A Word From The Chef

Growing up in the Free State has probably been the most profound influence in my life: a love for my family, my country and all its people is still wedged deep between my heart and my soul and it is from there that I approach and cook food.

My family has always loved to cook and eat and there was never any occasion that occurred without it.  So, aunts and uncles who had the best recipe for something, or needing to show us some new technique in preparing dishes from around the area have always surrounded me.

Despite all the cooking and the eating I started off on my career as a dancer after studying

musical theatre.  Early days were spent with PACT Ballet Company while doing commercial and stage musicals in between.  It was the kind of life that taught absolute discipline, love for your art and the most incredible perseverance.  I think it also taught me to be fearless and approach every aspect of life with a little reckless abandonment as one only has one chance to get it right!   I find that a lot of my theatre and dancing experience transcends itself into my cooking; there is always a bit of theatricality, absolute love and the quest for the purest and honest way of presenting your work.  

After I hung up my dancing shoes I found myself in Cape Town, a city I had always wished to live in, and was exposed to the culinary world in the most interesting way.

I started off by working as a waiter in a wine bar in Cape Town called The Nose and along side wine aficionado Cathy Marston learned to love and appreciate to art of wine and of course the joy of drinking it!   I went along to become the manager of the restaurant and found myself dabbling in the compiling of menus and even a little cooking.  A small catering company by the name of “Moerbykultuur” (literally meaning the culture of mixing and throwing together) saw the light of day and gave me the chance to experiment and produce fun and entertaining food.

It was only after being invited to the English country side to cook for my friend’s wedding in their garden that I came to realise that the pursuit of inspiring and making people happy through my cooking will be a life long commitment out of which I now derive so much joy!

After my return from England I flew to Pretoria to help a friend of mine open up his very first restaurant named Gorgeous, which we started as a 100% organic venture.  The quality of produce was amazing and a whole new world opened up for me.

On a short trip to Riebeek Kasteel I was invited by the owners of The Royal Hotel to come and cook for them and after a month found myself living in one of the most beautiful regions of the Western Cape.  After cheffing at The Royal Hotel I enjoyed a short stint at another beautiful restaurant called Café Felix after which I was presented with the opportunity to open up Bar Bar Black Sheep with two other partners.  The whole concept of the Restaurant was to make available to the public almost a kind of workers bar and restaurant with a play on peasant food and real traditional South African Swartland and West Coast influence while keeping wine and food very, very affordable but with a strong focus on locally sourced quality organic products.

So come and let the Swartland seduce you and open up a bottle, or two or three… you are in the country.  Enjoy!