FMD: Owen, you shared recipes online- how to make croquetas, the two-part paella cookalong, and those prize-winning patatas bravas…

That's down to standardisation of products to save labour, less skilled labour, bland flavours and trying to be all things to all people. Before you know it it's a very vanilla experience. That's not why I got into the industry." Tom: You can measure success in so many different ways. For me, the fact we have got to this stage, by whatever means, and produced this book, that’s success enough. Genuinely. Look, if we sold thousands and thousands of copies, great. But for me, talking about a book for over ten years, for all the work we have done for two decades to evaporate overnight because of COVID… You never know what’s around the corner but it’s here now. It’s here and we’ve done it and it’s a cliché, but we see the enthusiasm from family and customers and that’s lovely. It’ll be great to know people enjoy cooking from it and reading the stories. This project has been piloted on the CGN mailing list and is now extended to the Pembrokeshire mailing list Bar 44 is a true family affair, with Owen fronting up the food and drink, his brother Tom is in charge of marketing and business development and sister Natalie oversees the 130 strong-staff as operations director. Tom: There’s something for everyone- from simple things, like learning to make a gilda, to the raciones, to going all out and making something for a huge feast around a busy table- a whole shoulder of lamb, that kind of thing. The postres too will push some people’s buttons- the Bake Off phenomenon might mean people are keen to try their hand at new desserts.Wogans Arms, Saundersfoot, St.Issells (1881) / Errox Hill Farm, St.Issells (1891) / Blaengarw, Llangeinor GLA (1901) / Blaengarw, Llangeinor GLA (1930) Henry 1848 (Walton) / Ann 1849 (?) / Margaret 1850 (Walton / Clarbeston) / William 1858 (Camrose) / David 1861 (Camrose) FMD: And El Capricho- given that your headline ingredient here at Asador 44 is Spanish beef, it must cast a long shadow. It felt like a privilege, to be invited into that kitchen, and to see the simplicity of that grill. Huge chuletones being cut, then salted, then cooked and rested and sliced: in a way it all seemed so simple, but you knew this was something very special indeed. Even before that first mouthful. That’s a memorable place, no? St. Issells (1836) / Stammers, Saundersfoot (1841) / The Cottage, Stammers (1851) / Stammers (1871) / St.Issells (1878)

Victoria aka Emma 1838 (Llanstadwell) / Joseph 1840 (Llanstadwell) / Benjamin 1842 (Llanstadwell) / Elizabeth 1845 (Llanstadwell) / Robert 1847 (Llanstadwell) / Maria Rhoda 1851 (Llanstadwell) George ? (Penally) / Thomas ? (Court House / Fallowfield OR, Whitewell Farm, Penally) / Richard ? (Penally) / Katherine ? (Penally)Richard 1838 (Marloes) / Susan 1840 (Marloes) / John 1843 (Marloes) / William 1845 (Marloes) / James 1848 (Marloes) / Edward 1850 (Marloes) / Emily Alice 1854 (Marloes) every bit the equal of their cooking… the sort of tome that becomes battered and splattered with constant use.” – Tom Parker-Bowles FMD: I suppose Mercado, like the cookbook, was another case of circumstances offering you a chance to develop? We did the same thing with cecina, going to different villages and meeting different producers, seeing the process, because with cured beef there are so many ‘levels’. What’s the raw meat like to start with- on a British dosmetic level, how good is that piece of intensively-reared supermarket beef, compared to a really good slow-aged, well-reared piece of grass-fed beef? It comes down to the level of marbling, the flavour, the texture, what it’s smoked over, and how long the cure is, and in what environment… there’s a lot that goes on. We have tried maybe 75-80 cecinas so you see the difference you get from this price to that, as you develop your own palate and preferences. Born into a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Morgan came to think of his family’s beliefs as destructive. At the age of 18, he was disfellowshipped for smoking a cigarette and shunned by most of his relatives and friends. He continued to believe in the religion till he was 22 before changing course.