TWO Cardigan businesses are celebrating after winning prestigious Great Taste Awards organised by the Guild of Fine Food.

Cardigan Bay Fish led the way for Wales after picking up no less than three awards while Mantle Brewery waded in with another at the competition, that is the acknowledged benchmark for fine food and drink. It has often been described as the ‘Oscars’ of the food world.

Cardigan Bay Fish won two stars for their dressed crab and potted crab products and a one star for their mackerel pate.

Len and Mandy Walters, from St Dogmaels, have been processing fish and shellfish caught by their own vessels for the last 14 years. Len has been fishing for 30 years out of Cardigan.

Mandy said: “Who'd have thought it - a little Cardigan company winning a Great Taste Award, completely overwhelmed and still in shock.

“It is all about raising awareness of the great products we have on our doorstep and putting the area on the map.

“My husband and son do the fishing and I do the dressing and it is all hand done in small batches to get the best possible flavour. It is a first-class product and we need to get everyone involved in eating it and educating children and getting into the schools.

“To get the Great Taste awards is quite humbling.

“After attending a workshop organised through the Welsh Seafood Cluster I tried my luck and entered three products, I defied all odds and came home with three awards. I'm looking forward to seeing the stickers on my products.”

Mantle Brewery’s Rock Steady ale took a one-star award to add to the two-star award handed to their Dismantle brew back in 2015.

To cap a great couple of weeks, their Moho beer also reached the finals of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) champion beer of Britain competition at the Great British Beer festival held at Olympia.

“It’s great to get recognition for your beers and hopefully we can keep up that winning trend,” said the brewery’s Ian Kimber.