Welsh Multicultural Lunch

Traditional Shared Multicultural Lunch in the Rotorua Library Te Aka Mauri. Come and share some food, make new friends and learn more about other countries's culture and traditions.

This month it is Welsh Lunch! What do you know about cuisine of Wales?

Welsh cuisine encompasses the cooking traditions and practices associated with the country of Wales and the Welsh people. Dishes such as cawl (welsh soup), Welsh rarebit, laverbread (seaweed food), Welsh cakes, bara brith (yeast bread with dried berries) and the Glamorgan sausage (veggie sausage) have all been regarded as symbols of Welsh food. Some variation in dishes exists across the country, with notable differences existing in the Gower Peninsula, an historically isolated rural area which developed self-sufficiency in food production.

Sheep farming is practiced extensively in Wales, with lamb and mutton being the meats most traditionally associated with the country. Beef and dairy cattle are also raised widely, and there is a strong fishing culture. Fisheries and commercial fishing are common and seafood features widely in Welsh cuisine.

Vegetables, beyond cabbages and leeks, were historically rare and the leek became a significant component of many dishes. It has been a national symbol of Wales for at least 400 years and Shakespeare refers to the Welsh custom of wearing a leek in Henry V.