Chris and Gwyn, Vale St Kitchen

Chris and Gwyn share the story of building Vale St. Kitchen in Denbigh - from chance beginnings and forestry careers to creating a thriving neighbourhood restaurant rooted in generous hospitality, seasonal food, and a positive team culture.

This time I get to sit down with Glen Barnish, the lobsterman of Barmouth. Just 28, Glen has been fishing out of Barmouth harbour for about 10 years. He first came to the area as a child, then built his life around the sea. By eighteen, he’d bought a boat, made his own pots by hand, and learned the trade through experience, patience, and countless hours on the water.

This time, I’m sitting down with Kenny and Katie from Nonno's Coffee in Conwy to chat about family, how they first met, and the story behind the name and ethos that have made their coffee shop so special.

This time, on a drizzly Sunday afternoon in February, I got to sit down with Huw Foulkes from Pentrefelin Dairy - a special farm just outside of Denbigh, in Llandyrnog. As well as all the brilliant work he's done over the past six or seven years, Huw also helped launch fully funded courses for 18 to 25-year-olds, covering everything from hedge laying to practical farming skills, through a social enterprise called Landlinked.

This time i get to speak to Joe, who runs Slate Coffee Education down in Dinas Mawddwy. Joe has travelled the world over competing in latte art competitions, and soaking up everything he can about the coffee industry. After traveling from Canada, to Australia, and back to the UK, he eventually turned to wholesaling and education within Clifton Coffee (after training to teach in Vienna). Now, he runs Slate Coffee Education in North Wales. A really knowledgable and kind person, I really enjoyed this one.

I got to sit down with Andrianos to talk about how he found his way from Athens to one of London’s most exciting kitchens, and what that shaped him along the way. After relocating to London, he spent over a year working across Ottolenghi’s restaurants - now, Andrianos is senior sous to Anglesey-born chef Tomos Parry at his Soho Mountain restaurant. Recorded in my mum's back garden in North Wales, birds and all!

This time I get to sit down with Fadi Kattan - Franco-Palestinian chef, owner of Akub in London, author of Bethlehem: A Celebration of Palestinian Food. We talked about Fadi's experiences of food growing up, food rebellion and experimentation, and how we have a duty to preserve our cultural memory through food. Recorded November 2025

This time, I get to sit down with Welsh Food and Drink royalty - Lisa from North Wales Grub, and Llio Angharad. We talk about building an identity online, the difficulties that come with maintaining it, and the responsibility felt towards the food and drink scene in Wales.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! This time, I get to speak to third-generation dairy farmer, Glenn Lloyd, at his family farm in Montgomery. As well as running Daisy Bank Dairy, he also owns Trefaldwyn Cheese (a very delicious cheese if you've not had a chance to try it!). The audio for this episode comes from an iphone that was sat between us, as the original audio file was lost on a corrupted hard drive. Some interference may be noticable.

For this one, I got to sit down with Shaun Krijnen on the beach in Brynsiencyn, just up from the mussel and oyster beds. We talked about how Shaun got into the industry, and the many many difficulties he's faced running a shellfish farming business for over three decades - not limited to, but including, climate change, cost of living crisis, financial crashes, and general attitude towards shellfish farming. I really enjoyed this one, and I hope you do, too!