Pancake Day: do you know where your ingredients come from?

During the two-day Food Story event organised by Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society, more than 1,200 children from over 30 schools, aged from five to 16, met up with arable, dairy, pig, sheep, and poultry farmers, as well as honey producers from all over the county. 

Farmers volunteered their time to talk to the children and give hands-on demonstrations. They explained the process of producing the ingredients for pancakes, talked about farming sustainably, and how they care for the countryside. 

Students also had a chance to look at farm machinery and meet animals, to see first-hand what is used to produce their food. 

Pancakes and smiles

Kathy Wilson, a former teacher and now an Honorary Pembrokeshire Show Governor, who organised the event on behalf of the society’s Food Story / Stori Bwyd, said she “massively” appreciates farmers who took two days out from their busy farm work to come, talk to the children and demonstrate how they produce food and drink.  

Ms Wilson added: “The smiles on the faces of the children said it all, they listened intently, enthusiastically took part in the demonstrations, and the teachers took resources back with them to their schools to continue the learning.  

“One of the important elements of Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society’s work is educational and spreading the word around the county about how local food is produced by farmers. Everyone enjoyed eating the pancakes after they had learnt that the ingredients are produced by the farmers they met during their visit.” 

A bit of history 

Pancake Day is an annual celebration enjoyed by many people across the world. In English-speaking countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada, the celebration is called Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday. In France, the USA, and other countries, it is called ‘Mardi Gras’ or ‘Fat Tuesday’. 

Pancake Day marks the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. Lent is a period of 40 days before Easter where, traditionally, people avoid eating rich foods like butter and eggs, so to use them up, they made pancakes from these ingredients on Shrove Tuesday. 

Our pancake recipe 

Whether you prefer fluffy pancakes or crepe-style variations, there is no better day to eat this delicious sweet (or savoury?) treat than Pancake Day – and no easier method to follow than our tried-and-tested pancake recipe.

Farmers Guide always encourages to buy British as the support of UK farmers is paramount, so this Shrove Tuesday, buy local and help sustain our beloved agricultural industry one pancake at a time!

Read more rural news here.