Food producers in Chirk and Ceiriog Valley are among those in North Wales that have the opportunity to join a project to develop tasty new regional products.

New delicacies have been cooked up by a team at The Food Technology Centre in Llangefni, including seaweed sausages, cheesy Welsh cakes and boozy biscuits, that could soon be on sale in North East Wales.

Corwen-based regional regeneration agency Cadwyn Clwyd, who commissioned the project, wants to hear from potential producers across rural Wrexham and Denbighshire.

They want to help them choose and develop exciting new food specialties and put them on the shelves of shops in the region.

Lamb and laverbread seaweed along with cheese and leek Welsh cakes and biscuits made from the leftover grain from the many micro-breweries now operating in the area are among their first recipes.

Donna Hughes, business partnerships officer for Cadwyn Clwyd, said: “We wanted to find products that could be taken up by established micro-businesses or new start-ups.

“One of the key themes is to look at food trends and how we can implement new products in a sustainable and tasty way - we also wanted to tap into the flexitarian market where people still want to eat meat but want to reduce their consumption.”

Ann-Marie Flinn, technical manager at The Food Technology Centre, said: “The products are the first phase of a two-year project, for which we took into account market trends.

“The recipes are adaptable and the team at the centre will then work with the selected producers to help bring them to market though the Welsh Government (EU) funded Project HELIX.

“We looked at products that were of the area and innovative and in the case of the sausages we’ve looked at using lamb in combinations with a range of green proteins, including spinach, kale and edamame beans.

“The Welsh cakes are a savoury twist on an old favourite and cheese and leeks is a perfect combination while the micro-brewing industry has boomed and making biscuits from the grain that would otherwise have gone for pig feed is a tasty and sustainable idea.”