J'AIME APRIL 2019

After attending an open day at Birmingham College
of Food, he fell in love with buzz of the kitchen
and the idea of being part of a team. He signed up
straight away.
Determined to cut his culinary teeth at the highest
level, Liam left college and headed to the capital
for a baptism of fire in one of the most prestigious
kitchens in the business, under acclaimed two
Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing at his
eponymous restaurant at The Berkeley.
With a formidable reputation, Wareing - now a judge
on MasterChef: the Professionals, who himself was
a protege of one Gordon Ramsey before a muchpublicised
falling-out between the two chefs - was a
hard taskmaster.
“It was a tough environment, but it made me realise
the level I needed to be at,” says Liam. “It was
exhausting work but I thrived on it, and if I hadn’t
gone there I don’t think I’d be where I am now.
You’ve got to be a certain sort of person to take the
pressure of that sort of kitchen and put it to the
back of your mind. I was doing 18 hours a day and
working myself into ground.”
After six months Liam found himself - undeservedly,
he feels - on the wrong end of Wareing’s hairdryer
treatment and decided enough was enough.
Determined to hone his trade among the very upper
echelons of the culinary world, Liam set his sights on
a new challenge.
With a passion for seafood and a love of Australia,
there was one restaurant which stood out among
the rest. Quay in Sydney, with great Australian chef
Peter Gilmore at the helm, was 26th in the world at
the time, so Liam applied for a six-month travel visa,
jumped on a plane and went after his dream job.
“Learning how they looked after fish and seafood
was incredible,” says Liam. “I worked
around a lot of the sections so over the six
months I saw a lot and did a lot. I knew I
wasn’t going to be there for a long time so I
crammed in as much as I could.
“I could have stayed longer but I’d have
had to move restaurants because of the
visa situation. They offered my a place at
one of their sister restaurants, but I went to
Australia for that job, and I was very lucky to
get it, so I thought if I couldn’t work at Quay
anymore then it was time to go home.”
Back home, Will Holland held a Michelin
star at La Becasse in Ludlow, and a place in
his kitchen was to be Liam’s next stepping
stone.
“He was young to be in the position he was
in, he was going to be in the kitchen every day and
that was attractive to me,” he says.
“In a lot of restaurants which have three or two stars,
it’s only the senior members of staff who touch fish
and who touch meat, but at one-star level you see a
lot more. Under Will I was breaking all the fish and
meat down, I was making all the sauces.
“Will took me under his wing and pushed me really
hard. He knew that I knew what it took, and that he
could lean on me. And he was one of the first people
I was working hard for, not only for myself but to
make him happy. And he repaid me by looking after
me.
“I left on really good grounds and we’re still friends
now, which is a really nice thing especially when you
take into account how hard kitchens can be.”
With an eye on working in the States, Liam headed
to New York for stints in the kitchen at Eleven
Madison Park - at the time eighth in the world - and
Restaurant Daniel, both three stars, and two-starred
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