Local MP Henry Tufnell may have bitten off more than he can chew after posting pictures of himself serving pizza at the Haverfordwest branch of Domino’s.

The Labour MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire donned the Domino’s baseball cap and apron  to dish out the pepperonis in a bid to see how local businesses are thriving.

But what Tufnell may have overlooked is the fact that in November 2024, Domino’s had a market cap of a whopping $15.65 billion USD  (£12.42 billion), which makes it the world’s 1,195th most valuable company by market capitalization.  (The market cap is the total market value of a publicly traded company’s outstanding shares and is commonly used to measure how much a company is worth.) 

 It trades from over 1,300 outlets in the UK and over 20,500 worldwide.

“I had a fantastic visit to Domino’s in Haverfordwest last week!” the MP enthused in his social media post.

“ A big thank you to [the Domino’s staff] for taking the time to show me around and share the incredible work they do.

“It’s inspiring to see local businesses thriving and providing great service to our community’.”

The local community however, believes that Tufnell’s actions may have turned a blind eye to independent businesses – including farmers –  who are desperately struggling to keep their heads above water.  

“This strikes me as tone deaf,” commented Andy Richardson.  “Henry Tufnell has a huge constituency of farmers who are worried sick about the inheritance tax changes which he, as a member of a landowning family, should understand.  He also has small, independent, local, non-franchised businesses which are already under the cosh and are now being hit by the Employers’ NIC increases.”

And Donna Humphrey called on the MP to cast his eye across other social sectors instead of multi-international bigwigs like Domino’s.

“If visiting a franchise is a priority for you, rather than local charities, independent businesses, hospitals, education and farming , that says it all,” she said.

“There are so many other pressing issues such as homelessness, food banks, mental health services, accessing GPS, community care, impact of the budget on charities…but sadly you choose pizza.”

Henry Tufnell’s post has also raised the hackles of local, independently-owned pizzeria owners, including world champion chef Giovanni Recchia who runs Gio Recchia Pizzeria in Pembroke with his business partner, Denise Phillips.

“He should have supported all those local businesses which are operating from their communities here in Pembrokeshire,” Denise told The Pembrokeshire Herald.

“So many people are trying their hardest to keep their heads above water.  Surely it’s these that should be shown the support and recognition from their MP?

“We are doing everything we can to support our community, and all our staff are local.  If Henry Tufnell had chosen to walk through our door, we would have been more than happy to welcome him.”

Giovanni Recchia is recognised as one of the world’s finest pizza chefs after clinching the World Champion Chef title in the championships Rimini, Italy, in 2023. 

The Pembrokeshire Herald has asked Henry Tufnell MP to comment on his decision to visit Domino’s, Haverfordwest.

When Jonathan Williams left his desk job in Swindon way back in 2010, his mission, to many, was impossible.

This is the man who hot-footed it back to Pembrokeshire to harvest seaweed from Freshwater West which he then used to create his multi award-winning ‘Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company.’

Using only choice produce sourced from the seas around Pembrokeshire, Jonathan’s innovative (and many would say courageous) idea began tickling the taste buds of some of the UK’s top chefs and food critics including James Martin who christened Williams as ‘the crazy seaweed man’.

Fast-forward seven years and once again Jonathan began honing yet another brain-storming idea, this time inspired by the mighty Bartholomew Roberts – otherwise known as Black Bart. After setting sail from his home in Little Newcastle at the age of 13, Bart gained notoriety as the most successful pirate in the ‘golden age of piracy’ who went on to raid 400 prize ships off the Americas and the West African coast between 1719 until his death from a wound to his throat, in 1722.

And so began Barti Spiced Rum.

“Everything was ticking along nicely at the Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company, and then in January 2017, Jonathan went off on paternity leave,” explained Barti Rum’s managing director, Fran Barnikel.

“Any normal person would have been busy changing nappies, but Jonathan, being the incredible entrepreneurial person that he is, came back to work saying, ‘Ok, I’m going to start a new company’.

“He’d read about Barti Ddu the pirate, and had always wanted to bring out a spiced rum in his honour.  So he’d spent his paternity leave investigating different distilleries and bottlers and slowly but surely, Barti Spiced Rum started to come to fruition.”

Because of Jonathan’s strong allegiance with Pembrokeshire seaweed, he knew from the outset that the natural product would be used in his rum.

“Jonathan wanted his rum to be vibrant in flavour, so the seaweed is infused, giving it a real depth of flavour and enhancing the other ingredients which include vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, orange and lemon,” said Fran.

The rum is distilled in the Caribbean and then exported to Cardiff where the Pembrokeshire seaweed along with the remaining ingredients are infused.

“Out first batch arrived in late summer and initially we sold only to people we knew,” continued Fran.

“But as time went on, we could see that there was definitely a market out there for expansion.

