Gold Coast bartending: how a profoundly deaf man became an award-winning bartender and business owner

If you’ve ever had a night on the town, chances are he’s made you a cocktail. Tom Angel reveals how he became one of the Gold Coast’s best bartenders, and did it all without his hearing.

I was born profoundly deaf which is in the high percentile of hearing loss. I was a great hearing aid user but I definitely struggled with communication growing up. I never learnt how to sign and relied on lip reading. I received my Cochlear Implant when I was 11 years old, I spent the better part of two years doing speech therapy at recess, while the other kids were outside playing. One of my earliest memories after getting a Cochlear Implant is when leaving the movies I was hit with an awful cacophony of noise, which my dad pointed out was a million seagulls on the roof, something I’d never heard before.

I started working at my aunt’s award-winning cafe at the age of 14, as a kitchen-hand, preparing food and progressing to front of house. For me aunty Rae set the benchmark for what hospitality is, she taught me what it means and these are values I still hold close to me today.

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Tom Angel has relied on his cochlear implant and lip reading to forge a career in hospitality. Picture Glenn Hampson

GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $5 PER MONTH FOR THE FIRST 3 MONTHS

I first started work behind the bar at the ripe old age of 17, when working as a line dancing cowboy waiter in a steakhouse because the bartender working there at the time was too preoccupied with flirting so I had to quickly learn how to make my own drinks. The day I turned 18 I finally stepped behind the bar at Harrington’s Craft brewery where Andy the Pom taught me how to pour a beer properly and to gently remove unruly patrons. I used my lip reading skills to help behind busy, loud bars, and always worked twice as hard as the next person. I spent a long time working as a glassy, food runner, working dispense bars for restaurants before finally getting behind the bars which lead into running bars and restaurants and then opening my own.

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Tom at Cherry at The Star, Broadbeach.

GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $5 PER MONTH FOR THE FIRST 3 MONTHS

I met my wife dancing in a classy establishment a week after I moved to the Gold Coast back in 2006 and have been together ever since. My wife is my biggest supporter and she has always inspired me to be better. Often times when I doubt myself she always believes in me and refuses to let me use my deafness as an excuse. She is definitely my best friend and we love going on road trips around the countryside on our days off. We also have two beautiful boys who are full of energy and keep me on my toes. My oldest son is deaf as well and he has two Cochlear Implants. After a lot of therapy his speech is amazing, he never complained about the work he put in and has a wonderful creative mind. He has definitely been a huge source of motivation for me, to lead by example and to show him that being deaf shouldn’t hold you back from anything. My youngest son has an amazing, friendly personality and has empathy beyond his years.

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Tom at the former Old Tom bar in Broadbeach. Picture: Jerad Williams

GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $5 PER MONTH FOR THE FIRST 3 MONTHS

I’ve had a few great achievements, but I think the biggest one to date is opening my very own bar Fig and Frankie’s in Broadbeach with my amazing wife and friends Euan and Bella Lovell. It always seems to be a big dream for people in the industry to open their own venue and I feel incredibly lucky that I’m able to do so much earlier than I expected. We are all very proud of the venue we have created and we have a passion for the hospitality industry on the Gold Coast with so many great places opening up.

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Fig and Frankie’s co-owners Bella Lovell and Euan Lovell and Tom and Sam Angel. Photo: Tim Marsden

GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $5 PER MONTH FOR THE FIRST 3 MONTHS

I know it’s cliche, but my advice for others living with an impairment would be don’t give up, find a way to get your foot in the door. Know your limitations but don’t be afraid to push those and put yourself in awkward situations. Whatever you have a passion for can consume you but embrace that, I’m always reading cookbooks and bartending books, networking, actively seeking out good bars and restaurants when travelling which we love to do.