This Women’s Month, we are celebrating inspirational women all month long! Take a closer look into these four up-and-coming South African chefs as we share a spotlight on their culinary journeys thus far!
From the vibey Kloof Street neighbourhood to the serene, sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean and urban hustle of Rosebank’s Keyes Art Mile, these four female chefs are making culinary waves across the country.
Chef Amori Burger
Amori is the Executive Chef at Upper Union Restaurant, a unique and vibrant dining concept in Cape Town. Her cooking style is influenced by her love of hosting friends and family, especially the joys of Sunday lunch. At Upper Union, she recreates these cherished moments, providing the opportunity for guests to indulge in good food, fine wines, great conversation, and a wonderful sense of community.
Her culinary style is characterised by bold and vibrant flavours, utilising interesting spice combinations, the heat of chili, and the tang of acidity. Food has always been integral to her family, with many fond memories formed in the kitchen and around a table.
Inspired by the women in her family, one of her earliest cooking memories is making sandwiches with her sisters, meticulously layering fillings and removing crusts to ensure a perfect bite. This pursuit of flavour harmony continues at Upper Union, where she enjoys the research, creativity, and use of beautifully sourced produce to create balanced, vibrant dishes.
Chef Nina Du Toit
Nina is the head chef at the critically acclaimed Salsify at the Roundhouse, one of South Africa’s best fine-dining restaurants. Together with the team from Salsify, she draws inspiration from the seasons, land, and the sea when developing the dishes on Salsify’s ever-evolving menu.
As a chef she revels in the ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, taking the humblest ingredients and elevating them to the most impressive of forms, seeking pleasure in the complexities of the seemingly simple. This is what excites her the most, and is evident across Salsify’s menu of refined, elegant, and contemporary dishes.
Her cooking, while rooted in classic technique, is constantly pushing the boundaries of the intricacies and artistry of fine dining. Alongside this incredible attention to detail, Nina’s philosophy is one which embraces sustainability and locality, well aligned with the ethics of Salsify’s kitchen.
Chef Teenola Govender
A born and raised Durbanite, Teenola pursued her passion for food when she moved to Cape Town in 2014. She credits her love for cooking to her mother, who remains one of her sources of inspiration and is a constant reminder of the beauty of her heritage.
As one half of the duo heading up the kitchen of Chef Ryan Cole’s new restaurant, COY,
she looks forward to bringing her distinct style of cooking, using bold flavours to create gutsy dishes, to the pass, while relishing the challenge of being a part of this exciting, new project.
At COY, under the guidance of Cole, Teenola together with co-head chef Geoffrey Abrahams will present an ocean-inspired exploration of African produce, age-old preparations techniques, and forgotten ingredients and ways of cooking. The young chef is excited to share the stories of the beautiful produce, and the talented suppliers who provide it, while equally looking forward to having the opportunity to mentor a young team of chefs as they embark on this new project.
Megan Meikle
The head pastry chef of David Higgs’s Marble Group, Chef Megan Meikle is the pastry genius behind the slew of desserts served up across the group’s three restaurants and convenience store.
Having honed her talents under a host of the country’s top chefs, Meikle is an expert when it comes to crafting these tantalizing culinary creations, be it Marble’s ice cream sandwiches, Saint’s twist on a Tiramisu or The Pantry’s famous doughnuts – which often sees queues winding out the store’s door, when they’re released on Wednesday mornings.
Meikle’s incredible talent merges her seemingly endless creativity and inspiration with top-notch technique, premium ingredients, and an eye honed for attention-to-detail to create these beautiful, often whimsical, and always delicious culinary gems.
In addition to her position within The Marble Group, Meikle is also an Ambassador for The Chocolate Academy of South Africa – a testament to her outstanding culinary prowess.
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Feature image: Pexels
