Chef aiming to serve up a banquet for Wimbledon
THE head chef of an award-winning Bridgend restaurant could see one of his dishes included in a lavish banquet to celebrate Wimbledon.
Tommy Heaney is one of this year’s competitors on the Great British Menu, the BBC Two show which pits the country’s top chefs against each other.
They have to create food fit for a banquet to celebrate a different occasion and this year it’s Wimbledon’s 140th birthday.
Judges Oliver Peyton, Andi Oliver – who replaces Prue Leith – and Matthew Fort decide whose dishes are good enough.
Tommy is competing against two chefs from his home country of Northern Ireland in the regional heat, which airs on June 19.
“Basically it’s four courses: starter, first course, main course and dessert,” said Tommy, 34, who is head chef at Leicester’s Restaurant at the 470-year-old Great House Hotel in Laleston, Bridgend.
“The two briefs are ‘a tasty summer’ and ‘celebrating 140 years of Wim- bledon’.
“I tried to come up with new ideas as much as I could because I didn’t want it to be a restaurant dish.
“I have done a lot of research into what tennis players eat and what people watching Wimbledon would eat. But you also have to try to use what is in season in the summer, which is great for any chef.”
And although Tommy – who lives in Penyfai, near Bridgend, and is dad to son Jamie, five, and daughter Lucy-Jo, 10 – is used to pressure in the kitchen, the Great British Menu put him to the test.
“It’s possibly the hardest menu I have ever done,” he said.
“My style isn’t exactly full of theatre, but in the back of my mind I knew I had to put a bit of theatre in it.”
The winner from each region will compete with the other regional winners to have their dish included in the banquet.
Tommy, who has worked at the Great House for almost three years, said he likes to use seasonal produce for the menu at Leicester’s, which also uses a local forager to supply ingredients that grow in the wild.
As well as the TV show, Tommy and the new owners of the Great House – Sanjeev Bhagotra and partner Elinor Roberts – are working on refurbishing the restaurant, which will be relaunched on July 6.