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Edward Siew
President of Singapore Junior Chefs Club, Youth Arm of Singapore Chefs Association
Its 1:30am, 1st October 2023 and I’m patiently waiting at the airport for the long-awaited flight to Johannesburg! A long 10-hour flight during the wee hours of the midnight flight and I’ve tried to get some sleep on the plane. Woke up at 2hours before my flight landed to have a wonderful meal provided by Singapore Airlines. Thus, I’ve finally landed in Johannesburg and saw a beautiful Sunrise over the landscape of the OR Tambo International Airport.
I met up with Duane Riley at arrivals and it was the quickest immigration I’ve ever went through as its probably one of the first flights landed in Johannesburg, even Duane was surprised of how fast it was! Having to be 6am in the morning, everyone was still sleepy and I’m feeling a minor jet lag due to a 6hour difference in time from Singapore. Duane was happy to see me and brought me over to Intercontinental OR Tambo just across the arrival hall which was just a minute away! As I was very early, the hotel was still preparing my room with Duane helping me out for the first hours of being in South Africa. By the time I would be able to check in to my room, I waited till 10am to get my room ready, by the time I was feeling very tired. I had a good nap till Duane picked me up with his cute little Red Car which was regarded as a Jelly Bean! I got on little bean and we headed off to Emperors Palace to have a taste of Braai. Braai as explained by Duane is a barbeque session which is a socialising session, and it was a great first taste of what South Africa has installed for their cuisine.
Now back to the hotel to acclimatised to the time in South Africa, time to get my first night sleep! Sadly, I was still having some jet lag and I woke up at the early hours of 3am! Not much of a choice but oh well, just had to do some administration work before the breakfast in the hotel opens at 6am. Had an awesome breakfast to start the day before Duane picked me up with Little Bean and off we go to HTA! This is the first time I met up with Connor, a young lad who will be my chaperone for the whole trip.
Now its Connor’s time to bring me to the first location of the tour, Maropeng – Cradle of Humankind! Now this is going to be funny, by the time we reached there, we saw a large group of people standing around the gate just right outside of Cradle of Humankind. This made us ponder of what was going on but we ignored it and went straight to the gate, and disappointing news came to us that the place was closed! And the best reason was given to us, there was a strike of the social workers, and the place was closed due to that. We had a great laugh as now we totally understood why there was a large crowd standing outside the gates.
Luckily, Connor gave an great idea of going to Hartbeespoort, where it was a very scenic view of Hartbeespoort Dam with a large lake! Now it’s the first time I’ve come to a Farmers Market that is Jasmyn Farmers Market where an abundance of great produce by farmers showcase their items! It was an eye-opening view of so many types of vegetables and fruits in bulk bags being sold and everything looks very nice and fresh!
Had a nice lunch of local cafes with an amazing garden view with a pond in sight. Then we headed off to an interesting place called, Lion & Safari Park where we could do a self-drive in the Safari where we saw Lions and many different types of animals. Good note to hear about how the Lions in the enclosure were rescued and now housed in the safari as a safe haven.
Next we went to any chef’s heaven, Culinary Equipment Company, where all sorts of kitchen tools for F&B Industry players would love to be at and it was a sight to see. Now this is a playground for me and I’ve got lots of things to see and get a chance to understand what kind of tools are readily available in Johannesburg.
Last pit stop for the day, Montecasino Back of the House Tour! Hosted by F&B Manager Rudy Swart, bringing us around the different outlets which houses different formats of meals being catered to the general public to the internal staff. It was an amazing experience how much detail and thought put into the whole kitchen operations which does more than a few thousand meals a day to feed every aspect possible. We had a great talk to understand each other’s culture and how operations was being done with the high standards of hygiene and traceability that meets high standards of worldwide hygiene levels.
Back to the new hotel I would be staying in, Sandton Sun. One of the oldest hotels in Johannesburg where Chef Billy Gallagher was once been as the Director for F&B. I was pleasantly welcomed with a complimentary gift by the hotel with local delicacies and a South African Wine!
