Member of the month January 2026: Liam A Matthews

Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month who we think deserves to be celebrated – our first winner of 2026 is Liam A Matthews.

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, Liam will receive a TSC mug, an item of merchandise from our online store, and be entered into our member of the year 2026 competition.

Liam, who works as head chef at Mackintosh Hotel in Cardiff, has been a member of The Staff Canteen since March 2023.

>>> Find out more about Liam and follow him <<<

We caught up with Liam to find out more about his route into hospitality.

“I haven’t actually been in the industry that long – maybe six to eight years,” he explained.

“When I was younger, I always really enjoyed cooking, but I didn’t come from a family who cooked much. My sister was a fussy eater, so it was always sausage and mash, nuggets and chips. As soon as she moved out, I started exploring food more.

“It was going well in school with cooking, but my food tech teacher got replaced by someone who did not like me, and that kind of killed everything. I ended up not knowing what I wanted to do, got a degree in film, and somehow ended up in a kitchen.”

He added: “I focused on directing, screenwriting and producing, and a lot of those skills are transferrable into a kitchen.

“It’s leadership, staying calm under pressure, pre-planning, making sure everything’s precise. I still do a bit of editing on the side as well. It’s a great hobby.”

Liam continued: “I started at a place called Hogwurst in Cardiff – a hot dog restaurant – where I was a barista. I’d come in early, help the chefs prep, cook a bit on the line, and then do pop-ups with the restaurant at depots, doing street food.”

From hot dogs to head chef

After the “heartbreaking” closure of Hogwurst, Liam got a job at fish and chip shop Dorothy’s, a place Liam describes as “a Cardiff institution”.

He worked the “tough” 7pm to 5am shift, which had some perks, including the occasional celebrity customer – notably Russell T Davies – before leaving to join the Stonegate pub group.

“Now I’ve ended up working at Mackintosh Hotel, a proper student pub, where I’ve stayed ever since,” Liam said.

“I started as a team member, and now it’s my kitchen. I’m still not entirely sure how that happened.”

Gareth Ward influence

Like many Welsh chefs, two-Michelin-starred Gareth Ward’s Ynyshir has had a huge impact on Liam’s cooking.

“A lot of Welsh food works really well with Japanese flavourings,” said Liam, discussing his own food style.

“I think I was about 13 or 14 when I had my first Chinese, watching Spaceballs with my uncle, and I just became a little bit obsessed with that umami flavour.

“The more I got into cooking, you discover more chefs.

“Gareth Ward is an obsession of mine. I went to Ynyshir last year and it was just incredible. I think I’ve got nine different bottles of soy sauce at home now.”