Potter's zeal

Richard Potter may not be Welsh himself, but having opened a pub in the Carmarthen area of South Wales with partner Sera Davies - who is Welsh - he is determined to carry as much local produce as possible.

"Sera's father is a local farmer and he'd shoot us if we didn't use Welsh produce," says 27-year-old Potter, who has invested about £14,000 in the kitchen of the Salutation Inn in Pontargothi. Accordingly, Potter is including six options with quintessentially Welsh ingredients among the monthly changing à la carte menu of eight starters, 10 mains and seven desserts.

For example, a best-selling starter built around a mushroom and cheese strudel incorporates nant y bwla, an unpasteurised cheese which Potter buys in from a local farm. This is served with passion fruit and chilli salsa (£4), a sweet-and-sour combination that cuts through the creaminess of the cheese.

Laver bread, Carmarthen ham and Welsh Black beef all have a place on the menu, too. As does sewin, a freshwater fish rather like salmon trout, caught almost outside the Salutation's doors in the local river. It is roasted and served warm with a mixed leaf salad, cherry tomatoes, basil oil and garnishing of caper berries and olives (£4.50) and is proving popular with customers in the pub's 76-seat restaurant. The basil oil is made on site by Potter and his two-strong kitchen brigade.

Sewin can also be found as part of a mixed grill of fish (£11.50), which Potter serves with wild rocket salad and saffron butter sauce. "I use whatever's available. At the moment it has prawns and langoustines with the sewin," says Potter.

The shellfish, together with the seafood on offer in four other fish dishes on the menu (monkfish, sea bass and cockles), are sourced from the Pembrokeshire coast. Other local produce tends to come from within a five-mile radius. "We prefer to use local organic suppliers, but we don't shoot ourselves in the foot with sourcing," explains Potter.

Main dishes currently popular with the pub's customers - a mixed bunch spanning the 25 to 60 age range and families - include fillet of sea bass with chorizo sauce and fresh dill pasta (£10.50), and poached chicken stuffed with mozzarella, basil and a red pesto sauce (£8.95).

Desserts include an orange and white chocolate cheesecake and seasonal poached peaches served with a mascarpone sabayon. Also among the choices are a brñlée and two comfort-zone puds: treacle tart with vanilla sauce, and rhubarb crumble with vanilla sauce (all desserts £3.25).

Desserts are Davies's domain, who, although overseeing front of house operations, is also a trained pastry chef. In fact, the couple met while they were both working at London's Savoy hotel. "She's our official taster for everything," admits Potter.

The couple are quite content with business at the Salutation Inn and the 60 to 70 evening covers the pub is turning over at weekends. "There's not been a Saturday when we've not been full, even in the winter," says Potter. Diners are paying an average of £18 a head for a three-course meal and coffee (excluding wine). n

The Salutation Inn, Pontargothi, Carmarthen SA32 7NH. Tel: 01267 290336