Hang Fire Southern Kitchen’s former head chef is now cooking the best chicken wings in Cardiff - and he's just started selling delicious burgers too.
Mike St. Amand is the owner of two Cardiff street food businesses, Wingman, which is based at Boom Battle Bar in the city centre’s Brewery Quarter, and Bun Headz, which opened in Cathays just two weeks ago.
Mike, who originally hails from Boston, was an integral part of the Hang Fire Southern Kitchen team, having been the Barry restaurant’s head chef for almost five years since they opened in 2016.
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Prior to joining Hang Fire, Mike had worked at both the Smoke Haus in Cardiff city centre and another smoke house in South Yorkshire. So, when Sam Evans and Shaun Guinn opened their debut restaurant, it was the perfect fit for Mike.
Mike said: “Sam and Shauna were opening a restaurant in Barry and I lived there. I’m American and understood smoking so for me it was the perfect thing.
“Working at Hang Fire opened up my eyes to a whole new avenue. I learnt so much from them including different styles of barbecue from around the States. I owe a huge thank you to Sam and Shauna for taking me in and bringing me to where I am now,” said Mike.
Mike’s departure from Hang Fire Southern Kitchen came earlier this year (before the restaurant sadly closed its doors in August ) when he was introduced to the owners of Boom Battle Bar Cardiff. They had an idea for a chicken wing street food business and Mike was keen to get involved.
Just from speaking to Mike, it’s clear he’s very enthusiastic about all things fried chicken.
“I love chicken wings. For me growing up, they’ve always been a reason for gathering; they’re a big social event. You want wings to be messy and you want them to be indulgent. Nothing goes better than beer, wings and sporting events,” said Mike.
Wingman sells both bone-in and boneless chicken wings and cauliflower wings, with a selection of nine different coatings on offer from classic buffalo to raspberry scotch bonnet.
Talking about his recipe for success, Mike said: “What I look for in a wing is crispiness, texture and flavour. We do an initial cook so they’re cooked and juicy and then chill them.”
“Then when we do a second cook the outside goes super crispy but the inside stays super juicy. Then we throw the flavours and garnish on top and boof, you’ve got a masterpiece! I think that’s what makes Wingman’s wings really tasty.”
As well as serving Cardiff’s best wings, Mike has recently opened a second street food business, Bun Headz. Based at Misfits Social Club, a new live music venue which opened in Cathays in September, Mike is hoping to bring something different to Cardiff’s burger scene.
“There are a lot of burger places in Cardiff so we had to come up with something different to draw people in. That’s why we came up with Bun Headz. Everywhere you can choose different fillings and sides but we have five different buns you can choose from,” said Mike.
With three types of patty and six different topping options to choose from too, that’s 90 different burgers you can work your way through!
Mike’s plans haven’t stopped at just two street food businesses as he’s set to open second branches of Wingman and Bun Headz in Boom Battle Bar Swindon in a couple of weeks’ time. I’m sure there’s a very good chance his wings will be the best in Swindon too.
Wingman Cardiff is open seven days a week from 12pm until 2am and Bun Headz Cardiff is open seven days a week from 12pm till 10pm.
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