It’s the 3rd of October and Day 3 of Billy Gallagher’s Young Chef Tour! Started off early with a delightful breakfast at the Sandton Sun while waiting for my awesome chaperone Connor to pick me up to head to HTA School of Culinary Arts. Now its off to going to tour Soweto, the rich history of culture which is deep in values and understanding. Had a chance to go past one of the main Stadiums for the African World Cup during 2010 which sparked the development of the country to receive the world by surprise! An awesome guide done by Jimmy which was also born and bred from Soweto itself.
With the rich culture and history boasted by the tour itself to see as quoted “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. We saw how much effort that the government has put into giving the people its rightful place of where the people of South Africa belong to and with 9 different tribes accepting the new world with colonization happening in the midst of the chaos which turned to greatness and peaceful communities.
We saw how rich one side of the houses were and just beyond the landscape where the under privilege were. It was a heartfelt sight to see how the disparity is still very obvious, but the government is putting many efforts into making change happen and from where we saw that prospective, they are constantly giving back to people its basic rights to live as an full community. Having 9 different tribes being put together, they formed a big unity called “Family” where there was no discrimination and between the people, they formed together to push against poverty. This is where the story of Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa comes into play. So much historical experiences which showed the ugly side of the past to create the future which is now.
The 10 Pillars of Freedom Square speaks the rights of all human beings that was in Soweto and due to the internal squabbles in the past which led to people to have a clearer understanding that there shouldn’t be discrimination but to push through this cause, many outbreaks of violence then came along. Each slab writes what the people should step forward with to basically have equal human rights, from the jobs people have, differences of people to clear understanding against each other.
The story continues towards see the museum of Soweto which speaks of the discrimination and to bring its people together. It was a very sad story which caused any deaths that was not necessary.
Now to finish up the story was to then visit Mandela’s House where he lived together with his family during the period of chaos and the violence which led to where he stayed. The story was so impactful that it really moved me to know how much effort the past president did to make South Africa where is now.
Back to HTA School of Culinary Arts where a wonderful tour was done of the whole campus and how much Chef Billy Gallagher went through his journey in South Africa before he was shot and then paralyzed. The Campus has so much different kitchen and unique rooms that give the school the unique standpoint of South Africa and had gained the respect of many Food & Beverage establishments to always seek for HTA Students. The campus has every aspect to give the students ample ways to grow and with the great instructors and lecturers in the school to provide for the promising students that graduate which are sort out for in all F&B establishments in South Africa.
Right after the tour, I was hosted by HTA together with great chefs of South Africa for a wonderful lunch. Food being the best way to showcase the rich culture and diversity in any country in the world. It was an honour to have a meal together with the former Vice President of WorldChefs, Chef Heinz Brunner and former President of South Africa Chefs Association, Chef Stephen Billingham. Chef Candice and Chef Coo of the current committee of South Africa Chefs Association.
Lunch was awesome that really had modern interpretation of South African Cuisine and the discussion that was shared amongst the table was very insightful to understand what the future of chefs will be like and the challenges that the industry now face. Ending off in Chef Billy Gallagher’s Board Room, each of us shared important values which really wrapped up the long discussion of topics.
Back to Sandton Sun Hotel where we were treated to a very nice meal where myself, Connor and Nadine had a very scrumptious dinner. It was a great chat to share what the new generation is like and the bright future that is held.
Its Day 4 and I’ve had a wonderful breakfast at the Sandton Sun’s Café Restaurant, and I met up with Chef Gerard, Complex Executive Chef for Sandton Sun & Towers. Being rich in knowledge in kitchen operations, I had a chance to walk across all properties belonging to Sandton Sun’s Back of House from Hotel to Convention Centre and it is massive. Met up with Chef James who is also the current President for South African Chefs Association. It had been insightful with the experience of understanding the operations and how Covid had changed to evolve their operations to be fully efficient with the manpower that Chef Gerard manages.
