Revelations: Tommy Heaney, head chef, Heaney's Cardiff

What do you normally have for breakfast?
Coffee

 

What do you do to relax?
Go to the pub with the missus. If the football's on, it's a bonus

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?
That's a tough one, as I seldom go to the same restaurant twice. I love the concept at Root in Bristol

 

What is your favourite drink?
Lager

 

What is your favourite cuisine?
Asian

 

Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with?

 

What flavour combinations do you detest?
Beef and English mustard

 

What do you always carry with you?
I’m a massive Sharpie thief

 

How would you describe your desk?
An organised mess

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?
Ollie Dabbous. I couldn’t have written my business plan without him

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?
This may sound strange as I’ve never worked with him apart from on Great British Menu, but I’ve massively changed my cooking philosophy since becoming friends with Tom Brown

 

Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take?
My dog. I’d go insane on my own

 

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?
Peter Crouch. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be tall

 

If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now?
I’d be a really poor tattooist or in AA

 

Tell us a secret…
I was a bit pissed doing my main course on GBM 2017!

 

What irritates you most about the industry?
Chefs who think they are too good to wash a pan

 

Who would play “you” in a film about your life?
Antony Worrall Thompson

 

What’s your favourite book?
Kitchen Confidential or Dabbous: The Cookbook

 

What is your favourite prepared product?
Soy sauce

 

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