“Obviously there was a lot less niche for the rum as there had been for the seaweed, plus the gin market was picking up at the time.  But we could also see that the rum market was on the increase.  In many ways, it was perfect timing.  So we continued riding the wave.”

Jonathan and his team shun the rum purists who cite mixing it with coke or pepsi as sacrilege.

“All we want is for people to enjoy it,” said Fran.  “And this means drinking it exactly as they want.  If you want to add cola or ginger beer, that’s great.  But it’s also really good with cloudy apple juice and particularly now as we’re getting closer to Christmas, hot apple juice.”

The cream liqueur is also extremely versatile for cocktails, including the Manhattan, Mojito and Daiquiri.

Jonathan has steadfastly refused to add flavour varieties to his brand, adhering rigidly to the Barti Spiced.

“From the beginning, he wanted to create a strong product that would continue to do well, rather than dilute its vibrant flavour with other ingredients.”

But in Christmas 2023, Jonathan broke away from his rule by introducing a Barti Cream Liqueur.

“This was the first addition he’d ever introduced to the range and it was only supposed to last for the Christmas period.  But once again, because of the feedback we’ve received from our customers, we’ve kept it going and we’re now fully stocked for Christmas 2024.”

The Herald caught up with Fran as she travelled back to Pembrokeshire from Tesco’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, London.  Six weeks ago the company began selling their rum at a total of 58 Tesco stores throughout Wales, but the supermarket giant is now considering stocking Barti Spiced Rum throughout the whole of the UK.

Earlier this year, Barti Spiced Rum was named the best rum in the Great British Food Awards while the Barti Cream Liqueur has won eight separate awards in the World Drinks Awards including best in country, best new launch, and three golds awards in both the taste and design categories. 

One can’t help wondering, given the fact that eight years ago Barti Spiced Rum had yet to be given its first pouring, whether its success has come as a surprise.

““At the end of the day, Jonathan has that incredible ability to make everything work,” chuckled Fran.  “Everything that he captures tends to turn to gold.

“But we know that Barti Spiced Rum is a really strong product and something that’s very ‘Pembrokeshire-sentric’.  And the support we continue to get from the local cafes and pubs has been incredible and has really helped us to move forward.  The staff reach out, time and time again, with tasters and samples, and we know that they’re genuinely behind our brand.  And this is so important.  We are so grateful for everything they continue to do to support us.”

A 25-year-old woman, described by her solicitor as being ‘a danger to herself’,  has been remanded in custody after repeated attempts for psychiatric reports to assist her recovery were ignored.

This week Elisha Callen sat sobbing before magistrates at Haverfordwest Court as her solicitor outlined the events that led to her arrest.

“The [self harm] injuries she has caused to herself are traumatic,” said Tom Lloyd.

“The only person she is a danger to is herself, and there are significant concerns from the police, the probation service and her father about her mental health.  But despite this, the only thing she has been diagnosed with is anxiety and depression.  And this is inconceivable, given the extent of her problems.

“This young lady is asking for help, but she isn’t getting the relevant support from the community.  She needs serious intervention.”

Mr Lloyd went on to say that a previous request for a full psychiatric report into Elisha Callen’s mental health was abandoned by the courts.

“The report was ordered, and Elisha was desperate for it,” he said.  “But at the second court hearing, that psychiatric report was abandoned and, instead, she was given a suspended sentence.”

This week Elisha Callen, of Glenview Avenue, Pembroke Dock, pleaded guilty to assaulting her father, Richard Callen, by beating and of causing criminal damage to his television.

The offences took place on November 17, after Elisha was taken to her father’s property by police officers.

“They asked if she could stay there, as she was having issues,” said Crown Prosecutor Nia James.

“She refused to go to sleep and became more irate.  Her father couldn’t calm her down.

“She was pacing around the flat, and threw several items on the floor and another at the TV which is now permanently damaged as a result of the crack.”

Ms James said that at the time of the offence, Callen had deep self harm marks on her legs, which had been stitched up.

“She started pulling the stitches out, and her father started shouting at her to calm her down, but it wasn’t working.”

Callen then went outside the property and was followed by her father.

“But the defendant ran back inside his house and locked the door,” said Ms James.  “He could hear her inside, shouting and screaming.”

Ms James went on to say that Callen, who self medicates with alcohol and drugs, has been told that the Crisis team is unable to support her as a result of a bed shortage.

“She was released from hospital with deep self harm wounds and threatened to throw herself out of her bedroom window,” continued Ms James.  

“She is genuinely depressed and is intent on taking her own life.  She has also said that she will go out and stab someone if she is released.”

After listening to the facts, magistrates ordered a full psychiatric report to be compiled prior to sentencing.  Elisha Callen was remanded in custody for her own protection, and her sentencing was adjourned to December 10.