Latest news with #PuboftheYear2024
Wales Online
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
I ate the best BBQ food you'll find in a gazebo outside Wales' best pub, and it was frankly ridiculous
I ate the best BBQ food you'll find in a gazebo outside Wales' best pub, and it was frankly ridiculous The location, the smells, the flavours, the cooking and the beer are all absolutely world class - what more could you want From the first big bite, I knew this smoked lamb patty burger meant business (Image: Portia Jones ) The smell hits you first, rich, smoky, and unmistakably BBQ-scented. A pleasing mix of sizzling fat, charred meat and smouldering wood that curls into your nostrils and makes your stomach rumble. At the edge of a quiet estuary in Pembrokeshire, under a market-style gazebo outside the Cresselly Arms, a chef tames the fire and expertly sears meat over a smouldering BBQ. Flames crackle beneath steel racks stacked with burgers, steaks and blistered vegetables, all gently smoking over a bed of glowing embers. This is Feast, an open-fire pop-up that's part performance, part pilgrimage for lovers of flame-cooked Welsh produce. "I think what we're doing is pretty unique," says owner and 'pit master' Matt Flowers. "We've got pretty much the largest custom-built smoker in the UK and the emphasis will now be on platters with more exciting cuts of meat." Article continues below This is Feast, an open-fire pop-up that's part performance, part pilgrimage for lovers of flame-cooked Welsh produce. (Image: Portia Jones ) Matt is the mastermind behind Feast, a live fire cookery team based in Pembrokeshire. Alongside his chef wife, Jade, they've been offering private catering, pop-ups, and group cookery experiences, and they now have a new summer residency at the Cresselly Arms at Cresswell Quay. This waterfront pub, named as the best pub in Wales as part of CAMRA's (Campaign for Real Ale ) Pub of the Year 2024 competition, is already a popular spot for tourists and locals and can be reached by boat, kayak or stand-up paddleboard at high tide. From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What's On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here Cresselly Arms is located in beautiful Cresswell Quay in Pembrokeshire (Image: Getty ) Matt and Jade didn't start out running pop-ups; the pair actually began their culinary journey working in upscale restaurants in Pembs and beyond. 'We were working in fine dining restaurants and hotels around Pembrokeshire, and then down in the southwest, around Bath,' says Matt. 'We moved back home to Pembrokeshire in 2016 and opened a small, fine-dining bistro in Tenby called Salt Cellar.' The restaurant closed its doors when the pandemic hit, but it sparked something new and exciting for Matt and Jade. 'We started Feast in 2020, just doing pop-ups from our house during COVID,' he explains. 'People would collect three-course meals from our driveway while we were cooking in the garden.' Matt is the mastermind behind Feast, a live fire cookery team based in Pembrokeshire. Alongside his chef wife, Jade, they've been offering private catering, pop-ups, and group cookery experiences (Image: Matt Flowers ) With the demand for their delicious dishes growing, the dynamic couple started booking weddings and pop-ups the following year. 'We got our first sort of permanent venue in Tenby, a place called Tap & Tan. We opened it with Tenby Brewing Co; they did the beer, we did the food.' It was a natural pairing: craft beer on tap and fire-cooked feasts straight off the grill. 'It was a good match of craft beer, fire cookery and barbecue,' Matt adds. 'We ran it for three years, finished on Mother's Day this year, and hen relocated to the Cresselly Arms at Cresswell Quay in April." The Cresselly Arms, just a stone's throw from their home, is a much larger venue, and it's quickly become the ideal spot for Feast. "It's a special place for a lot of people in Pembrokeshire, right by the river,' Matt explains. 