A traditional Welsh dish was put to the taste-test of nearly 300 people in Saundersfoot on Saturday.

Chef and cooks in nine different eating establishments in the village had been chopping and stirring since early morning in a bid to create the dish that would crown them Cawl Cooking Champion of the World....and Elsewhere And in a closely-fought contest, a new victor emerged - the Gower Hotel, where trainee chef Caroline Poole was delighted with the success of her recipe.

Yesterday (Tuesday), she took a 'cawl' from BBC Radio Wales presenter Roy Noble to talk on his show about the culinary championship.

In second place was The Mulbery, which narrowly pipped a previous title-holder, the Silver Strand, into third place.

The competition was one of the highlights of Saundersfoot's St David's Day Food and Craft Festival.

More than 30 stalls featuring Pembrokeshire and Welsh products and crafts were housed in a heated marquee on the harbourside, which was visited by around 6,500 people.

The Welsh flavour continued with demonstrations by top chefs Angela Gray and Anthony Evans, who included lamb and lobster in their seasonal dishes, while children enjoyed cooking Welshcakes and Oggie pasties to take home.

The event was organised by Saundersfoot Chamber for Tourism, whose chairman, Andrew Evans, said: "It was an excellent weekend we've had some very good feedback. There was a huge amount of cawl served up on Saturday - well over 2,000 portions - so it was well-sampled! The results were extremely close, which just goes to show how high the standard was."