Liam Downes’ life in hospitality and in the kitchen began long before he became the well known executive chef of Moon and Mountain, Ballarat. Growing up in Greendale with his family, Liam spent many nights doing his homework in the kitchen of his parents’ business, the Greendale Hotel, and was often called upon to help his mum with meal prep. In 2002, after finishing high school and deferring his PE teaching place at Ballarat Uni, he ventured to Ballarat to work as a kitchen hand at Craig’s Royal Hotel before commencing his apprenticeship as a chef. Like many chefs his resume is varied, completing his apprenticeship at Dino’s in Ballarat before moving out to the, then, newly developed Novotel at Creswick to work as a Chef de Partie and eventually Sous Chef under Glen Crump. From Creswick, Liam moved to Melbourne, working for eight months at Restaurant No35 in the Sofitel, before life called him back to Ballarat. When Liam returned to Ballarat he worked at Mercure Hotel and The George before coming full circle back to Craig’s Royal Hotel where the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself in the form of a shared business venture with Teddy Powlett, as executive chef and part owner of Moon and Mountain. The business has taken Ballarat by storm, and even in the face of a pandemic, the pair have built multiple successful restaurants, with many more to come. Liam is now the Executive Chef at Moon and Mountain, Winner Winner, Ragazzone and the new Renard, overseeing the menus and food prep at all the restaurants. Despite the crazy hours that are synonymous with being a chef, outside of work Liam is a husband and a dad, ever trying to find the balance between work and life.
