S2-34. CW Beau Constantia - Liam Tomlin

In this episode of A Table in the Corner, I sit down with chef and restaurateur Liam Tomlin. It was supposed to be a chat about the milestone ten years of Chef’s Warehouse at Beau Constantia, but we leapt into meatier matters. I also discovered that Thali is ten this year too, having opened within weeks of Beau.

What follows is less a conversation about individual restaurants and more a look at the extraordinary influence Liam has had on Cape Town’s dining landscape over the past two decades. From a tiny cookery school and deli in a house off Buitensingel Street, Chef’s Warehouse has grown into a group of nine restaurants spanning Cape Town, the Winelands and even Hamburg, Germany. Along the way, Liam has helped shape not only restaurants, but a generation of chefs.

We talk about the people who have passed through his kitchens, including chefs such as John van Zyl, Jason Kosmas, Ivor Jones and many others who have gone on to lead some of South Africa’s most respected restaurants. Liam reflects on mentorship, partnership and why giving talented chefs room to grow has been central to the success of the Chef’s Warehouse group.

The conversation also explores the realities of running restaurants in 2026. We discuss rising costs, winter trading, the pressures facing hospitality businesses around the world and why maintaining quality has become more challenging than ever. Liam shares his thoughts on restaurant specials, staff retention, customer expectations and the constant balancing act required to keep great restaurants alive.

We also touched on his years in Australia, the evolution of Cape Town as a global food destination and his latest project: a boutique hotel that will add yet another chapter to an already remarkable career.

If you've ever wondered how Chef’s Warehouse became one of the defining restaurant groups in South Africa, or how a single chef’s influence can ripple through an entire dining scene, this is a conversation well worth hearing.

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• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay