Restaurants rally behind Welsh classic in new food campaign
An inaugural celebration of a classic Welsh dish is officially underway.
Behind Rarebit Fortnight, which will run from 21 February – 7 March 2026, is charity Cegin y Bobl as well as several independent Welsh hospitality businesses.
Cegin y Bobl is dedicated to tackling the health challenges facing Wales “by equipping communities with transformational cooking skills.”
As part of Rarebit Fortnight, 26 restaurants across south Wales will serve the iconic dish, both in its beloved original form and with modern twists. A portion of the price from each sale will go straight to Cegin y Bobl.
Innovative rarebit takes on offer include smoked pollack rarebit tart at Ogof in Cardiff, a Welsh onion soup with Welsh rarebit croûte at Swansea’s The Shed, and Welsh rarebit pizza at Top Joe’s Pizza in Tenby.
Welsh rarebit, a combination of cheese and mustard on toasted bread often with leeks or herbs to garnish, is thought to have become popular in the sixteenth century.
One of the first known references to the dish is a recipe that features in a 1725 cookbook by Eliza Smith, ‘The Compleat Housewife’.
In Welsh it was known as Caws Pobi (baked cheese) and was especially beloved in the villages of south Wales. Historians believe that during the 17th-18th centuries, when it was common to give dishes humorous names, the English began calling Caws Pobi Welsh rabbit.
To avoid confusion, as the dish does not contain rabbit, the name was later changed to Welsh rarebit.
In the centuries since, it has joined cawl, bara brith, Glamorgan sausage and Welsh cakes as an iconic Welsh food.
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Cegin y Bobl wrote: “This new campaign led by Wales’ independent hospitality businesses supports our mission to transform the nation’s relationship with food from the ground up.”
To meet its aim to transform Wales’ relationship with food, Cegin y Bobl runs a number of cookery classes for people of all ages both at home, in schools, and at specialist kitchens.
They also campaign at a national level for improved food policy and education to encourage ‘food literacy’. Following their launch in 2024, they trained over 1000 individuals in west Wales in their first ten months of work.
Cegin y Bobl co-founder, broadcaster and restaurateur Simon Wright said: “Cegin y Bobl’s community cookery workshops are powered by the skills of amazing chefs from independent hospitality in Wales.
“These chefs share an infectious passion for food and unparalleled experience in preparing fresh food made from scratch. By sharing their top tips and know-how, they are empowering the nation to cook delicious, nutritious food.
“I’m thrilled by the support for the inaugural Rarebit Fortnight, demonstrating food’s powerful capacity to be a force for good in every Welsh community.”
A full list of participating restaurants can be found on Cegin y Bobl’s site here.
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