![\"Graham](\"http:\/\/ceidiog.com\/pr\/files\/2014\/07\/Graham-and-Dion-ceidiog.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe event, hailed as one of the Top 10 food festivals in the UK, is supported by the rural development agency, Cadwyn Clwyd.<\/p>\n
Cadwyn Clwyd\u2019s contribution comes via the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government.<\/p>\n
The trio of chefs will be demonstrating the recipes that will be cooked by the team at the World Cup in Luxemburg when they will go head to head with the best culinary talents from around the globe.<\/p>\n
Graham is just putting the finishing touches to the menus for the hot and cold dishes the culinary team – currently ranked seventh in the world – will be preparing at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
But he is determined Welsh produce will feature strongly at Hamper Llangollen.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe always aim to showcase Welsh produce as part of what we are preparing. If we can\u2019t buy it there, we take it with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Llangollen, we will also be going the stands of those exhibiting at the festival for inspiration. So when you see us cook the dishes, we will explain where you can buy the produce, whether it\u2019s yoghurt, liquors or fresh vegetables. So you can buy the ingredients on the day and head home to make the dish for yourself,\u201d said Graham, who\u00a0was awarded an MBE in the Queen\u2019s 80th birthday celebrations for his services to the food industry.<\/p>\n
He has cooked for the Queen and members of the Royal family on numerous occasions, as well as the Emperor of Japan and European Heads of State at Cardiff Castle. Prince Charles, as patron of the Welsh National Culinary Team, has requested that they cook for him and his guests at every formal occasion in Wales and Graham was invited to attend his wedding celebration at Windsor Castle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hopeful of doing very well at the World Cup. When it was the Culinary Olympiad in 2012, we took silver and bronze, while at the last World Cup we picked up gold for the hot table and silver for the cold buffet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just finalising what we will be cooking for the hot dishes this time, while I\u2019ve got a little longer to think about the cold buffet. But it will definitely be a reflection of the great good and drink from Wales that\u2019s available.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Mike Evans’s latest graduates is off to join kitchen wizard Heston Blumental. His previous students\u00a0include Bryn Williams from Denbigh, who runs London restaurant and celebrity favourite Odette\u2019s and who is about to open his first Welsh venture, at Porth Eirias, Colwyn Bay.<\/p>\n
Another ex-student is former Bodysgallen Hall chef David Kelman, who was among the four top chefs who beat 20 others to win a place cooking up a treat for D-Day veterans at the Royal Albert Hall in BBC1\u2019s Great British Menu.<\/p>\n
Mike is just back from cooking for his rugby heroes, Sam Warburton and Rupert Moon. He\u2019s previously served up meals for the Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles, plus David Cameron and the First Minister of Wales, along with the elite of Moscow\u2019s multi-millionaire business community.<\/p>\n
Mike Evans, who now lives in Old Colwyn,\u00a0is in charge of coaching the Welsh Culinary Team\u2019s junior squad.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cCatering is now seen as a very positive option to take \u2013 in September there will be around 80 students starting at Coleg Llandrillo, while a few years ago there would only have half that number.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a tough life but it does have great rewards, and standards are certainly on the up. The TV shows certainly help, not only to demonstrate to young people how high they can aim, but to also show the quality of food that\u2019s being produced in restaurants these days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Culinary Team has taken me some great places, such as cooking for the Welsh Rugby Union – though most of the big names were in South Africa playing: we were catering for the injured ones left behind. But I\u2019m a big rugby fan, and it was a real honour to be cooking for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy time with the team has taken me to Cardiff to cook for Royalty for the opening of the Senedd building, when I got to meet the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla. And I\u2019ve been to Moscow where we were showcasing British products, such as Range Rover and Jaguar, with a very upmarket buffet for Russian business people.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents who are considering a career in catering can see that we are cooking at a very high standard,\u201d added Mike, who is hopeful that another of his students will soon be seeing stars. Just weeks after graduating from Coleg Llandrillo Nick Rudge has just joined Heston Blumenthal\u2019s team at the Michelin- starred Fat Duck in Bray.<\/p>\n
Rising star Dion, 26, from Valley, Anglesey, and now living in Wrexham, became the first Briton to win the world\u2019s oldest culinary competition, the International Escoffier Challenge in the South of France.<\/p>\n
A finalist in the 2014 National Chef of the Year contest, he\u2019s also gearing up for his second bid to win the prestigious Roux Scholarship, after being pipped at the post last time, when he was runner-up.<\/p>\n
Cadwyn Clwyd’s Agri Food Officer, Robert Price, believes this year’s festival is going to be one of the best ever.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThanks to a whole host of indigenous companies like Orchard Pigs, North East Wales is rapidly establishing a reputation as a centre of excellence for high quality cuisine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe food festival is a perfect shop window for the companies who form the backbone of our rural economy.<\/p>\n
“The location of the Pavilion is absolutely spectacular – I can’t imagine that any other food festival in the UK has a more beautiful setting.”<\/p>\n
For more information about Hamper Llangollen 2014 visit www.llangollenfoodfestival.com<\/a><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n