Welcome to My Journey
I believe in abstract sensations, the combination of the unexpected.
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Transport yourself to the lush Western Cape of South Africa, where my mother's exceptional cooking and my father's impressive vegetable garden ignited my love for food. Every chance they had, they toiled in the garden, creating delectable home-made jams and smoked fish. Their passion for food was contagious, and it wasn't long before I too found myself immersed in the world of culinary delights.
I established Richards cafe in the beautiful Stellenbosch with my mother and a friend, where we served up mouth-watering dishes to a loyal following for six glorious years. One holiday in Hentiesbay, Namibia, my sister's food-loving boyfriend joined us, and I can still taste the oysters he made in a white wine chenin blanc cream sauce.
But my passion for food creation was just getting started. I sold Richards cafe and enrolled in an intense six-month course at the renowned Kevin Warwick chef school in Hermanus, South Africa. From there, I ventured to Johannesburg as a food consultant, facilitating and catering for upmarket house revelries in Sandton.
But my hunger for more drove me to explore the world's cuisines and broaden my experience. I attended pastry school in Gent, Belgium, for a brief period, then got a job in Scotland at the Loch Awe Castle hotel, where I created Scottish cuisine and enjoyed a host of Scotch whiskey occasions.
Unfortunately, my culinary journey was briefly derailed when I fell seriously ill in London and spent a year in the hospital. After returning to South Africa to recover, I created 200 truffles for KWV in a week before returning to school at the ICA in Spier, Stellenbosch, to upgrade my chef competence. The first year was theory work and intense training in French culinary art, culminating in a competition where I won more than expected.
But my biggest challenge came when I was tasked with selecting a world-class chef and doing a live demonstration of their cuisine in front of 60 other chef students. Without hesitation, I chose Heston Blumenthal, one of the finest chefs in the world at the time, and was lucky enough to spend a full day in his kitchen.
