Our culinary journey across South Wales continues with a delightful stop at The Tidy Kitchen Company’s HQ in Cardiff. We’ve been spending time with some of the nation’s top chefs over the last few months, challenging them to create delicious PGI Welsh Lamb dishes that will inspire home cooks and that showcase the superior taste and versatility of Welsh Lamb. And Laura certainly rose to this challenge with not one, but two incredible Welsh Lamb delights.
Laura Willett’s culinary experience is incredibly impressive! Having spent almost 8 years travelling the globe working as a private chef on superyachts and private homes, she then went on to train at London’s Leiths School of Food and Wine before returning to Cardiff to be near family and friends. It is here that The Tidy Kitchen Co began its journey, with Laura wanting to create “a food haven for plant eaters and responsibly sourced meat and fish eaters” alike. Fast forward to the present day, and The Tidy Kitchen Co now has a HQ in the center of Cardiff, offering quality convenience and nourishing food on the go, as well as corporate packages and new for 2025, cooking classes for groups and individuals.
Laura’s passion for sourcing local, nourishing ingredients that are good for the planet as well as your health means that she only ever buys Welsh Lamb for her dishes.
“One of the things that I’m actually looking for when I’m shopping is that the lamb I am purchasing is PGI. It just means that that quality and traceability element is there and it’s just great tasting, great quality meat.”
Aside from the superb taste and quality of Welsh Lamb, it is also extremely versatile and can be used in a variety of dishes that can feed the entire family. This is something that Laura was keen to demonstrate with her Welsh Lamb dishes that were prepared for this masterclass, using cuts that could be cooked quickly for fantastic mid-week meals or slow cooked for family feasts. The first of Laura’s dishes was a hearty Welsh Lamb shanks pie with creamed mash and green vegetables; the perfect comfort food recipe.
When talking about this recipe, Laura commented;
“…the whole point of this dish is to let the lamb do the talking.”
And boy, did it! Slow cooked to perfection, the lightly caramelised meat fell off the bone to create a sumptuous, hearty filling for this delicious Welsh Lamb shanks pie. The perfect alternative to a weekend roast dinner, this is one that the whole family will enjoy.
Next up was a curried Welsh Lamb kebab with smashed cucumber salad and garlic infused yoghurt. When working as a private chef, Laura often gets asked to create fueling, health-conscious recipes which taste great but are a little different to the norm, and this Welsh Lamb kebab recipe ticks all the boxes. It’s really nutritiously dense and tastes absolutely delicious, packed full of flavour, texture and colour to add a little interest to your mid-week meal repertoire. We love it and we’re pretty sure you will too.
When we asked Laura to summarise what was so special about Welsh Lamb, she replied,
“Welsh Lamb is the greatest in flavour. It is so versatile and you can have it in spring, you can have it in winter. But you can also pair it with different sides and it really translates well to feeding the family all year round.”
Well said, Laura! We couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.
For more delicious recipe inspiration showcasing the wonderful versatility of Welsh Lamb, head to our recipe pages.