AT WORK WITH THE SMOKE HOUSE
A little while ago I was invited to a preview evening at The Smoke House in Pontcanna and have been waiting to cover it on the blog forever. The fact that I couldn't get a booking for quite some time is an indication of the success of The Smoke House.
Although I'm not much of a booking-a-table type of person ( I don't usually go to places that fancy or grown-up) I did manage to visit this past week and catch-up with owners Richard and Jaz. They talked to me about the success they've had and their future plans for The Smoke House.
"Richard worked in catering early in his career and had always wanted to get back into the industry, then the opportunity to take over the former Diner 77 location came about, it was too good to turn down. Richard has always had a passion for using fresh local produce when cooking and wanted to ensure that this was the key element in the creation of the menu. Richard and Head Chef Sean Lewis have been friends for 25 years and were both inspired by the Americans love of Barbecue when they toured the country together some years before.
The route we took with the restaurant just felt natural and our commitment and passion for using fresh local produce ensure that our customers eat the best of Wales cooked in a way only the Americans can."
Why they chose Cardiff:
"We've lived in Cardiff all of our lives and love Pontcanna as an area, so when the opportunity came up it was too good to turn down."
"It's obviously a great location and we're exceptionally proud of the interior design and the atmosphere this creates. Our range of craft beer took us a fair amount of testing until we settled on the final offering but we also have continually changing specials. But obviously, the most important element is the food and after the first few months honing our smoking skills, we feel that we have just about reached the level that we aspired to. The quality of produce also plays a huge part in this and we are meticulous in choosing our suppliers.
It is great to have competition and we have heard great things about Hang Fire Smokehouse and can't wait to try them out. At the moment, we just need to find the time off to do this as we have been extremely busy since day one."
"The Smoke House will open as a deli by day in September serving bagels, pulled pork and beef brisket hoagies amongst other things. Customers will be able to eat in or take out and we'll also be looking to sell a range of specialty coffees.
That will be enough for us this year, but you never know, Smoke House number two may well be on the cards by the end of 2014."
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