Testimonials
January 2011 – Cardiff Guardian
“I attended Hub in the Pub as it truly is the best way to network, as a business and an individual. I was surrounded by like-minded people from all walks of life from executives to local gardeners. We all ultimately care about and are worried about the future of our planet and it’s great to know that people out there really do care!”
January 2011 – Cardiff Life
Mentioned in January’s “Cardiff Life”
January 1st 2011 – South Wales Echo – Jenny Longhurst goes green with the help of ethical chef Deri Reed
If your New Year resolution is to go green, then what better place to start than in the kitchen? Or, if you have vowed to pursue a healthy lifestyle, then looking at what’s on your plate has to be a major factor.
Deri Reed was brought up on vegetarian food and as a teenager rebelled by turning to meat.
“In school dinners all my friends were eating burgers and sausages and the only alternative for me was jacket potato,” he recalled.
“I wanted to explore what meat was like and wanted to challenge my parents about why we were vegetarian.”
5th December 2010 – Caroline Baldwin – Back to the Roots (Food Blogger)
I volunteered to spend a Saturday afternoon in the Ethical Chef’s kitchen, hoping to get a better idea for the food, business and passion Deri puts into his food before selling it at the market.
26th November 2010 – David Siggery Roofing – Private Dining Customer
Please see the pictures from the event, A testimonial to come soon.
Caroline Baldwin -Back to the Roots (Food Blogger)
When I first met The Ethical Chef, Deri, a couple of weeks ago he offered me a taste of his Beetroot and Chocolate Brownie. My eyebrows raised, I politely agreed to bypass my hatred of this vegetable and give it a taste. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Beetroot is one of those vegetables I tried as a child, pickled, and I never gave it another chance, despite the many health benefits. But these brownies were delicious. Gooey and chocolaty with a lovely.. Read More..
Caroline Baldwin – Cardiff University Postgrad Student
I must admit I came over a little star struck. During my many chats and interviews with various foodie people in Cardiff, his name has kept cropping up in conversation. There is a pure excitement in the community about this 24 year old who creates beautiful vegetarian food from local ingredients. Read more at my Back to the Roots Blog
Riverside Market - ‘The Ethical Chef ‘ now has a stall at Cardiff’s award-winning Riverside Market every Sunday. Deri will be specialising in using local produce from in and around Cardiff to produce sumptious vegetarian meals to eat at the Market or take home or take away.
To ensure his business is also as ‘Green’ as possible Deri is using only eco-friendly products for his business, such as Ecover products, bio-packaging from London to serve his food , special cutlary made from sustainable plan starch, recycled serviettes, fairtrade clothing, recycled business cards etc.
Deri will have a monthly menu which consists of a cooked main dish and a selecting of seasonal side dishes.
All the produce he uses is sourced as locally as possible; this month he is using all organic vegetables from Blaencamel farm.
Deri also plans on doing a top notch vegetarian Christmas dinner over the December period and in November he will be using pumpkin in abundance in his dishes!
Nikki More – Cardiff – Private Catering Customer
It was lovely coming into a house and having a smiling , clean cut chef there welcoming you. He worked like a dog but had a smile on his face the whole time. Taking photos during the whole event made it so personal and we all felt like something out of a celebrity magazine. Each course complimented the next without being similar. We never felt rushed to eat and each course was explained thoroughly as it was delivered. What a pleasure to have a service like this to make use of, I’m going to book him for my birthday.
Ricky White – Cardiff – Cookery Lesson
EthicalChef arrived with a bag fully loaded with cucumbers, courgettes, spring onions, squash, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, and mint, all locally grown and hand-picked that day. Combined with a few more exotic ingredients, black rice and smoked paprika, brought by Deri , and items located in our cupboards we all decided what we’d like to eat that night. After a quick deliberation we hit upon a menu of spiced lentil curry, cucumber and mint raita, tomato salad, and rosemary roasted squash and courgettes. The music, wine and conversation flowed as we got to our stations, messing in and prepping the ingredients under the chef’s guidance. We all discussed our concerns and principles (there were 2 vegetarians and one pescetarian present) as the theme of the night was definitely ethical eating, what we could do more (something the chef offered great advice on) and time flew by so it was not long before we were cooking a feast. Along the way there were numerous wicked little tips on how to best prepare or cook the ingredient and when the food was ready we had a healthy, aromatic, sumptuous and gorgeous spread that we all enjoyed tucking into. Needless to say we all had a great time eating. It was a beautiful evening, one I’ll happily do again.
Esme Young – Cardiff – Private Dining
The starter was a feast not only for my belly but also my eyes, as the soup came presented in its very own pumpkin bowl, surrounded by delicious roasted veg, with warm, crusty, just-made bread. AAaahhhmazing to say the least, the roasted potatoes were probably my favourite.
The pudding, of seasonal berries was a perfect end to the feast, if not an end to the drinking and merriment of the night. The experience of an EthicalChef evening was so much fun, and I’m looking forward to booking him again.
Aston Griffiths – Carmarthen – Friend from Business Launch
I’m fanatical about meat. There, I said it. But I can’t help myself falling in love with vegetarian food after EthicalChef hosted a party in the height of summer. From the start of the evening, his attention to detail was for all to see from simple seasoning to explaining in detail where his local produce was from, how it was grown and what to do ourselves at home to maximise the full flavour and culinary exploration into all things green. With the sun setting over the Carmarthenshire backdrop, the BBQ was lit with corn on the cobs delicately placed along with fresh mixed kebabs packed to the brim with fresh tomatoes, halloumi cheese, courgette and peppers made prior to the party. Other dishes including a delicious potato salad and a sweet but spicy couscous really set the tone along with the chilled wine. Despite the simplicity of the meal, the flavours and colours were quite honestly to die for. Fresh, local with a modern twist and clever tweaks, it was a feast to serve a king.
Despite being very busy making sure everyone was being catered for, Deri still maintained fantastic communication with the group however small or big our questions were. As we dined in the dusk, meat lovers and not, we all agreed that we will be doing this again with the EC.
David Peters – Carmarthen – Friend from “The Big Lunch”
We went to ‘the big lunch’ event hosted by EthicalChef in a
beautiful hall in rural Wales. The atmosphere was warm and friendly
with live music, numerous locals and fantastic food.
We were expecting an empty room for a vegetarian Sunday lunch in the heart of a beef and lamb farming community but were greeted by 60 smiling locals.
Deri helped the atmosphere by staying low key and making the event about
good food and community. When he did venture out of the kitchen to
announce the total raised for the Fairtrade Foundation, he was swamped
with wellwishers wanting to swap advice and opinions – even trading
vegeburger recipes with a local farmer at one point. It was such a
pleasure to go to a professional but relaxed event that inspired fun
and debate, that we booked him for a reunion dinner in July. Best of
luck with your new venture, and see you in the summer!