On Friday morning, July 10, the Nashville culinary and foodie community discovered the sad news that Thomas Williams had passed away after an extended illness that was compounded by a bad fall more than a year ago. I used to call Thomas “the nexus of everything good about Southern food,” and his expertise as a connector of people was unmatched. He was always ready to step up for a good cause, and his career as a real estate agent seemed almost like his second job when you considered all the time and effort he put into helping people organize charitable events and offering consulting services for chefs and restaurants (or dishing the good dirt from the latest industry scuttlebutt).
I first met Thomas at an event he put together in 2010 to raise funds for recovery after the Great Flood. “Taking Nashville’s Table to Higher Ground” was a mouthful of a name for a fundraiser, but considering the amazing roster of chef talent he put together — ranging from John Fleer to John Currence to Linton Hopkins — the event was definitely also a mouthful in the best way possible. After an introduction by eminent food writer John Egerton, Thomas was greeted by a standing ovation from the 250 attendees. That’s when I knew that this guy must truly be someone important.
Thomas would never have agreed with my appraisal. He considered himself just an extreme lover of Southern food and collector of interesting friends, and I was fortunate to be a part of that collection and break bread with him hundreds of times. He once convinced me and another friend to drive all the way to Lexington, Tenn., for a barbecue sandwich — and he then informed us that we had to make an hour detour along the way to get some breakfast first.
Bad circulation plagued his feet for years, and I frequently volunteered as chauffeur during periods when he wasn’t able to drive or get around without his scooter. You just had to be prepared that a trip for a luncheon in Chattanooga might include a previously undiscussed detour to Townsend to pick up a piece of furniture and a stop in Madisonville to visit with Allan Benton and pick up a couple of pounds of bacon and a flat of mushrooms on the way home.
Thomas was deeply committed to the The Nashville Food Project and introduced me to their vital work by volunteering me to join him in the NFP kitchen a few times to prepare meals for delivery to some weekly rental hotels on the outskirts of town. His dedication rubbed off on me, and I’ve been a big supporter of NFP ever since. He was instrumental in helping the group organize the earliest iterations of their delicious fundraiser Nourish, bringing in big-name chefs to town to help draw crowds and raise funds. The Nashville Food Project named their award for the volunteer who best embodies the spirit of their work the “Thomas Williams Golden Skillet Award,” referring to Thomas and the nickname that he and his many friends had for each other. When I saw his name on my caller ID, it was always a race to see which of us could tell the other, “Skillet! Let’s get lunch! Arnold’s? Silver Sands?”
Arrangements are still being finalized as of this writing, but the tributes are already pouring in on social media and in lengthy group text chains among his countless friends. While so many of us will desperately miss Thomas at the table, his spirit and his impact on the local culinary community will endure for as long as Nashville fights to keep its independent restaurant soul alive. I hope that means he will be remembered for a long, long time.
Rest in peace, Skillet.