Then its off to African Spirits Distillery where we met up with Jan Harm, Owner and Brewmaster. The building used to be an old farm and then now refurbished to look very modern with its rustic remnants kept within the infrastructure. We tasted different kinds of Gins and Rums alongside cocktails made personally by Jan himself. Jan is very young who was once a chef now turned to be a brewmaster and shared his pure knowledge and ways of how he is trying different concoctions. With myself sharing insight on the Asian Market as he shared how he would like to make it a worldwide brand and it was just amazing.
Then the long-awaited time to head to Cape Town, it was a quick 2hour flight from the evening. Connor and I safely landed in Cape Town International Airport, where I’m excited in whats going to be installed for the next few days in Cape Town. Now its time to check in to Sun Square Hotel in the heart of Cape Town Business District.
Its Day 5 of Billy Gallagher Young Chef Tour and we’re in Cape Town! Wonderful breakfast selection at the Sun Square’s Restaurant. With one of the best parts of the trip, heading off to Winery in Cape Town, first stop would be Perdeberg Winery, boasting of its rich history of 85 years. They have embraced the new world wines and had a wonderful revolution of their sheer history and made wine with passion and understanding of the new world. Having to have very good vineyards across South Africa, they have mastered their craft and treated one of every awarded wine with due respect towards the consumer. Terrence brought us along the journey through the most awarded wines from their entry levels to their premiums. A tour was conducted in their winery, and it displayed how much effort was put in by their brewmasters to really have a lot of passion for their craft.
Next stop would be Koelenhof Wine Estate which comprises of wine pairing with ice creams and gelatos. Having to share the same ideas of Pederberg, they do very bold wines with speak of character of the old-world classics. It was an amazing experience to try out different wines with the ice cream pairings to now have a different scope of flavours before and after having a small bite of the ice-cold desserts. Then came one Traditional Afrikaans Dish called Roosterkoek which consist of Salami, Apricot Jam and cheese. It was delicious having to try something different from the common everyday food.
Its Day 6 of Billy Gallagher’s Young Chef Tour and the first stop we have is Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Hike up with a beautiful scenery with many different local flowers and plants that span over the whole garden. We had a very good exercise after all the food and wine we had, which then we hiked for more than an hour going up the hill and hit an altitude of 280 metres above sea level. I must say it was very tiring to do so, but it was worth every step we took, having to overlook the whole Cape Town horizon from one of the peak points we were at. The view was just stunning, I am lost for words for how to explain the view I saw. Though it took us more than an hour to hike up, just barely 10minutes and we were back down, everything was worthwhile.
Right after our short exercise, it was time to head to an outskirt town of Cape Town where magnificent beaches were spanning across the whole view. A small little town call Simon Town was where we went, which the route we had to take was along the side of the mountains where we had the chance to drive within the clouds, it was a amazing sensation to be in the clouds and I must say it was really very cold of 14 degrees with very strong sea winds. The drive was worth the distance, to have such a great view of the town bustling with tourist alike with me and Connor. We then went to have our lunch at Seaforth Restaurant by the beach! The food was spectacular as there are many fishermen that go out to get seafood everyday by boat and then sell them off to restaurants like Seaforth. The restaurant is tucked away on Boulders Beach where you could see penguins roaming around the beach, but we didn’t have the chance to see one.
Its Day 7 of Billy Gallagher’s Young Chef Tour, and its time to go visit some Farmers Market which is Old Biscuit Mill that was refurbished into a chic food market that has both the old and the new. It was extremely cold today and the winds are very strong that it just felt like 10degrees, but when we reached the Old Biscuit Mill we were greeted with warmth of the location bustling with people both locals and tourist. It had all the handcrafted items and old antiques that the locals go over to sell. But the most amazing part is the food market that’s inside of the place, that was filled with very unique food to modern cuisine with more than 20 different food options of different cuisines.
