Kensington Mums reviews
Kensington Mums was very lucky to receive a box filled with amazing goodies from Pontardawe Farm Produce. We are delighted and can now go into detail about the deliciousness of all their produce and most important about their freshness. We must warn you that this might produce a huge urge to order from them and also a big appetite so hope you have some food at home or better call them to order your fresh produce today!
The Pontardawe Farm Produce
The family owned Cwmnantlwyd farm is located in Gellinudd and has been managed by their family since 1956. The farm itself has a rich history. From the mid 1800’s until the early 1900’s it was a very active colliery, with various drift mines and a deep mine which was around 200m deep. Their farming principle is simple and very successful as they farm the soil not the animals. For them the cycle is if they look after the soil, then that looks after the plants and the plants look after the animals and then the animals look after themselves. Simple no? Well, I can tell you after experiencing their produce, this farming principle is definitely working for them as they do have amazing delicious produce. The way they do it is by allowing the grass to grow, then graze it so the field is naturally fertilised by the animals. For us, mothers who want always the best for our family and know how important it is to keep them healthy and try to avoid all chemical products; I was so happy to know that they avoid using any chemical fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Their principle is: “to farm in conjunction with nature, rather than trying to manipulate nature.” Now that’s what all of us mums want to hear from the man that is delivering what our family is ingesting.
Meet Gareth
Gareth is the wonderful person that is running the farm himself. I haven’t met him yet personally but the few times we spoke I can clearly hear the passion and warmth that he has for his animals which is demonstrated in the quality of his produce. His method of producing top-quality meat is completely unique. His cattle spend their entire life outdoors and are only fed what the land can grow. His animals eat a mixture of home grown clover, chicory, plantain, timothy, cocksfoot, sanfin, to name a few. Some of these plants have medicinal qualities and so are full of minerals that all animal requires. Gareth is more of a minimalist when it comes to machinery as he only has a few, a quad bike and a trailer when he needs to move sheep and pigs and a 4×4 and a trailer for moving livestock on the road. Which relates to the small amount of fossil fuel and therefore, no fertiliser or chemicals whatsoever – amazing no? His main focus is on his soil that will be full of microbial activity and so will grow highly nutritious plants that can only lead then to healthy animals.
Not all breeds of sheep and cattle can thrive or survive in such a system and so Gareth has settled on using a specific breed of sheep called Aberfield and he only uses native breed cattle. This type of breed was specifically bred for outdoor systems. He is changing to North Devons cattle as they are one of the UK’s oldest breeds and they are renowned for the quality of their meat. Trust me really knows what is best!
Another unique thing that Gareth does with his animals is that they are not treated unless they are unwell and it is advised by his veterinarian. Due to his techniques, rarely his cattle and sheep are unwell and need treatment. In the rare occasions that he has an unwell animal, it is sold and not used for his meat business.He also has Saddleback pigs which are an old British breed that is well suited for living outdoors in his case they live freely in the woods. Gareth provides them with 30% of their diet, which means they grow slowly as they would naturally and are very lean and healthy, which shows in the leanness and taste of the meat.
Gareth’s farming techniques does not allow him to farm many animals per acre as all other farms do i.e.: they can stock 2 cows per acre, under Gareth’s system he can only stock at 0.5 cows per acre. Overall Gareth’s farming method is different in many levels and it shows in the quality of his produce plus it also has a positive impact on the environment.
Our experience
We opened up a box filled with amazing delicious produce. Let’s start with the dairy produce we got. Delicious creamy butter, semi-skimmed fresh and fresh whole milk perfect for my little one who generally is not very keen on drinking milk on his own, and to my surprise, he asked for more milk. The most amazing fresh double cream – made the mash I made so delicious there were no leftovers, I also used it to make pancakes that came out very yummy and even poured some in my coffee and yes I will admit I also had just alone it was so so good. Then we were delighted by their cheeses. We tried the Caerphilly cheese creamy yet with a nice nutty flavour and also their cheese with seaweed, great combination and lovely taste to the cheese. Perfect combination for a date night snack – picture this: having a glass of red wine and some cheese while the kids are asleep – blissful! A must do with your significant other, we highly recommend.
Then we were amazed by their Gooseberry and Ginger Jam – yes what a combination of flavours it is sweet and tangy! We also tired their Clementine marmalade, you can really taste the clementines , simply delicious on toast. All these jams and marmalade’s are handmade in Wales. We also had the opportunity to try their wildflower single origin unpasteurised Welsh honey so good and great for the children, well the ones who are older than 1 year. We also had their Mango Chutney perfect combination with cheese or with their delicious roast.
Their meat is simply put: OUT OF THIS WORLD; I can tell you that I am very specific with
what we eat at home and Gareth’s meat is one of the best ones I had in London. We had the most tender filet mignon ever, that simply melted in our mouths. We also tried his Sirloin steaks that were very juicy and the fat gave it a special flavour. Their brisket was a true delight, I cooked it in the slow cooker for 3 hours and it was like eating butter so soft and tender. We also had their roasting beef that we roasted for 45 min with potatoes and it was simply delightful, the juice that oozed out and mixed with the potatoes and veggies was a total success for big and small palates. We had some lamb chops that were very tender and lovely paired them with mint jelly. The ground beef was perfect for our homemade burgers. The meat has such a delicious taste, it really must be due to the farming techniques that Gareth utilises with his animals.
We are not very keen on eating sausages as we know how these are made. However, I am so happy that Gareth insisted and gave us some to try. They are to die for, the MOST DELICIOUS SAUSAGES we ever had!!! Both Pork and Apple sausages and the Pork and Leek ones are so good I really can’t recommend them enough. My son who is a very fussy eater ended up having most of them, actually to be honest we ended up fighting for the sausages! We also made a homemade bolognese sauce with the ground pork a total different twist to the ones we made before. I have to say that you can really taste the difference in his pork and clearly Gareth’s ways of farming his animals can be tasted.
If you are like me who wants only the best for your family especially when it comes to what we eat as this is so important, then wait no more, go ahead and order a variety of meats, pork, lamb and all dairy products from Gareth directly. He will deliver to you in person the last Saturdays of each month depending where you live otherwise he will deliver via courier.
Nowadays when there are so many things we need to be careful about due to the pandemic we must also need to be careful that the produce we buy to feed our families are the ones that come from establishments that practice conscious and healthy methods such as Gareth does for years now. Like he says: “It is an old-fashioned way of farming but with a modern twist, the modern twist being the selected breeds of animals, the focus on the soil health and the use of plant varieties. All of this adds up to a natural, unique, nutrient dense, delicious product. – Nature knows best,”
We highly recommend him to become your number one supplier of your meats and dairy products. Plus he is a super friendly chap!
Exclusive for Kensington Mums
You can email Gareth on pfpgareth@gmail.com and he will supply you with the full list of products available as the website is not always updated.
Well done Gareth! Order yours today!
Gareth Davies
07791 564076
www.pontardawefarmproduce.co.uk
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