A personal chef. Gwyneth Paltrow has two – one for sweet and one for savoury; Toni Collette has one to cook macrobiotically; and hip-hop star Jay-Z has added one to his entourage just to make chicken wings, The Observer online reports. But it’s not just in the lives of the rich and famous that personal chefs are becoming de rigueur. In the United States for example, there’s the American Personal and Private Chef Association, and according to www. personalchef.com about 9 000 personal chefs are registered, with over 0 million a year being spent on the service. While the trend…

The Foodbarn’s Franck Dangereux chats happily while sidestepping a predominantly female team in a cramped restaurant kitchen, stopping to taste a fragrant mix of coconut milk, lemongrass and ginger. It’s late morning and menu orders are trickling in. “The food here isn’t too adventurous,” says Franck. “We’re in Noordhoek, after all. But we have offal on the menu – no restaurant within a radius of 30km is touching kidneys. We also have old customer favourites such as Karoo lamb with black olive and goat’s cheese quiche, and seared tuna with chermoula.” The Foodbarn joins a tree-lined group of pubs, cafes…

By Anna Trapido For more than 30 years, as the chef-patron of the Linger Longer restaurant in Joburg, Walter Ulz has provided the culinary hotspot of choice for many special occasions. From elegant marriage proposals to big business deals, this gastronomic guru has perfected the art of feeding the body and soul of Egoli’s epicurean elite. Joburg may be a fast-paced city but significant events require one to linger longer. Palate-delighting parties are the house speciality at this Sandton dining destination, where Walter is preparing for a gourmet get-together of Gauteng’s culinary cognoscenti. The function brings together luminaries from the…

You might think that one of the biggest challenges for the executive chef of a game lodge in the Okavango Delta that has no phone lines but an abundance of wildlife and is a 40-minute plane ride away from the nearest town, would be the difficulty of ordering and accessing fresh food and supplies. For chef Craig Higgins however, it’s “Jimmy” the resident hyena – lover of beef fillet, yoghurt, biscotti, leftovers and in fact anything from the lodge kitchen. Despite efforts by staff to keep the hyena out of the camp – think barricades and reinforced doors – teeth…

Forget the commercial hype and spoil your loved one with a sensational home-cooked meal. Three foodies reveal their recipes for romance. Andrea Burgener Restaurateur Andrea Burgener of Deluxe acclaim and her animator husband Nicholas Gordon have been married for nearly eight years. With two small children under the age of three, quiet meals and romantic celebrations are a rare luxury. How do you typically eat at home? We eat in a haphazard state. Cooking and eating with a toddler and a baby means that simply getting food onto plates and using cutlery is elegant! Our suppers are simple, anything from…

Hartford House is, quite simply, breathtaking. Unassumingly nestled in Mooi River in KwaZulu-Natal, the five-star boutique hotel is steeped in history and was home to the family of Sir Frederick Moor, the last prime minister of the Colony of Natal. Set in an English country garden and flanked by a magnificent stud farm that breeds racehorses, Hartford House’s guests are indulged with bespoke food and luxurious accommodation in a stunning setting. Executive chef Jackie Cameron reigns supreme and her kingdom is a beautiful one. A sterile, industrial kitchen has been forfeited for one that embraces Hartford House’s stature and country…