Category: News

Olympic champ Hefin passes on culinary skills at Bodnant cookery masterclass

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Culinary Olympic gold medal winner Hefin Roberts will be passing on his catering skills with a one-off masterclass at Bodnant Welsh Food centre this weekend ((may 18)).

 The award winning chef will be leaving his  Anglesey kitchen behind for a day to take up residence at the cookery school at Bodnant, with local Welsh produce taking centre stage as he works on a one-to-one basis with amateur chefs.

Hefin, originally from Tregarth near Bangor, said: “I love cooking with Welsh produce, and I’m looking forward to show-casing what great dishes we can make with meat, cheese and other items from the Conwy Valley and elsewhere in North Wales.

“I have worked with young chefs before with the Welsh Culinary Team, especially when I was captain of the Junior Team, and in my day job in Beaumaris, but teaching at a cookery school is a first for me. I’m looking forward to going back to the classroom,” joked Hefin, a former pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen.

He will be preparing his favourite Welsh dishes -  leek, potato with smoked chicken veloute with Bodnant cheese souffle, followed by Bodnant lamb ballontine, with a shitake and leek farce and wrapped in Carmarthen ham, plus bara brith sticky toffee pudding with rosemary Bodnant ice cream.

After showing his class how to make the dishes, they’ll get chance to taste his creations and then try the recipes themselves, to take home to share with family and friends. A few places are still available on the course.

Hefin, who studied at Llandrillo College, Rhos on Sea, has won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Culinary Olympics as part of the Welsh Culinary team,  which boasts Prince Charles as its patron.

The 30-year-old was originally inspired by his brother Darren to become a chef, and  was just 21 when he first became a head chef, in Capel Curig. He went on to be runner-up in the Gordon Ramsay Scholarship and  lead the Welsh Culinary Team’s Junior Team. He now works at Ye Olde Bulls Head in Beaumaris and  is classed as on the top 10 ten young chefs in the UK, with appearances on ITVs Britain’s Best Dish and  three  AA rosettes to his name.

Welsh cooking wizard Dai “Chef” Davies, resident executive chef at Bodnant’s  Hayloft Restaurant and tearoom, and former captain of the Welsh culinary team, is looking forward to seeing Hefin’s take on local produce on May 18.

“Our menu at the Hayloft changes every week, depending on what’s available locally,” said Dai, who also teaches at Bodnant’s cookery school. “It’s always interesting to see what recipes other chefs come up with, using these local ingredients.  I’ve watched Hefin’s progress over the last decade, and I’m sure those taking part in his masterclass are bound to pick up some great tips.”

Also looking forward to welcoming Hefin for the day is Gwyndaf Pritchard, General Manager at Bodnant Welsh Food Centre, and a former chef at The Ritz. He said: “Hefin is a shining star of the Welsh culinary world and I can’t wait to get a taste of the food he’ll be preparing on the day.

“We showcase Welsh food here  at Bodnant and our ethos is that when it comes to what we stock we try to source it here on the estate, then we look to the Conwy Valley, then to Wales and then elsewhere if our customers request it.

“As a result 45 per cent of what we sell comes from here on the estate and three-quarters of our stock is from Wales  – we support around 100 Welsh artisan food producers.”

Bodnant Welsh Food centre at Furnace Farm, Tal-y-cafn, in the Conwy valley, has its own dairy making cheese and ice cream, plus an on-site bakery and butchery, with award-winning pies. There’s also a wine store and tea rooms  plus the Hayloft restaurant and farmhouse accommodation.

To book a place on the course with Hefin, and for more details on other courses at the Cookery School visit bodnant-welshfood.co.uk.

Thursday May 15th, 2014

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Events, News

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Berwyn follows in footsteps of a legend to sing with Bryn Terfel

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The great-nephew of one of Wales’s greatest singers is to sing with alongside operatic great Bryn Terfel at this summer’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

Thirty years ago Terfel was inspired and helped by the legendary Sir Geraint Evans and now Berwyn Pearce, 26, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his great-uncle, Sir Geraint Evans and carve out a musical career.

His big break comes this July after being called in as a late replacement for one of the starring roles in Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the curtain-raiser to this year’s Eisteddfod in Llangollen on Monday, July 7.

Bryn Terfel heads a star-studded cast which also includes Carmarthen tenor Wynne Evans, Gio Compario of the Go Compare TV ads, and top soprano Shan Cothi.

And taking the role of the young sailor, Anthony Hope, who falls in love with Todd’s daughter, Johanna, is Berwyn, a Welsh-speaker from Cilfynydd, near Pontypridd, home village of Sir Geraint, a miner’s son who died in 1992.

