Joining the industry aged 16, Livia has pushed herself hard to land roles at some of the City’s favourite independents and a spot on the BBC’s Great British Menu 2025. At only 21 years of age, Livia landed the Head Chef role at Maray and has more recently gone it alone establishing her own brands, such as La Bistroteca in the Baltic Market and appearing at London’s Meatopia.

“My goal for The Dog & Collar is to add another strong name to Liverpool’s food scene. I want to celebrate all aspects of ‘home’ with the menu we develop here. The site is beautiful, a cherished Liverpool address. I don’t want to overcomplicate things and instead want to celebrate British produce in a pub setting, pulling influence and inspiration from the North, my culture and upbringing.

“The producers we work with must fit into that. I’ve spent a lot of time finding the right suppliers. I have to be proud to share their story and want to introduce a new wave of information, knowledge and flavour to Liverpool. Seasonality is always a must, we won’t be getting that wrong at The Dog & Collar!”

The menu Livia has developed is predominantly cooked over open fire, a process and technique that is quickly becoming a signature style for her, “Cooking over fire is mesmerising. There’s a real art and skill to it, as there is to all aspects of cooking, but recently cooking over fire has captured my imagination. I don’t think there’s a better flavour profile than that of smoke + fire + food.