Delicious portions of hot, tasty stew were dished up outside Pembrokeshire REFILL in Pembroke Dock on Saturday.

Cooked and served by Corinne Cariad, of My Epicurious Life, the bean-based, subtly spiced, warming stew with bread dumplings was the perfect recipe for the day as the morning’s sun disappeared and the air cooled.

Cooking demonstrator Corinne, a former teacher of Food Technology in Bristol secondary schools, used to run the transition cafe in Fishguard and opened a community fridge there. “I love talking about food, and using local ingredients,” she said.

It would have taken a trained palate to detect the secret ingredient in the stew: seaweed!

Corinne explained that she went on a foraging course with Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company and National Laverbread Day founder Jonathan Williams, where she discovered that almost all of the seaweed found on Britain’s shores (except that found at very low tides) is edible. She collected some from Angle Beach and added it to the borlotti beans when they were soaking.

“Seaweed aids digestion of the beans,” said Corinne. “It’s good for us as it contains lots of minerals, and it breaks down in a pressure cooker.”

“It’s a great time of year to gather seaweed as it’s young,” she added.

Recipes were available.

For dessert, there were homemade brownies and blondies - and everything was free!

The event was organised in partnership with PLANED and Wales Community Food Distribution to launch the Pembroke Dock Food Hub. WCFD is responsible for setting up food hubs locally, including the vending machines at Steynton Farm and Llanteg.

Fresh vegetables from a local supplier will be available to order weekly - £5 a bag - and the shop offers a low waste way to purchase all your essentials using refillable containers.