Brought to you by Woolworths

The Eat Out Woolworths Innovation Award is a new award that focuses on an individual’s inventive work during lockdown. Liam Tomlin, a respected chef and owner of many much-loved restaurants rallied the industry, became its de facto spokesperson and was instrumental in bringing the challenges faced by the restaurant industry into the national spotlight.

“We were in a strong position after an amazing summer, so the first lockdown wasn’t too bad,” Liam recalls. In March 2020, Liam  and Jan, his wife and partner, had five restaurants in South Africa and two in Barcelona, with one each in Hamburg and Moscow in the pipeline. As we all know, it didn’t stop with one lockdown.

Liam didn’t set out to become an activist. He wanted to show how many jobs were being put at risk within their own restaurant group, but then more restaurants got behind #JobsSaveLives. It became a huge movement that gained support around the world. “I feel you can do everything right – pay all your taxes and levies – but when you or your staff needs help, there’s just absolutely nothing from the government. That’s not right,” he says. #JobsSaveLives injected hope and much-needed fighting spirit into a battered industry. 

“He is such an idol to South African chefs. It’s one thing to talk about doing something and another to actually do it,” says chef Ivor Jones, co-owner of Eat Out star restaurant, Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia. “Liam has a huge love for this industry. I believe his movement achieved its goal by driving the country’s restaurants to open up faster.” 

“Lockdown taught me to not keep all my eggs in one basket,” says Liam about having everything tied up in one industry. “We had incredible support from locals during the pandemic. I’ve always looked after locals and there’s a big lesson there as well,” he adds.  

Liam and Jan have redefined culinary and service excellence on three continents, all while dealing with a wide range of adversities from the restaurant business and global economy. Lockdown may be over but now loadshedding is ramping up, adding even more costs that cannot be passed on to customers. “If you can run a business in South Africa, you can do it anywhere. It’s just hurdle after hurdle,” he says with a wry smile. Not that Liam ever regrets settling here: “I wouldn’t live anywhere else. I love the resilience of Africans. The Irish and Africans are actually quite similar. And the food here is on par with anywhere in the world, if not better, and at a third of the price.” 

He doesn’t do it for the awards or recognition. “The best food I ever cooked was during COVID-19 for chef Margot Janse’s Isabelo charity in Franschhoek,” he says. Liam and his staff got special permits to travel to Franschhoek daily and cook with donated produce. Isabelo’s kitchens normally feed children but due to the pandemic, entire families were needing meals. “We take our food so seriously, but we’re not saving lives. It was incredible to see chefs making a real difference while their own businesses were going bust.” 

His advice to industry newcomers is to be careful what you wish for, especially of the all-consuming nature of success. “It’s most important to look after your mental health. In the 70s, 80s and 90s we were taught to ‘leave your problems at the door.’ But you can’t do that when your mom is dying, your child is sick or you have an alcohol problem. The screaming and swearing in kitchens have gotten a lot better. There’s a greater awareness of mental health now.” 

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