What a good breakfast to have with all the different selection to feast. Now its time to leave and head off to Mereendal Wine Estate. It was an amazing site to see with the estate having its own vineyard as well as different shops that give the whole location feeling like it’s a small little town. We were sad that Benny was not available to host us as he was tied up with another event, but we still carried on with the wine tasting that was paired with both savoury and sweet small bites that go along with their wines. They pride themselves with the wine they make as its all from Mereendal itself. The wines were amazing but sadly we didn’t had the chance to tour the whole venue.
We then head off to V&A Waterfront to do some sight seeing around the place where most of the shopping and dining are. It was super packed with locals and tourist alike with buskers doing performances on the streets of V&A. It was a place that boats docked and also seen some small docks that were doing maintenance of their boats! The site was amazing with a perfect view of Table Mountain as it was highly promoted there. With all the old buildings around that were put to good use as small shops, the rich history the once and still is a dock for boats became one of the most visited stops to go to in Cape Town.
To end the day off, I am glad to have Connor around to have close tight knit family members that also graciously welcomed me to experience what an authentic South African Braai is where its basically a good company of people gathering to have pure fun and talk. A very family orientated situation and I finally understand the essence of a pure Braai session. Spectacular food made with just a simple wood fire grill, but whats best is just the people around who welcomed a stranger across the world with warm open arms into their home. Truly an heartfelt experience!
It was a pleasurable experience to be in Cape Town and its one of the best cities to be in South Africa, I had an amazing time and definitely will miss the huge town that was filled with so many activities to do. Shame I couldn’t spend more time in Cape Town, but there will always be a next time! Its Day 8 and its time to leave Cape Town and go to Durban, another suburb of South Africa which is rich in the spices they use in the cuisine. It was an 1hour and 45 minutes flight, time to leave a town which was as the locals mentioned not supposed to be that cold in this time of the year. When we landed in Durban, the weather really changed to be more humid and wet and it was the very first time I ever saw rain in South Africa, a real sight to see. We first headed off to Ushaka, the biggest water theme park in the southern hemisphere. That was where I first Met Chef Warren who is also from the South African Chefs Association, it was a real pleasure to have met him as he was also the Complex Executive Chef for the whole of Ushaka.
We had a short tour of one small part of Ushaka and Chef Warren gave us passes to the Water Theme Park. It was the bravest time for me to actually put on my beach wear, because of the temperature! It was freezing! Not something common for a person like me who reins from a country that only sees one climate, HOT! However, Connor and I had a blast of a time and it was also a place that Connor said its reliving his childhood which he happily shared the experience with me. It was really cool to have just pure fun in the water and Connor really displayed the best of what his Youth has installed with him. We even braved the weather and it started to rain, but we still pressed on and continued to play in all the attractions that Ushaka has.
I got a sneak taste of what Durban’s Cuisine has installed for me at a restaurant just around the corner of where we are staying at the Garden Court Umhlanga. It was a nice family-owned business where Jenny, the owner was really intrigued at a guest like me as I was not your normal customer, and she happily approached me her warm hospitality. I had a really nice chat with her of explaining where I came from and what I was actually doing in South Africa. And the best part, to try some spicy food!
Its Day 9 of Chef Billy Gallagher Young Chef Tour and the first thing we did was to go to Beverly Hills Hotel Durban where we had out first breakfast in Durban, it was a very incredible spread of food that had both the continental breakfast spread and a selection of hot food which is ordered in Ala-Carte format. Right after breakfast, we were hosted by Loreto, who took us on a short tour around the hotel, it was just purely glamorous to also have the hotel overlook a spectacular view of the ocean as well as the ports. The room speaks of luxury even though it was an old building with different rooms of each tier to provide for their guest.
Then we head off to Unilever Food Solutions in Durban, where we met Chef Danielle and Chef Craig the main chefs in charge of Unilever’s Kitchen for South Africa. We had a tour around the facility of Unilever with each part of the whole building encompass different industries and it even had their own gym, medical care, psychological care, personal self-pampering care services as well as psychological care. Now back to the kitchen to see what products Unilever South Africa has compared to Asia’s region. Chef Danielle also did a short demonstration of some Food Solutions products, and we had a nice sharing of our individual cultures and work ethics as chefs. She also introduced to me “FairKitchens” which really summarizes what we all should strive for between every kitchen workplace possible. I was also told to do a short video for Unilever which made me quite surprised, but I was amazed that I could do it in a single take. Cheers!
