Illtud Llyr Dunsford

Food & Drink

It’s thirty-three degrees and the sun is belting down on this family-owned, Welsh farm. The birds are singing, the insects are buzzing and the pigs are under cover in the shade. We’re here to meet Illtud Llyr Dunsford, who along with his wife Liesel Taylor, runs Charcutier Ltd. They lovingly make award-winning, small batch, cured, cooked, smoked and air-dried charcuterie, from scratch.

Illtud was born and raised in Cardiff but most Fridays would come up to the farm they now live on. “At the time it was my uncle’s farm. We’d spend the weekend here and when we’d leave on Sunday, the car would be full of meat and eggs ready for the week. Any vegetables we ate came from dad’s allotment in the garden, so as family we always ate really well.” Illtud could’ve easily moved into the farming world, but he chose a creative career. He spent nine years in the film industry but decided he wanted to get back to his roots. So when his uncle semi-retired, Illtud and Leisel moved to the farm in 2004. Illtud says, “The farm has been in the family for over three hundred years. As far back as parish records exist, my family have been rooted in this land.”