Celebrated Sheffield restaurateur and chef David Baldwin has died at the age of 80.
David’s name will always be associated with Baldwin’s Omega, the banqueting suite in Brincliffe, just off Psalter Lane, which became a city landmark and institution.
When the venue first opened in the early 1960s, David was employed for 18 months as a grill chef.
But as the larger than life businessman and raconteur explained many years later in his autobiography Baldwin’s Omega: The First 30 Years, he was determined that one day he would return as the owner.
“Perhaps it was the arrogance of youth, but somehow despite its early successes, I thought I’d do a better job of it than they could, and I knew that the only way to make real money in our business was to become the gaffer,” David would recall.
And after 17 years running pubs and restaurants throughout the region, David and wife Pauline made their dream come true in 1980 when they took over the Omega – and Baldwin’s Omega was born!
He would admit that taking on the business at a time when Sheffield had been badly hit by the decline of the steel industry was not easy, but he had a plan to take Baldwin’s Omega in a new direction as the region’s leading banqueting venue.
For the next 30 years Baldwin’s Omega would deliver on that ambition, with its themed nights, corporate events, charity dinners, weddings, birthday celebrations, discos and prom nights making it Sheffield’s most popular dining experience.
“The satisfaction you get of serving a room of 280 people and each of them feeling the meal was cooked especially for them – that’s what’s amazing about banqueting,” he would say.
In its heyday, Baldwin’s Omega served an average of 1,200 covers every week, turning over £2m per year.
And its popularity was so great that it even had the accolade of being awarded the Loo of the Year prize on one occasion following a refurbishment by David Jnr’s company.
Undeterred by yet more work, David had many years travelling the country and gastronomic parts of Europe during his appointment as Chairman of the prestigious Restaurateurs Association.
He was further honoured by Sheffield Hallam University with a much deserved doctorate.
David and Pauline finally retired in 2018 and Baldwin’s Omega closed its doors for the final time, as the site was prepared for development as apartments and housing.
The Omega name lived on though as his staff relaunched the brand at Abbeydale Sports Club.
David leaves his beloved wife Pauline and three children – David, Ben and Polly.
