Celtic Collection Chefs Cook Up Delights for Prime Minister’s Reception
Celtic Manor Resort — A 5-star luxury resort located in Newport, UK • celtic-manor.com
A team of top chefs from The Celtic Collection treated VIP guests to a taste of Wales at a star-studded reception thrown by Prime Minister Keir Stramer at his 10 Downing Street home.
The culinary brigade served up a selection of delicacies, inspired by high quality food and drink products from Wales, for the Prime Minister to celebrate St David’s Day with Welsh celebrities, sports stars, business leaders and politicians.
Executive Chef Michael Bates devised the menu and led a team comprised of his Celtic Collection colleagues Justin Llewellyn, Sy Crockford, Adam Whittle and Paul Ngigi, while the food service was headed up by Cluster Hotels General Manager James Hayward.
Among the120 invited VIP guests were the Wales football squad, classical music star Katherine Jenkins, former Wales and Lions rugby captain Alun Wyn Jones, Lord Kinnock, and stars from The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing.
The chefs served up savoury canapes including Welsh rarebit served on onion bread, mini whipped Pembroke potato shepherd’s pie, wild mushroom tart, mini herb arancini, and cured salmon with Cygnet gin.
Executive Chef Michael Bates said: “It was an amazing experience for the whole team who were very proud to showcase produce from Wales at such a prestigious event. The guests really enjoyed our Welsh canapes and drinks and it was great to receive such positive feedback.”
Gold standard heralds new golf season
The Celtic Manor Resort celebrated the start of the new golf season by winning prestigious accolades at two industry awards ceremonies hosted at the venue.
Celtic Manor was one of only a dozen golf resorts in the UK and Ireland to win Gold Flag status at the 59club Service Excellence Awards, recognizing venues that consistently deliver outstanding service standards and first-class facilities to their members and guests.
In a separate ceremony for the Wales Golf Awards, Celtic Manor won the Sustainability Project of the Year accolade after achieving the industry leading GEO (Golf Environment Organization) Certification for all its golf courses and operations during 2025.
The awards set the resort up for a busy golf season, including the first time hosting the G4D Open in May for top players with disabilities.
