Our culinary journey continues with a trip to Pontcanna- one of Cardiff’s trendiest suburbs. It’s here that we meet Chef Tommy Heaney in his eponymous restaurant, Heaneys, which is conveniently located right next door to Tommy’s other restaurant, Uisce ((pronounced ish-ka)) – a wonderful wine and oyster bar. Opened in October 2018 by Tommy and his partner, Nikki, Heaneys brings a fun, relaxed and accessible dining experience to the heart of Cardiff. Focusing on sourcing the freshest local ingredients, Heaneys’ menu showcases seasonal delights, with many of the ingredients grown in their very own ‘Chef’s Garden’.
Tommy’s passion for cooking was born at the young age of 14, when he used to work at his uncle’s restaurant in America during the school holidays. Excited by the competitive yet creative nature of the kitchen, Tommy set himself the goal of becoming Head Chef, which he quickly accomplished. Self-taught, with no ambition to enrol into a catering college, Tommy went on to travel the world, honing his skills and gaining invaluable hands-on experience along the way. From working in award-winning restaurants in Australia to travelling Thailand and discovering new flavours and techniques, Tommy returned to the UK where he trained under the biggest names in the culinary world including Great British Menu veteran, Richard Corrigan, David Everitt-Matthias and Ollie Dabbous.
Fast forward to the present day, and Tommy now boasts a signature style of contemporary, pared-back and technically accomplished dishes with a focus on minimal waste of ingredients. His passion for using the very best quality ingredients in his cooking is just one of the reasons we couldn’t wait to work with him and when it comes to lamb, for Tommy, it has to be Welsh.
“Welsh Lamb is the best in the world.”
As part of our masterclass series, we tasked six chefs to create a Welsh Lamb dish that would inspire home cooks to experiment with Welsh Lamb in their own homes, and Tommy delivered an exquisite Welsh Lamb dish, perfect for dinner parties and sophisticated soirees. His barbecued rack of lamb with yoghurt, barbecued asparagus and lamb fat potatoes is simply sensational, and is sure to impress the most discerning of dinner guests!
Chef Tommy Heaney is a huge advocate for cooking over flames and believes that “meat is always better cooked on the barbecue”, hence the process used to create this delicious dish. In Tommy’s opinion, cooking over flames
“gives a lovely smoky flavour but also really tenderises the meat. This rack of Welsh Lamb dish was perfect for the BBQ, and just about any cut can be cooked over flames to give it that extra depth of flavour.”
Discover Chef Tommy Heaney’s delicious barbecued rack of Welsh Lamb dish here and get creative in the kitchen!