Chef Neo Mofolo

There's three things I love; good food, great wine and even better service. This is the philosophy behind my approach to cooking.

My passion for food was cultivated in my childhood years. My fondest memories are of watching the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Siba Mtongana and Nigella Lawson, amongst others, on the various food programmes in those formative years.

It is my undeniable passion for food and wine that saw me enrol at the Prue Leith Culinary Institute; wherein I completed my Occupational Certificate: Chef (NQF 5) as well as my City & Guilds Advanced Diploma in Food Preparation. Significantly, a better duo than food and wine doesn't come to the mind; thus informing my completion of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 1 Certification.

Throughout my culinary journey I have had the privilege of working for award winning Chef Wandile Mabaso, of Les Creatifs in Bryanston; as well as Michelin-starred Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen at his restaurant KleinJAN, in the Kalahari. It was at these notable establishments my love for and execution of fine dining was harnessed and richly developed.

Additionally, as is commonplace in the field of culinary arts, I travelled to the United States of America and had enriching experiences working in some of the nation's most coveted country clubs; one on the idyllic Cape Cod in Massachussetts as well as another in sophisticated, yet unpretentious Vero Beach, Florida. It was here where I honed my banqueting and event service execution skills.