Meet the Team: Louise Sommerin

I was living in Scotland and still in school when I met James: he had moved up there as a teenager to work in a hotel- the Farleyer House Hotel in Aberfeldy, in Perthshire on the River Tay.

My mum’s from the village that James moved to, and we met through my best friend, as James worked with her mum.

So you met, started a family, and moved back to Wales. You couldn’t have imagined then what would follow in both your careers, surely?

We moved to Wales when Georgia was just eight months old- it seemed like fate, actually, as James’ mum died the following January.

I wasn’t in the restaurant trade until 2014 when we opened Restaurant James Sommerin on Penarth seafront. Prior to that I was a dental nurse and practice manager!

That must have been quite the learning curve, starting in the hospitality business at RJS and then winning a Michelin Star within a couple of years.

It must have been heartbreaking to have to close down there, especially with the reputation you had built. But during the lockdowns the family threw itself into looking after the frontline workers- that must have been a remarkable thing to be involved with?

It was devastating, and extremely hard to cope with. But I am a huge believer in things happening for a reason, and we got to feed all the front line workers and did takeaway during lockdown. We also produced a cookery book for the NHS with all profits going to the Trust. Then, we opened Home which was hard work- but such an amazing journey to go on together as a family!

After all that disappointment, it must have meant so much to make such a big impression with Home, and to get formal recognition?

It was amazing to be awarded a Star- for all of us, and certainly for James and Georgia in the kitchen. It’s that seal of approval I think: knowing that you are good enough to gain one back.

With the restaurant now being so intimate- and, obviously, a family affair with very few staff- it makes it feel so much more special, if that makes sense. We have achieved it for us- not for landlords or business partners or anyone else, but for us as a family.

It’s hard to put into words really what it means, but I think it is very different for James and Georgia. It is lovely to have and have that recognition from Michelin: I know they cook really well, and from the heart I don’t believe they need awards to prove that. For them as chefs it is very different, though, it is knowing you are ‘good enough’ and are part of that very elite group who do achieve a Star.

‘Home’. It’s there in the name, isn’t it? The ‘feel’ of the place is so distinctive. It’s so much more than ‘just’ the food. So, what is it you want each diner to experience- to ‘feel’- when they book a table at Home?

I think this reply from a customer on a Facebook post this morning sums it up perfectly:

‘The food as usual was stunning, and the whole afternoon was most enjoyable. We love it there. Everybody is made very welcome and we just feel at ‘Home!’

What does it mean to you to spend your working day with family?

I love it, it makes going to work everyday easy and enjoyable. Before we opened on the seafront I rarely saw James! That was our norm: he would always be in work on weekends, and when he was off, I was in work: so we only used to see each other for a few hours in the evening. A lot of people ask how we cope working with each other, I don’t see it as a chore. Of course we disagree on things but we work as a unit.

It takes a strong bond to do that.

Well, we have been through a lot together. And as corny as the old saying is, it is true:

What doesn’t break you, makes you stronger.