He was a star of the Royal Opera House and, like Bryn Terfel, a bass-baritone who performed in the great opera houses of the world in roles such as Falstaff and Figaro.

Bryn Terfel, who sang at Sir Geraint’s memorial service, said: “He was an inspiration to young Welsh singers like me and he helped me when I first started out.

“It’s fantastic that I may now also be able to help Berwyn along the way as well and I’m really looking forward to it.”

It had looked a case of so near and yet so far for Berwym, a teacher at Cwmderwen Primary School, in Blackwood, in Gwent, who had been short-listed for the role of Anthony at auditions in Cardiff.

He reached the final auditions, attended by Bryn himself, but just missed out to another young tenor, Tom Hier, from Merthyr, who has had to drop out because of final year college commitments at the Guildford School of Acting.

Now he’s got his chance and he’s thrilled at the prospect: “I’m over the moon,” he said: “I’ve come off the bench and got my chance.

“I got down to the last two and didn’t get the part and that was worse than getting turned down in the first round but then I was told that the part was mine because Tom couldn’t make the main rehearsals.

“My family are absolutely thrilled, especially my mum (Jane Pearce) who is the daughter of Sir Geraint’s sister. She’s like all mums, she takes things harder than I do and she’s more excited when things go well.”

Berwyn, a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, remembers visiting his famous great-uncle at his holiday home in Aberaeron before his death in 1992.

He said: “I remember him as an elderly man when we went to visit but I was very close to my Auntie Brenda, Uncle Geraint’s widow, and his family.

“I’m so chuffed for them really and one of the first people we rang was Uncle Huw, Geraint’s son and I’m hoping he’ll be coming to see me in the performance.

“The school where I teach have been great too. They’ve been checking on my progress and they’re delighted I’ve got this chance.

“It’s a brilliant opportunity. I played the part in college and I’d always wanted the chance to do it again because it’s one of the best musicals there is so it’s huge for me.”

He will be playing alongside Lauren Morris, from Solihull, as the star-crossed young lovers and he added: “She’s a lovely girl and it will be great to sing with her.

“That’s one of the great things about this business. You get to meet and work with so many different and talented people.

“It will be incredible to perform with Bryn Terfel, especially because of who my great-uncle was, but that won’t count for anything in the performance.”

Terfel himself chose the three young unknowns – 14-year-old Dewi Wykes, from Llangynhafal, near Ruthin, a pupil of Ysgol Brynhyfryd, will play urchin Tobias Ragg – for Sondheim’s acclaimed show which was first performed in 1979.

They were whittled down from over 80 hopefuls who took part in auditions at the Wales Millennium Centre, in Cardiff, and the Royal International Pavilion, in Llangollen

Terfel said: “It was a wonderful standard, the standard one would expect for Llangollen, and to have Sir Geraint’s great nephew there is a real bonus.

“It’s a one-off performance and I can’t wait. It will be a special day in Llangollen when we perform Sweeney.”

Alongside Bryn making the decision was Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths who said: “Tom was obviously desperately disappointed but the main rehearsal coincided with his graduation production at the end of a three year course.

“But these things happen and it means a wonderful opportunity for Berwyn and that’s just the magic of the business where an understudy can step in and take the first steps to stardom.

“That’s one of our roles at the Eisteddfod, to provide chances for young talent to flourish and there can be no bigger opportunity than to sing alongside a legend like Bryn Terfel.

“It was so close between Tom and Berwyn for the part. Berwyn is a class act and a strong, strong contender who will bring a special performance to the role – he is a good looking young man with a real presence.”

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Sondheim is set in 19th century London and tells the story of the crazed barber who murders his clients and supplies the bodies to his accomplice, piemaker Mrs Lovett.

Sondheim’s multi-award winning classic was first performed on Broadway in 1979 and has since been a regular production across the world and on the big screen in 2007 when superstar Johnny Depp played Todd and Helena Bonham Carter was Mrs Lovett.

Bryn Terfel, who took the role in 2002 in Chicago, is fresh from a performance of it by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Center in New York in March when Oscar-winner Emma Thompson played Mrs Lovett.

He said: “That was a fair crack of the whip with lots of blood, playing this man driven by revenge.

“It was very impressive to have Stephen Sondheim there and telling you what he thought of the performance. It’s his favourite work and has been performed all over the world and made into a Hollywood blockbuster.

“It will be special doing it in Llangollen with Gareth Jones there conducting the Sinfonia Cymru and I can’t wait.”

It will be the first time he has performed on the International Eisteddfod stage since he opened the 2006 festival, his first appearance at Llangollen in a decade.