'It's an old pub with lots of character, a mix of locals and tourists, and it really has potential. The yard is huge, perfect for what we want to do, and it ties in perfectly with the community feel we're building. It's an inclusive spot, a place where locals, farmers, and hospitality workers come together with their families.' This waterfront pub, named as the best pub in Wales as part of CAMRA's (Campaign for Real Ale ) Pub of the Year 2024 competition (Image: Feast ) After years of fine dining graft, it would seem that Matt has found his fire, literally. Now at the helm of Feast, he's coming up with new Texan-inspired BBQ concepts and cooking high-quality local ingredients over open flames fuelled by sustainably sourced oak, birch and ash. The ever-evolving menu is a fiery celebration of Welsh produce, including juicy beef burgers, smoked lamb sausage, sticky hot-honey pork ribs, loaded BBQ-sharing platters and flame-kissed Pembrokeshire spuds. Veggies won't be disappointed either, as there's no limit to what Matt and his team of top chefs can cook over flickering flames. Expect BBQ Teifi Organic Halloumi buns with wild garlic salsa, feast pickles and creamy mint and tahini yoghurt, along with Korean fried Cauliflower KFC served on a wood-fired flatbread and loaded with pickles and red cabbage and mint slaw. The Teifi hallwmi kebab with mint and tahini yoghurt (Image: John Myers ) The creative team also make all their own sauces, pickles and bread to drive home the craft barbecue concept in Wales. Everything here hits the sizzling grill with flair, picking up those deep, smoky flavours that only come from proper open-fire cooking. For Matt, there's no better way to cook than over open flames. 'We do a whole lamb in an Argentinian style called Asado — that's where you cook it on a steel cross over an open fire,' he says. 'It's a nice one to do; it always looks good.' Feast menus are carefully crafted around top-quality local meat and vegetables, with Matt working closely with nearby farms, growers, bakeries, and butchers. 'We do a lot of grass-fed beef off a farm just near us,' he says. 'We cook local potatoes, and all the pork belly is from Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. Lots of local lamb, too.' Slow cooked in the smoker (Image: John Myers ) The Feast crew also aren't ones to rest on their glowing embers. They're constantly looking for ways to push their fire-cooking game, recently taking a foodie pilgrimage to Austin, Texas, the smoky heartland of American-style barbecue. 'We went to a few places out there, real pillars of American barbecue and just got massive inspiration,' says Matt. 'We met a lot of cool people and just got chatting. It was brilliant.' But rather than just replicating traditional Texan BBQ, Matt's cooking something distinctly local. 'We're trying to take that inspiration and do it our own way. He adds. "We call it 'Welsh barbecue' and use all local stuff and cook what's in season, so we're not stuck doing pulled pork and brisket." But rather than just replicating traditional Texan BBQ, Matt's cooking something distinctly local. (Image: Feast ) Curious to see how this fiery Welsh-Texan fusion plays out on the plate, I headed down to the Cresselly Arms with my husband Luke to sample some BBQ goodness. Set in the outdoor space of a traditional pub by a picturesque quay, Feast's latest pop-up has dreamy waterfront views and plenty of undercover seating for when the Welsh weather inevitably turns foul. The smoky aromas hit me first, sizzling meat and wood smoke drifting through the air like a culinary tease. The smoky aromas hit me first, sizzling meat and wood smoke drifting through the air like a culinary tease. (Image: Portia Jones ) We followed the scent straight to the source, a crackling open-fire setup where meat and veg were getting the full barbecue treatment. Watching the flames work their slow-cooked magic while others mulled over the menu was a real treat and set expectations high. I'm a BBQ girlie who cannot be fobbed off with a burnt walls banger in a sad-looking bap. After feasting on dry-rubbed ribs in Memphis, Korean chicken wings in Koreatown, New York and juicy pulled pork in Arkansas, I like to think I know my way around a sausage, and I was keen to see if Feast lived up to the growing hype. After much deliberation, we went for the smoked lamb patty burger, the patty butcher beef burger, Pembs potatoes, and a generous slather of their tangy homemade BBQ sauce on the side. You can always tell if a BBQ place is the real deal by how they nail the basics, if they can't do a banging burger or sausage, what are we even doing here? Might as well buy a Tesco meal deal and call it a day. Happily, Feast didn't just clear the bar, they smoked it. From the first big bite, I knew this lamb burger meant business, rich, robust, and perfectly balanced. Lamb burgers are usually fattier than beef, so I love them when they are cooked correctly (I need to see pink in the middle, or it's a write-off). The open-fire cooking also sealed in a deep, smoky flavour that took it to the next level and left me wanting more. Just how many burgers can I eat in one sitting? Now that's a story idea! The