PGI Welsh Lamb and the increasing role it is playing on menus in some of London foremost eateries will be celebrated at an event organised by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) and its Welsh Lamb Club.
The event, to be held at Fortnum and Mason on 9th June, will also recognise the contribution of Daphne Tilley from Henllan, Denbighshire, who received an MBE for her services to the food industry and in particular Welsh Lamb.
Tilley, whose family’s farms were originally producing PGI Welsh Lamb for a retailer, decided to approach a few restaurants whilst visiting a friend in London. Now Daphne’s Original Welsh Lamb is supplied to chefs including Jamie Oliver, Anthony Demetre, Richard Corrigan, Adam Hilliard and James Adams.
“It just came to me. I thought - why not sell direct? You’ve got to be brave, so I took ten half lambs on ice in polystyrene boxes in the Land Rover,” Tilley said.
“Straight away I had eight restaurants that were prepared to take my lamb. They loved it; I kept taking it to them and it’s grown from that. It’s been word of mouth about the quality of the lamb as much as knocking on doors”
Commenting on the upcoming event, Sue Franklin, HCC’s UK market development executive, added: “HCC is delighted to support this industry-wide event, held at such a prestigious location, and to recognise the work Daphne Tilley and her customers have done to promote PGI Welsh Lamb.
“Our warmest congratulations go out to Daphne; she is passionate about farming and about her high quality product and has been a brilliant ambassador for the whole industry.”
HCC’s Welsh Lamb Club includes Michelin-starred chefs among its members, who are all committed to sourcing and serving PGI Welsh Lamb.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
