It\u2019s crunch time for two North Wales food icons.<\/p>\n
Bwydydd Madryn (Madryn Foods) have teamed up with South Caernarfon Creameries to create a new variety of all-Welsh cheese and onion crisps.<\/p>\n
Launched under the popular Jones Crisps brand, they have been given \u201cextra flavour and tang\u201d thanks to the creamery\u2019s award-winning Dragon cheddar that\u2019s won a clutch of gold medals including top honours at the International Cheese Championships.<\/p>\n
The potatoes used to make the crisps are also Welsh and come from Anglesey, Pembrokeshire or Monmouthshire, depending on the time of year.<\/p>\n
Madryn managing director Geraint Hughes said: \u201cAs well as creating a fantastic new addition to our range of Jones Crisps, we are passionate about promoting Welsh food and Welsh producers.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom that point of view, working with South Caernarfon Creameries was a no-brainer and their brilliant Dragon cheddar provides the perfect flavouring.<\/p>\n
“I have a strong emotional attachment with the creamery, with relatives from both sides of my family having close ties over the decades, and the home farm where I was brought up is a supplier member of the farmers’ cooperative.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThe farm is just a few miles as the crow flies from the creamery in Rhydygwystl near Pwllheli and I came here on work experience when I was 15.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dragon Cheddar Cheese & Onion Crisps are the latest in a series of new products unveiled by Madryn who have opened new bases in in Pwllheli and Llanrwst to cater for their growing order book.<\/p>\n
The new variety comes hot on the heels of a beer-laced chutney made in collaboration with the Purple Moose brewery in Porthmadog.<\/p>\n
Perfecting the new cheese and onion flavour was a labour of love for Geraint and the company\u2019s five-strong team.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe were very eager to bring provenance into the taste because in a big competitive market you have to be distinctive and different.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheese and onion is a classic taste and it\u2019s one of the staples. It doesn\u2019t matter what intelligence you look at, cheese and onion and salted are the two go to flavours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made loads of trial batches before we got the taste just right with the perfect balance between the cheese and the onion. We wanted the cheese to be prominent\u00a0\u00a0 and the flavour to be strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe standard of ingredients is all-important because we want to be the best and offer value for money.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m very proud to be able to work with South Caernarfon Creameries – the company is a cooperative where farmers have ownership of the organisation and the creamery is answerable to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons why it\u2019s still here, and so deeply rooted in the community, because an international company may well have moved the factory to a more central location by now.<\/p>\n