Coast & Countryside

Sample and savour the Carmarthenshire flavour...

Green, leafy Carmarthenshire with its mountains, rivers and estuaries provides the finest larder in the land. There’s sewin from the Towy; salt marsh lamb from Laugharne; Carmarthen ham and farm cured bacon; beef and poultry from across the county, award-winning cheeses, traditional seafood and an array of fresh vegetables.

Thriving farmers' markets across Carmarthenshire are a showcase for the finest local produce of superb quality. Here local farmers, gamekeepers and fishermen sell the goods they have grown, reared or caught directly to you - cutting out the middle man. These stallholders know all about the food they are selling, from field to fork. Not just anyone can become a stallholder at a real farmers' market. There are strict eligibility criteria before an application is approved.

Nothing but the best local ingredients are used in the produce. That means the eggs and butter in the cakes, the fruit in the jams, the vegetables in the soups should have come from local farms.

Many of the county’s farmhouse cheese producers have been keeping up with the times with a range of artisan and individual character cheeses. Innovation with dairy products extends to mozzarella, yoghurt, ice cream, goats milk, confectionery and speciality chocolates.

Farmers selling their own produce offer nothing but the best and this includes large, small and irregular shapes because that’s how nature does things. And because you won’t find the 'two for the price of one' offers you get in the supermarket (which the producer often pays for) you buy only what you need, not extra which often goes to waste.

Of course, the money you spend on food grown and produced locally helps our farmers stay in business and you’ll be cutting back on food miles - buying locally produced food reduces the amount of carbon dioxide emissions associated with distribution by a whopping 90 per cent.

The renowned annual Carmarthen County Show displays Carmarthenshire’s produce at its very best but you can buy regularly at our farmers' markets in Carmarthen, Llandovery and Lampeter.