Deri Reed, the proprietor of The Warren in Carmarthen, is an established figure on the Welsh food scene, and with his latest venture Cegin Hedyn is putting the local community first, he tells Jonathan Swain.
Street Food Circus’ Forest Feastival is about to swing into action again and among familiar names like Anand George, Bao Selecta and Ansh is Deri Reed, award-winning Welsh chef and founder of The Warren. It’s an appealing booking by the organisers, and his organic kofte made from hoggett (that stage between lamb and mutton), cooked over fire, is sure to be popular at the Merthyr Mawr site.
Reed opened The Warren in 2016 after a crowdfunding campaign in his home town, with the mission to leave both his environment and his customers’ wellbeing in a better state than before. It is more than just a restaurant – much more, a space their listing in the Good Food Guide calls “a free-spirited community hub supporting local and organic businesses.” Animal welfare and environmental impact are to the fore, and it runs wholly on renewable energy.
He has had a fascinating career so far, with a strong theme obvious. From his days with sophisticated vegetarian cooking at Café Paradiso in Cork City, to time with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage, to his Ethical Chef stall at Riverside Market in Cardiff, sustainability has been to the fore. In 2019 came recognition for those efforts, when he won the Food Made Good awards’ Chef Of The Year, and was runner-up at the Observer’s Best Ethical Food Project.
But times are changing, and in 2022, many are going to need a helping hand. In Carmarthen, there are worrying signs: large businesses in the town have closed, jobs have been lost, and the hard times which worry us all will hit some especially hard. Now comes Reed’s community kitchen and canteen. The former Cellar Cafe, beneath the English Baptist Church in the town centre, will become Cegin Hedyn (Seed Kitchen). It is a CIC (community interest company), opening in October, and it will do remarkable things.
“Anyone can have a high-quality seasonal organic meal if they need it – even if they can’t pay for it,” Reed says. It will be a ‘pay what you can’ menu, with a suggested price, but those who most need a good meal will get it.
With additional plans to have community fridges and freezers at Cegin Hedyn for locals, Reed is motivated, he says, by what he calls “the privilege of sharing”. It’s a striking phrase that he explains as an irresistible compulsion: “To act now, in the current climate, seeing that human perspective as people go from a bad situation to worse. I want to share what I’ve got.”
What he’s got, most importantly, is experience: in growing food, in restaurants and in outside catering. He will be supporting his neighbours, championing local producers, creating jobs and promoting good food. He couldn’t devote himself to any of this without the support of his team at The Warren, of course: their ethos and their understanding of the business is what underpins what they do, and means he can focus on making Cegin Hedyn what it needs to be.
Happily, the project has had support from local residents and businesses, but more traction from the council and government would be a huge advantage. Deri Reed has a wider understanding than most of what it means to nourish his community. This is a significant undertaking, but one fuelled by that telltale phrase: the privilege of sharing, indeed.
Forest Feastival, Candleston Campsite, Merthyr Mawr, weekends from Fri 2-Sun 25 Sept. Info: here
words JONATHAN SWAIN
