Deri Reed’s Culinary Journey for Community and Planet

“I always work with as many local producers as I can to source local, seasonal and organic produce. I am proud to call these suppliers my friends and love the opportunity to create exciting dishes with them” – Deri Reed

Born and raised in Carmarthen the award winning Welsh chef, Deri Reed, travelled the world but never felt at home, not even in Cardiff – until he returned to Carmarthen where, in 2016, he opened The Warren, the Trip Adviser No.1 restaurant in the town. Founded with £23,000 raised by Community Crowdfunding it is a sustainability family run restaurant that serves traditional wholesome food based on local organic produce. According to The Good Food Guide it more than just a restaurant it is a “free-spirited Community hub supporting local and organic businesses” together with the Carmarthen LGBTQ community.

 By 2019, only three years after opening, it won the Best Local Restaurant in Wales Award and Deri received the Chef of the Year Award at the Food Made Good Awards. Deri believes The Warren’s success is down to the community, the staff, the ingredients and the constant search for ways to improve. He is passionate about organic and regenerative produce as well as sourcing it locally and championing local producers, thereby ensuring its freshness and reducing its carbon footprint.

He obtains coffee beans for The Warren from Coaltown Roastery, a B-Corp located in Ammanford and its milk from Cwm Farm Dairy, Carmarthen. Its vegetables are sourced from Watson and Pratt’s and Blaencamel Farm in Lampeter, while its meat is supplied by Rhosyn Farm in Carmarthen and Whitland’s Hazelwell Farm. Its fresh fish is obtained from Swansea Fish, a fish wholesaler located on the Fishmarket Quay in Swansea Marina. Deri is passionate about animal welfare and only buys his meat from suppliers that he knows care for their animals. He is also keen to do something for the good of the planet and its people, not just to “make as much money as possible”. He wants the business to be sustainable, which means being profitable, but he has installed an energy system, for example, that is powered by 100 percent renewable gas and electricity. While it costs a little more to run, the restaurant is not contributing to the earth’s energy problems.

Despite its success, like all catering establishments, The Warren was badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis. Rather than laying people off, though, Deri has found alternative work for them. For example, a kitchen assistant has been cooking with him at festivals and outside events while one of his front of house staff has painted artwork for the restaurant. Deri pays him for his time and they split the proceeds of any art sales 50:50. Similarly one of his part-time front of house staff has her own ironworks so he commissioned her to create a fire cage for the restaurant which he uses to promote her business to The Warren’s customers.

Since October 2022, he has also launched Cegin Hedyn (Seed Kitchen). This is a Community Kitchen and Canteen located in the former Cellar Café below the English Baptist Church in the town centre. It is a “pay what you can” restaurant enabling anyone to have “a high-quality, seasonal organic meal if they need it – even if they can’t pay for it” he says.  Essentially Cegin Hedyn collects high quality surplus food from FareShare Cymru, local farmers and businesses that is then cooked by Deri and a team of volunteers supported by his team at The Warren. Not only does this reduce food waste, but it also helps to ensure that nobody goes hungry.

The Warren is a for profit enterprise in which profit, planet and people are in harmony. It addresses SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and production), 13 (Climate Action), 15 (Life on Land) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goal). Together with Cegin Hedyn, it also addresses 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and 2 (Zero Hunger).

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