Deserving a medal for working alongside him for so many years, Hayley is not only our Desserts and Pastry specialist but also manages to stay on top of the dreaded paperwork – a skill seldom found in chefs!

The motley crew that makes up the rest of the team includes:

James Hallett, who also worked with Kevin and Hayley at Morgans and 698, and has once been told he’s a young Heston, a fact that is often repeated…

Adam ‘Ducky’ Harris who waddles around the kitchen busy being Kev’s Golden Boy

Ben Kerward, the wittiest member of the team who knows exactly how to press Chef Steve’s buttons!

There are, of course, a few others who do not wish to be mentioned in this blog and shall therefore remain faceless: Liam, Mark, Bernard, Chris, Ashley, Roy and Liam – you know who you are!