I am not a writer. This is my journey and my thoughts.
Rant, rave, reflect.
I have worked and given my life to the food industry for over 30 years. I have nothing to hide. These are my stories, reflections, and gratitude that I want to share. More importantly, it is about reflection.
I enjoy slow, long processes that require discipline in execution. Making a terrine or a ferment.
How it started
My journey started in my mother’s kitchen, her cookbooks, love for cooking, and entertaining others.
The ultimate lesson came from phone calls with step by step instruction when preparing dinner for the family. I enjoyed the silence behind the stove and being alone in the kitchen. Time had no meaning. It was beautiful. Art and cooking shared the same silence. But it did not.
I knew that the industry was the only journey for me. I followed the signs and allowed the journey to guide me in discovery and travel.
“The foundation of our process starts with respect. Respect for the ingredient, respect for the process, respect for the end product, and respect for the diner.”
My approach
I do not like fussy food. Real food is honest and deeply rooted in tradition.
Waste is important. It is part of the story we tell. We do not have to be perfect, just try.
Every part of the process has to be transparent. I do not want to lie to myself, the people I work with, or the client.
I am defined by the process, transparency, and respect.
We do not understand or appreciate, when we look at an ingredient, the responsibility we have towards it. Respect is rooted in appreciation for the farmer, supplier, process, and guest. They are all linked.
Once you purchase an ingredient, you have responsibility towards it. The same goes for the supplier. Trust and transparency become an intrinsic part of the process.
Milestones
This might seem strange, but for me, the moments that propelled me toward receiving were more important than the awards themselves. We do not always appreciate the moment we are in, forced or not. It is not always the award that matters.
As important as they are, there was always a moment that propelled me toward the reward...
Meeting Wolf Voight: A lecturer at hotel school who, by default, connected me as a student to Trevor Basson at Turfontein Race Course. He guided and taught me more than anyone; he was like a father.
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The drunk chef at Tropicana: In banqueting, he gave me the opportunity to shine when he could not or would not. This forced me to seize opportunities quickly and learn as much as possible.
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Johan Kotze and George Cohen: They took a leap of faith in believing in me when I was at the Parktonian Hotel.
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Taking opportunities when no one else wants them defines a journey. This journey is special, carved with victories that only I would truly know.
I was fortunate to win a gold medal at the Culinary Olympics in 2008, the same year I was awarded Dine Chef of the Year. Later, in 2012, I was Sunday Times Chef of the Year, and in 2022, I was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Eat Out.
Early life and education
I wanted to study art, but my mother encouraged me to go in a technical direction. I went to John Orr, where I encountered a hotel school section as part of their curriculum. I thought, well, I enjoy cooking as it also allows me to be in my own space; it is quite. I took this proposal to my mother, but she told me there was no future in cooking for a living and encouraged me to do something technical.
I did electronics and struggled, though I did enjoy technical drawing. I did not have many friends and was a loner. Eventually, after leaving school, I applied for a job at a bank, but I was never going to be a good bank teller. I then worked at a pizza shop across from Cresta, needing to prove that I wanted to pursue this path. I got fired, then completed a course in basic culinary studies at college.
In the middle of 1989, I joined a factory producing large quantities of salad. There, I realized I really liked the food industry. In 1990, I did my compulsory military service and was called up to an artillery base in Potchefstroom. As soon as I could, I left and joined the culinary corps as a young junior leader
I loved the military discipline, and the culinary training in Pretoria was excellent. After a couple of months, I asked to go to Walvis Bay in Southwest Africa. As a young corporal, I had a blast. I loved the desert and the little freedom I was granted.
Hotel school and early career
In 1991, I joined Wits Hotel School as a rebellious youngster who did not want to conform. I was not a prize student and sought opportunities outside my culinary training, as it alone would not be enough. I worked in private catering and met one of my mentors, Trevor Basson at Turfontein Race Course.
I spent as much time as possible learning, listening, and taking in everything. He invited me to events and encouraged me to enter culinary competitions. I was too scared at the time and only entered competitions years later.
After hotel school, I completed six months of training at the four-star Tropicana Hotel in Durban. This was a great learning experience, not because I was taught, but because I was pushed into situations due to others’ inability to perform. Before leaving, I was offered the position of banqueting chef.
Parktonian Hotel and early leadership
Early in 1992, I left without a plan and joined the Parktonian Hotel as chef de partie overseeing banqueting. I was terrified, no longer able to hide behind the mantle of a student. There, I met Johan Kotze, who taught me countless lessons in costing, managing, and life. I was eventually promoted to executive chef when Johan took a position as Food and Beverage Manager.