We Speak Kitchen Here

We Speak Kitchen Here is the behind-the-scenes daily life of the chefs in the kitchens of Liam Tomlin's restaurants. Each of the five Western Cape-based restaurants has its own story about partnerships, staff, recipes, growth and patrons. Essentially, We Speak Kitchen Here is a cookbook without the usual standard images of ready-plated dishes as it focuses more on the flow of dishes being prepared from concept to delivery. The aim is to give the reader an understanding of the daily life and running of a fine dining establishment and what it takes to create the dishes and operate a successful restaurant. It features 100 basic recipes for any chef in the industry or enthusiastic cook to create. Restaurants featured are Chefs Warehouse & Canteen on Bree, Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, Thali, Chefs Warehouse Maison, and Jewells at the Spice Route. It makes a wonderful keepsake for anyone interested in food, and the business of hospitality.

Liam Tomlin was born in Dublin, Ireland, where his career as a chef began at the age of 14. He went on to gain experience in some of Ireland and Europe's finest kitchens, eventually moving to Australia in 1991. For the next six years Liam worked with Dietmar Sawyer of Restaurant Forty One as Chef de Cuisine, honing his skills and accumulating invaluable knowledge, before opening Banc Restaurant in Sydney. Since then he has travelled the globe, opening restaurants, doing consultancy work, publishing cookbooks and winning numerous prestigious international awards. In 2004 he moved to Cape Town, South Africa, consulting to various luxury lodges and restaurants. In 2010 he opened Chefs Warehouse & Cookery School, which eventually became Chefs Warehouse & Canteen, regularly featured in the top five Cape Town restaurants on Tripadvisor. In 2016 Liam opened Thali, Chefs Warehouse @ Beau Constantia, in 2017 Chefs Warehouse @ Maison in Franschhoek and in 2019 Jewells in Paarl.