Home, as they say, is where the heart is. For Illtud Dunsford, who produces award-winning artisan charcuterie in Carmarthenshire – his Charcutier Ltd products are sold by Fortnum & Mason and won him this year’s Best Producer category in Radio 4’s prestigious Food and Farming Awards – this rings especially true. The farm he lives on has been in his family for generations, as far back as parish records go, and the food made there over the years is both an inspiration and an emotional cornerstone.
Dunsford’s farmhouse is filled with beautiful objects that evoke memories of his family’s traditions. The rustic kitchen table still bears a stain from the time his grandmother once put the Christmas Day turkey on it. Usually, she used one of her exquisite big serving platters – and these are now treasured items, still used by Dunsford every Christmas Day. “It’s just all about what they mean to you,” he says.
In this kitchen, everything means a lot: it’s where the first Charcutier Ltd recipes were created. In one corner, a serious piece of kit is on display – a stylish red Italian Berkel B116 slicer that gets used daily. “When it arrived, I just stood there thinking how beautiful it was,” says Dunsford. “Not much got done that day.”
Aesthetics matter to this former photographer. He worked for a decade in the film industry – including scouting for Harry Potter locations – and especially prizes his Linhof Super Technika IV camera, which recalls iconic cameras of the 30s and 40s. “It’s about quality, craftsmanship and tradition; the things that matter to me,” he says.
The transition from photography to food as a career stemmed from a lightbulb moment at Fergus Henderson’s St John restaurant. As a student, Dunsford used to treat himself to Eccles cakes from the restaurant to eat on the coach back to Wales. “The cakes cost more than the coach ticket,” he laughs. The first time he could afford an actual meal at the restaurant was a revelation, so he especially prizes a signed copy of Henderson’s Nose To Tail Eating. “It was the first time I tasted food that tasted like my grandmother’s,” he remembers. “My family tradition, but more refined.” He left that meal a successful food entrepreneur in the making.
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