A chef who has cooked for The Queen, along with sporting, Hollywood and political royalty, is helping a Welsh food firm grow.
Colin Gray, former President of the Culinary Association of Wales, has teamed up with the producers of Blodyn Aur, an extra virgin oil made from Welsh-grown crops, on a new range of dressings.
They are now expecting a surge in sales – with the initial batch of 400 bottles snapped up by foodies in just one weekend.
Colin, who runs the award-winning Capital Cuisine, with his sons Daniel and Stuart plus son-in-law Dewi at their base in Bedwas, also uses Blodyn Aur oils when creating dishes for pop-up restaurants at major open-air events such as the Hay Festival, the National Eisteddfod, Urdd and Royal Welsh Show.
The chef, who has picked up Great Taste and True Taste of Wales awards for his creations, has cooked for The Queen four times – when she visited the National Assembly for Wales – plus Hollywood actor Catherine Zeta Jones, other celebrities and sports stars.
The former vice-captain of the Welsh Culinary Team, Colin is also a World Association of Chefs judge, food lecturer, and consultant to the Welsh Government, plus mentors the cream of the culinary profession across the UK.
He said: “I was impressed with Blodyn Aur when I started using the oil as it is very versatile.
“We use it in dishes and dressings that Capital Cuisine supplies to a wide range of pubs and restaurants around the UK, and the dressings especially proved to be very popular.
“It was a natural step to begin working with Blodyn Aur on the new range of dressings – we have found the beetroot to be very popular as people love the colour.”
Blodyn Aur already produces more than 35,000 bottles every year of its golden rapeseed oil, which is cold-pressed on the Conwy farm of Ll?r Jones, using bee-friendly crops grown across North Wales.