Sweeney Todd will be the curtain raiser to six tremendous days at Llangollen which begin on Tuesday, July 8, with this year’s concerts featuring Dutch jazz diva Caro Emerald, American tenor star Noah Stewart, a new work by composer Karl Jenkins, the Cape Town Opera, the Choir of the World competition on Saturday night and legendary British rockers Status Quo closing the event on Sunday night.

To book tickets and for more information on the 2014 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

Tuesday May 13th, 2014

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Events, News

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Tamworth’s Ankerside staff step out to support deaf charity raise cash

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BIG-HEARTED staff from Tamworth’s Ankerside Shopping Centre are putting their best foot forward to raise cash for a charity helping deaf people.

The team from Specsavers Hearing Centre at Ankerside are taking part in a sponsored walk for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, to add to the hundreds of pounds they’ve already raised for the charity.

On Saturday May 17, the intrepid hikers will step out in at the Kingsbury Water Park, alongside the River Tame for the Paws For A Walk event.

Spearheading the fearless band of foot sloggers will be Specsavers Hearing Centre director and audiologist  Laura Hale who explained: “We have a very close relationship with Hearing Dogs for the Deaf,  which is a brilliant charity and does lots of really good work.

“The charity puts a lot of time and effort into training the hearing dogs from puppies and pairing the new owner with the dog.”

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Ankerside Shopping Centre Manager Pete Barber said: “Laura and her team, like many of the staff here at Ankerside, are very committed to helping their customers.  Giving up their own time to help raise funds for this admirable charity is one example of how they give a little bit extra.

“I know that our regular shoppers are very generous and I’d ask them to take a moment to sponsor the walk by Laura’s team, and so help make a difference for somebody with hearing problems.”

Laura added: “The sponsored walk that myself and a few colleagues are taking part in at Kingsbury Water Park is part of our on-going support for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

“It’s a four-mile course around the lakes which should be a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning and we’re all looking forward to it very much.

“We’re being sponsored by our colleagues and also by our customers who are always very willing to back this charity because of the excellent work it does.

“Our last event, which was very well supported by our customers, was last month when we held a hearing awareness day and collection at the store for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

“Our special guests for the day were Jan Winters and her hearing dog Berrie, which has transformed her life since she got him three years ago.

“Jan and Berrie, who is a specially trained five-year-old Golden Labrador Retriever cross, regularly give talks in local schools on what an important role hearing dogs can play in the life of a deaf person.

“Jan used to shy away from going to big shopping areas because she didn’t know what was going on around her but Berrie gives her signals to guide her as she walks and I know she feels very confident and secure at Ankerside.

“At the awareness day we offered free hearing checks and promoted the message that people should look after their ears. While many people have regular sight tests they tend to forget about their hearing a little bit.

“We also sold cakes which the staff had made and sold them outside the store. This made £134 for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.

“We have recently expanded the audiology side of things at Specsavers in Ankerside.  I am now there three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Thursday – to do hearing tests on an NHS and private basis and our hearing care assistant Pamela Gordon is at the store every day apart from Sunday to offer help and guidance”

Vicky Ryan, Midlands community fundraiser for Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, said: “I’m very grateful to the people from Specsavers at Ankerside for agreeing to take part in our sponsored walk.

“The kind of support we receive from Specsavers is invaluable to the work we do.

“This is the first time we have organised this particular event and we’re expecting around 50 people to take part.

“Starting at 10am, it’s a gentle walk around the water park of about four miles and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will be kind to us.

“However, we’ll be going ahead with the walk even if it rains – we’d just ask people to bring along their waterproofs!

“I know a few people are planning to bring along their dogs on the day but although the event is in aid of hearing dogs, a dog isn’t essential to take part in the walk.”

For more details about the sponsored walk go to: www.hearingdogs.org.uk/walks

 

Ankerside Shopping Centre, open daily,  is home to 60 stores, from fashion, health and beauty to services and food and drink, and has more than 700 parking spaces. More details at www.ankerside.co.uk

Tuesday May 13th, 2014

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News

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Macclesfield singing phone salesman takes on cyber bullies with fund-raising concert

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A mobile phone salesman at Macclesfield’s Grosvenor Centre, who was tormented by bullies at high school, will be singing his heart out tonight at a concert to raise awareness about cyber bullying.

Paul Capper, who works at Phones 4 U at the centre, had no hesitation in accepting when asked to perform at the concert, one of a number of events around Europe this spring to highlight the increasing problem of bullying via the internet, social media and phone text messages.

The cause has a personal significance after Paul was persecuted by bullies over two years while at school.

“That was when the likes of Facebook and Twitter weren’t around, but I know what it feels like to be cruelly intimidated,” said Paul, now 25, who was forced to give away his school dinner money to thugs.