A long 70km Drive to Jackie Cameron’s Culinary School which Chef Jackie herself warmly welcomed us into her humble abode. We had a short tour around the school which was also part of her family’s home. Such an amazing location with a surreal view of nature just behind her yard. There was a Hidden Cellar just below her dining hall which made a surprise to everyone. Chef Zandile and Chef Des was also here together as the Durban Region’s SA Chefs Committee. Chef Jackie then gathered all of her students to have a meet and greet session with myself and I am really glad I was able to share my experiences and insight for my culinary journey and had inspired all the young culinarians of JCS. The School was also equipped with the top quality equipment which the students really takes well care of that really looks spotless. I was shown beautiful cakes that were a piece of art for fresh students which only had over a year of training experience to make, they had a chance to express their creativity. Chef Jackie and her students made a extravagant spread of food that reflects South African Cuisine. It was plated exquisitely, and the flavours were all spot on. We had a very good sharing session of insights for new generation students, and I love how much passion she has towards her own craft and expertise being a female chef in the industry.
We headed back to our hotel and then to a place which served one of the most authentic Bunny Chow of Durban. This was my first experience eating Bunny Chow, a Indian Cuisine influenced dish which really touched my heart to eat food that is flavours of Asia. It was a big loaf of bread which was hollowed out and had Lamb Curry put in which drenched the whole bread to soak up all the flavourful gravy. They warned me that it was going to be spicy, but reigning from Asia, we love our spices and I was really amazed that it did made me break a sweat of the spiciness that the Bunny Chow gave in. This was a very sociable experience where Chef Danielle, her Fiancée, Chef Afzal (Durban SA Chefs), Chef Afzal’s Wife and kids to the whole party. I could really feel how happy Chef Afzal was to see me and I’m really glad to meet both of the great chefs of Durban, who really provided me with warm hospitality.
Its Day 10 of Billy Gallaghers Young Chef Tour with the first stop would be CTIA (Durban) where Chef Afzal is the Principal of the School in Durban’s Campus. Initially it was me cooking Potjie with the students but through the first meet up with Chef Afzal last evening of Bunny Chow, we came up with a better idea of me cooking Singaporean food to all their students. I found that perfect to actually be the one as the guest chef and speaker towards young and fresh culinarians making their way into the kitchens. I went on a tour around the school and gave short inspirational talks to their respective students of each year and class. But the main highlight was for me to be able to cook for the first time in 10 days. It was a great fun for me to cook a simple but by far one of the best Singaporean Dish possible, the famous “Hainanese Chicken Rice”. Through the demonstration, I also shared a bit of my culinary journey and I love how the students are also very proactive with the questions they have. I showed them something of the Asian culture of eating chicken especially in Singapore, where the chicken is poached and then shocked in cold water to a nice juicy pink doneness which was the olden days of Sous Vide Cooking. For me to show it to them how it is really done in Singapore was just a demonstration, and I went on to fully cook the chicken just so the students can try. I displayed a few techniques of Asian cooking which even the instructors are very amazed of the different in cultures and cuisines can be made.
We then went on to Durban International Convention Centre, where Chef Cindy brough us along for a tour of the Back of House for South African Convention Kitchens. It was truly big and certainly very organised and clean. So far through the journey in South Africa, every kitchen I saw which was established had very high hygiene standards that I must highlight. Their systems were in place and nicely arranged which every staff had its rightful place of different job aspects to handle. We were also served a lunch that was made from their kitchens which service the café for the convention centre, practicing the cook-chill method of serving food.
