Gemma Bridge assists with Leeds Living’s quest to showcase the City’s indies who are fighting for survival during lockdown.
Heaney and Mill set up a mini-market in the front part of their restaurant, selling seasonal vegetables, meat, dairy products and fresh bread. They also established a delivery service, offering ‘all the essentials’ food hampers, soft and alcoholic drinks, and readymade Sunday roasts. I was fortunate enough to try out the famous Heaney and Mill Sunday roast this weekend and was not disappointed.
The roasts are offered at £15 per person, and include a meat (or veggie option), a generous selection of seasonal vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire puddings. I ordered the Waterford farm dry-aged roast beef rump cap meal, but there is also spatchcock chicken, leek and cheese wellington (vegetarian) or mushroom gratin (vegan) based on your preferences. As I live close to Heaney and Mill, I collected the ready to cook roast myself, but the restaurant does offer a contact-free home delivery service, available within 30 miles of Leeds, for those self-isolating or unable to get out of the house.
The meal comes in tin dishes that can conveniently go straight in the oven to be heated. As everything is pre-cooked, it only takes 20 or so minutes to go from fridge to plate, which is ideal considering the number of things that we have going on right now. The challenge is to plate the meal up in a way that it deserves. Thankfully, Heaney and Mill posted a ‘how to plate up’ video on their Instagram profile to help us all out.
There was a lot of food for one person, especially because Heaney and Mill generously gave us a few extra Yorkshire puddings to enjoy, so my boyfriend and I were both able to try the meal. The meat was cooked perfectly as it was, so we didn’t cook it any further; we just put it in the oven to heat through. We both loved the truffle mashed potato as it was super creamy and rich. The addition of truffle, although subtle, helped to lift the mash to restaurant levels, and definitely beat the mash that we make at home. The vegetable selection in our meal included broccoli, carrots, leeks and cauliflower, all of which had been cooked al dente, just how we like our veg. If you prefer your veg slightly softer, you could just put the vegetables in the oven a little longer.
Despite being a bit sceptical as I don’t see it as a traditional element to a Sunday roast, I really enjoyed the carrot puree. It was sweet, creamy and acted like a sauce for the meal. We both thought it was a great addition that again helped to transform the roast from home cooking to a restaurant treat. For me, no Sunday roast is complete without Yorkshire puddings and gravy. The Yorkshires were incredible – ready in 2 minutes and so big! We loved having a couple of extras to mop up the gravy with. The gravy itself was rich and beefy, finishing off the meal perfectly. I also appreciated the amount given as I don’t think roasts are complete without a flood of gravy.
We had ordered the optional sticky toffee pudding and so had to give it a try too, especially as we always order it when we go for dinner at Heaney and Mill. It only took 10 minutes to heat through in the oven, and was so good, especially with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Thankfully, we still have some left over, so I am already looking forward to enjoying a bowl of sticky toffee pudding later today!
Overall, we thought the ‘famous Sunday roast’ from Heaney and Mill was delicious. We loved every part of the meal (including the convenience of cooking) and enjoyed having a restaurant quality meal at home. We also like being able to support one of our favourite local restaurants whilst abiding to government guidelines. We would both 100% recommend ordering a roast for next weekend, but be sure to get your order in early as demand is high!
48/50 Otley Road, Leeds LS6 2AL
0113 278 1640
Photographs by Gemma Bridge.