open-fire cooking also sealed in a deep, smoky flavour that took it to the next level (Image: Portia Jones ) My banging burger was generously slathered with zingy pickled red cabbage and mint slaw, whipped tahini yoghurt, wild garlic salsa, and Feast's homemade pickle, adding bold, tangy flavours that complemented the smoky richness of the lamb. Luke, my husband, went for the Welsh beef burger with all the hallmarks of a great burger. A juicy cheese-topped patty, I.P.A. onions, mustard BBQ sauce, smoked garlic mayo, and a soft yet sturdy bun that didn't fall apart mid-chow down like some inferior burgers. The seasoning and pickles were also spot on, enhancing the beef without overpowering it. 'Our smoked burgers have really taken off," says owner Matt (Image: Portia Jones ) Matt explained, 'Our smoked burgers have really taken off. We use 100% Welsh Pembrokeshire beef, smoke them, and then finish them over open fire. We call it our 'Patty Bucher' series, kind of a fun name that sticks.' He continued, 'Fridays are all about burgers and buns, and then on Saturdays, we add our popular sharing platters into the mix. The platters are probably our most popular dish. We've been doing them at Tap & Tan for the last three years.' The platters are a full-fire food sharing tray, a nod to barbecue traditions. "It's a big tray of meats, sauces, pickles, sides, and bread for two people to share. "I think what we're doing is pretty unique," says owner and 'pit master' Matt Flowers. (Image: Feast ) We'll serve three or four different cuts of meat, each cooked in slightly different ways across the fire,' Matt adds. 'If you want to call it a signature dish, that would be it.' With full bellies and several wines down, our evening at Feast felt like a celebration of everything that makes Pembrokeshire special, creative cooking, local produce, and a real community feel as we huddled from the rain, joking about the unforgiving Welsh weather with fellow diners. If you fancy giving Feast a whirl, grab a seat under their gazebo at the Cresselly Arms this summer. Article continues below Check their social feed for pop-up dates, bring a friend (or two), and let the smoky flavours and waterfront views do the rest. Trust me, you'll want to be there when the fire is glowing and the sun is shining.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Must visit' West Midlands social club with own brewery is UK's best
A SOCIAL club in the West Midlands has been crowned the best in the UK, beating finalists from up and down the country to the top spot. The multi-award winning Firs Club in Codsall, Staffordshire has been named Club of the Year for 2024 by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for the first time. Described by CAMRA as a 'must visit for cask beer fans', the Firs Club was praised for its drinks line up, with the club having its own microbrewery on site, which features a core ranges of ales, some of which are exclusive to the venue, Firs beers and five locally sourced, 'ever-changing' cask beers. Claiming to be 'the best place in Codsall to watch football, the club has a large decking area for people to enjoy in the summer, as well as a 'comfortably furnished' bar area, quiet lounge area and a separate sports lounge for people to enjoy a round of darts or game of pool. The club's manager, Anna Reynolds, said she was 'honoured' to win the award and praised the community behind the club for its success. She said: 'Well what can I say, it's a great surprise and honour to win CAMRA's Club of the Year award, it's something we thought was out of our reach. 'We couldn't have done it without the support of our club members, committee, CAMRA members and of course the staff who work hard to make the club a great place to visit and hopefully stay for a while.' The club has previously been named West Midlands Regional Club of the Year three years in a row and has been featured in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. The Firs Club beat out three other social clubs in Kent, Kettering and St Helens to take the national crown. Shelly Bentley, West Midlands Regional Director for CAMRA, said: 'This is a fantastic achievement for the Firs Club. 'Anna and the team work incredibly hard to create a communal atmosphere and provide a stellar line up of beers for locals to enjoy. I hope this is the first of many successes for the club and its community. '2024 has been a fantastic year for the West Midlands, this award for the Firs Club is truly deserved and comes just a couple of weeks after the Bailey Head in Oswestry was named Pub of the Year 2024.'