He said: “In many ways cyber-bullying is even worse because these are faceless tormentors who hide behind digital technology, unseen. It’s insidious and can make the lives of innocent schoolchildren a misery, but it’s not just younger ages affected, older teenagers and adults are also among the victims.

“It’s wicked and has got to be stamped out,” added Paul, who devotes as much spare time as he can to music when not doing his day job as a sales consultant at Phones 4U store in the Grosvenor Centre.

Caroline Kirton-Darling from the Grosvenor Centre said: “Paul is taking an admirable stance over the issue of cyber bulling. I like to wish Paul every success with this concert, and with his other musical activities later this year.

“I’m always fascinated by the many different interest of the staff who work here at the Grosvenor Centre, it’s why there’s such a great community spirit here.”

At the concert on May 9 at Winsford Academy, Paul will deliver the emotional number This Is The Moment from hit musical Jekyll and Hyde, followed by Puccini‘s Nessum Dorma from Turandot.

He said: “This Is The Moment is a real stirring song. When I sing the line about sending  all doubts and demons on their way it means a lot to me and I hope it will help people overcome their demons too.

“I will come on stage, very shyly,  with projected comments on my Facebook and Twitter pages behind me, showing messages like “You are rubbish, you should never be on stage!” during the first song.

“Then at the end of the song the images will go away and I will come to the front of the stage in just one spotlight and I will do Sweet Transvestite from the Rocky Horror Show, which is kind of like a breaking out of my shell moment. I will have the costume underneath and then there’s a complete juxtaposition when I sing Nessun Dorma to finish of the set. I’m hoping it goes down well.”

Today Paul offers an example of how people can successfully triumph over bullies. Before joining Phones 4U last October, he was an entertainer with Park Resorts at its venues in Scotland, Cumbria and South Wales. Earlier this month he performed live on Radio Canalside.

“That was great fun. One of our customers who came in the shop had connections with the station and my colleague was talking to them about some of the charity performances I do. Next minute I was there in the studio.

“I sang Music Of The Night from Phantom of the Opera. It was nerve-wracking but I really enjoyed it,” said Paul, a keen supporter of local charities, including Age Concern. He often does concerts at local residential homes, sometimes taking requests.

He started his musical training at school, unusually playing the tuba, the largest and lowest pitched of the brass instruments.

He said: “Our teacher gathered together a group of pupils and asked us all to try out various brass instruments so he could judge who would be best at playing what. It turned out I was the only one who could get a sound out of a rusty dented old  tuba, so I took up lessons on that and played it for years. I reached grade eight and performed with concert bands around Cheshire.”

It was not until high school he discovered he could sing.

“I was taking the mickey out of opera singers one day and started to sing a song made up in my head about a maths teacher going out in the snow. The music teacher heard me and said I hadn’t got a bad voice and should take up lessons. I don’t know where it came from, no one else in my family is the slightest bit musical,” said Paul, whose mum, Judy, lives in Northwich and dad, David, lives in London. He has an older sister, Laura, 29.

He is delighted that he has several concert dates booked for this year, including performing the National Anthem for the Mayor of Winsford at the annual Bun Fair in September.

“The Mayor hasn‘t heard me sing before but she heard about me from a friend and asked me to perform.  It‘s quite an honour, so I‘m very nervous about it, especially as there will be lots of dignitaries there. But I‘ve also got to learn the second verse of the National Anthem which I didn‘t know the words for until now,”  he laughed.

On September 20 and 21 he will also perform at Winsford Salt Fair.

“I’ll be doing half an hour on the Saturday night, for a younger age audience, then on the Sunday I’ll do another half hour, this time of music for the more mature ages,” said Paul who rehearses every week at the Band Edge Resurrected premises in Winsford.

“It’s a great place, they have a basement where I can sing to my heart’s content,” he said. “If I tried practising at home I think I’d get thrown out.”

Paul grew up in Northwich, attending Cuddington Primary School and Weaverham High School, before going on to graduate with a degree in Performance and Events Management from Cumbria University in Carlisle.

On returning to Cheshire he moved to Macclesfield where he had many friends from his days in the local Scouts.

“I love it here in Macc,” he said. “It’s a great community and since I’ve worked in Grosvenor Shopping Precinct I’ve had lots of support from Phones 4U. They’ve been really good at supporting my charity performances and helping get my name out there. I can’t thank them enough.”

He is now toying with the idea of entering television’s Britain’s Got Talent competition, but wants to get some more performing experience first.

“I think I need to sing in front of bigger audiences before I put myself through the auditions for that,” he said. “So I’m looking to get on stage as much as possible over the coming months. Bring it on!”

Friday May 9th, 2014

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News

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