We now went back to find Chef Warren at Ushaka to go on part 2 of the tour, which was Sea World, the biggest aquarium of the Southern Hemisphere. Having to go through the aquarium then to watch the dolphin show really made me go back to my childhood days of visiting recreational places like this. The best part of going back to Ushaka was Chef Warren personally bringing us on a tour of the Back-of-House in the Aquarium where he walked us through how the operations will be like during its busy and peak periods. I am really glad to be there during their non-peak where I could really immerse in the activities in Ushaka. The sheer amount of water pumps and filters underground of the whole park was massive. I had a really good session with Chef Warren where we shared our experiences and how the new generations are working alongside his team. I was glad to be able to meet Chef Warren once again.
Last stop for the day, we went back to the hotel to refreshen up then went up to Breakers Hotel for a Braai Dinner which was cooked by Chef Karen and Chef Faith who were respective the chefs in charge of the food establishment for the hotel. Chef Coo and Chef Danielle was the host for the evening. It was great to meet Chef Coo, Vice President for SA Chefs, once again, to continue the talks that we left off earlier the trip at HTA. It was great to have a sociable time together with all the local chefs around and I really felt very welcomed during the journey in Durban, this was the last night we spent in the last Province of South Africa.
Day 11 of Billy Gallagher Young Chef Tour and we’re going back to Johannesburg, early in the morning we woke up and headed to King Shaka Airport in Durban. Once we arrived back in Johannesburg, we first went to collect Connor’s Car from his place of residence then went off to HTA where we met up with Duane to get all the details of our last stop. Duane prepared provisions and ingredients for us and was told to “rough” it out.
The drive was an hour and a half to a place called Dino Keng, where it is a large space of a few thousand hectares and more than 1000km of fence around the whole area. We got into a lodge under “Adama” and the house we stayed in is Houtkapper. We went around to familiarize with the chalet, and it was very cozy and simple. The connection to data/internet was limited which really resulted in living in nature. I just love how the whole atmosphere felt, it was pristine and looked untouched and natural. Then in the background it was so quiet that the sound of nature and its population of the wild animals could also be heard. Then came along the Game Drive with Johan, he explained to us of what is around the land and there are all the Big 5 in the zone. He also explained that in DinoKeng, there are a few landowners still choose to open their parts of the land for the game drive, however for some, they have placed a fence across their own plots of land. I find it really sad that there are political reasons behind the each of the owners, but I’m still glad Johan and most of the owners are still a good band of sociable people that is still open towards visitors going around the safari. We had an awesome drive to see the pure landscapes of nature and a few really cool animals such as Hyenas, Jackal, Kudus, Wildebeest, Impala and Warthog. Too bad we didn’t get a chance to see any of the Big 5 as the whole area was huge to cover even for just 3 hours of drive.
By the time it was evening, we went back to the chalet and that was when we had our last Braai for the whole BG Young Chef Tour. Connor was the main man of the night to start the fire and to also be the one cooking the ingredients, I was there to be the best assistant he could ever ask for. The meal was fantastic as it is, because now I have had the 4th Braai in South Africa and I finally understood what it really means. Just the joy of having time spent together regardless of anything. The last night was amazing and to be away from as much technology as possible, it really gets you to feel how appreciative everything else is.
The next morning was an surreal one, having to wake up to pure nature without any alarms needed, by that I really meant the birds calling as early as 5am. I’ve had one chance to cook breakfast for the both of us before we headed off to O.R. Tambo International Airport. And thus, this really puts the end of the journey of Billy Gallagher Young Chef Tour 2023. A few reflections, that really displayed the essence of South Africa, everyone that I’ve met have been really kind and that includes random people we see on the streets and places alike while we were on the visiting. Every Chef I’ve met was really awesome and each having their best way to showcase their passion towards the industry. To be really understanding towards the countries problems of what they call “Load Shedding” where each of the province all face the same problems. The pure structures and built of each province is so unique that it was even better than some countries I’ve seen. In a nutshell, South Africa has been such an amazing time, once in a lifetime experience that not any individual could have experienced like I did, the Chef Life Way.
Edward Siew
Singapore Junior Chefs Club | President
the youth arm of Singapore Chefs Association
