Where did your interest in food begin?
I think right after my birth, when my parents brought me home from the hospital! I grew up on a farm in the Swellendam region. Being a grain and dairy farm and having a mother who runs a butchery, I have been lucky enough to be exposed to food produce in its original state all my life.
The importance of preparing food is an indelible part of farm life – people working in the open air have big appetites. And from my childhood years I have been watching my mother cooking, and pottering around in the kitchen myself. I have never wanted to do anything else but become and chef.
Do you have a formal qualification?
Oh yes, I studied at the Hurst Academy in Paarl on Backsberg. Although there is a lot of creativity and intuitiveness involved in cooking I feel you need the discipline of formal training to make it in today’s professional culinary world. It is extremely competitive out there for a chef entering the job market and one has to be prepared, and well prepared.
To be really qualified, one also needs professional experience. Where did you get yours?
That is so true – experience harnesses your formal education. I worked at Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek and at The Food Barn in Noordhoek, two fabulous places for a young chef to be thrown into the deep-end and get swimming.
I was also very lucky to be invited to work in Mauritius, at the Maritim Hotel. And what a terrific experience that was working with all that seafood, so different to what I am used to, and tropical fruit.
When did you join Cuvée?
In April 2015. I had worked with Chef Carolize Coetzee at Cabrière and she assisted me getting into this kitchen. I will always be grateful for this opportunity to work in the restaurant of one of South Africa’s leading wine farms.
How would you describe Cuvée as a restaurant offering?
First and foremost, the location on Simonsig, an iconic wine farm, a pioneer of the South African wine industry and a jewel in the crown for anyone visiting the Cape.
On the restaurant side we aim to give the customer an experience of genuine Cape hospitality in a stylish, yet homely eatery offering quality cuisine made from seasonal produce. It is a relaxed country bistro with a menu diverse in taste offerings. Decent portions, attention to detail, fresh and satisfying.
Throw in Simonsig’s range of splendid wines of which there are one or two that can pair every dish superbly, and I believe Cuvée offers an unforgettable dining experience which customers want to come back to.
You favourite dishes on the menu?
This is very difficult as like most diners, it depends what my mood is and what I feel like – sometimes a slice of bread baked in our own bakery is what I crave most!
But from our summer menu I can really recommend the salt-baked baby beets for a starter followed
by sweet potato gnocchi with peas and Parma ham. For a wine pairing, Simonsig Chardonnay will go just great with both dishes, plus another few from the kitchen.
