We talk to chef, forager and all round good egg, Matt Powell from Nantymoel.

FABULOUS FOOD!

What have you been up to over the last year?
I have been out and about foraging and finding locations for different wild herbs, fungus and mushrooms. After I closed La Plie I did have financial backers but there was too much money involved and we all decided the time wasn't right. It was a great idea but just too risky in the current climate.

So what will you do next?
I still want to make a difference in food here in the area that I grew up in, although after I closed I found it hard to come to terms with the closure. I still believe passionately in Wales as a whole. This is another reason why I did not want to work for someone else or move away from Wales. I have a website on the way and there's a book coming out next year. It's a lot of work but I'm really enjoying it. I have just started a small preserves, fine food and chutney business with the help of my local organic farm so it's a good start.

So you're still out foraging?
I am out a lot and I'm gaining a lot of local knowledge on wild foods, and working with local farmers who have kindly given me permission to pick on their land. For my next venture, I can supply myself with all my wild ingredients that I need. I will also be aiming to manage a small woodland that I have been allowed to forage on. I find rich pickings there, from porcini and wood blewits to acorns and chestnuts. Birch trees are something I have also been experimenting with.

So what new dish ideas have you come up with?
There is a new dish which is connected to the truffle, oak tree, and beech tree which will now have to wait until spring for the next part. I have already picked a lot of acorns for it. There are plenty of edible ferns on the mountains on my picking grounds and they work in conjunction with the mountain lamb as do the wild mountain herbs I pick where the lambs are grazing. I also pick the different boletus mushrooms near to where the beef cattle are. Let me just say that it is just a case of why these foods connect in a natural circular way.

Are you ever going to set up a restaurant again?
I would eventually like to set up again but not a restaurant first and foremost, but maybe a small room where people come to interact with me and others. The more avenues I have to go down the better. So the next venture will have everything from foraging to preserves, chutney vinegars and breads. It will have to have a few rooms and of course will include all sorts of foraging escapades. I am on the lookout but for the right place with the help of a few close friends.



So what do you think of the economic crisis?
This is a tough question because I am not a financial expert. Although at the same time it doesn't take a genius to work it out that we are in a massive time of change, but hopefully for the better and not for the worse.

What do you think can be done?
People need to see that things need to change regarding how and what we eat. We need to be working more closely with what we have around us and ask ourselves what we can do to make it better, even if it is just growing some vegetables in our own gardens. From an environmental standpoint we can't just keep taking all the time without putting something back.

What will you be doing to try to change the way you live?
I am hoping to have smallholding to grow more indigenous roots and vegetables for use in my dishes or at least working with a supplier who is local. This will also set me up in good stead for when I start up again and try to be as self sufficient as possible.

Matt Powell Mobile 07515 380 169 matt@chefmattpowell.com www.chefmattpowell.com