V - culinary A delicate suggestion of masculinity wafts about the room. It’s Chanel Sycomore, he shyly admits. On the sofa next to him lies his laptop, cellphone and a monogrammed Louis Vuitton wallet. Nouveau riche? Definitely not. He gets up to greet me. His handshake is firm, his smile is warm and he laughs easily. He sits back in the cream wingback chair and chats animatedly about his rise to (Michelin) stardom. His
formative
years
were
instrumental in the development of his culinary genius, where many an hour got spent honing his clandestine food fetish. “At the age of six I had created my own little restaurant in an empty old bus that was left standing on blocks on our farmstead in Middelburg,” he tells me. “When we were having dinner and watching Riaan Cruywagen on SABC, I would rearrange my little dining room and it would be a proper dinner in my restaurant, with a setup to represent a glorious dinner.” At primary school, Jan Hendrik’s creativity and business acumen had him earning some pocket money. “I used to weld flower vases from old exhaust pipes (yes, I did!)” he laughs, “and sell it to the neighbours’ wives. I had a proper
I
where I sold biscuits and Boxer tobacco to the local
morning at the
community. Then I went to high school, and I was
Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel.
fortunate to get a subject called hotel keeping and
Cape Town is showing off in all her
catering. It was the first year the course was offered,
glory and Table Mountain is offset
which was very exciting! My Dad never knew I took
“At the age of six I had
against the bluest of skies. The
this as a subject – he thought I was taking mathematics
‘Pink Lady’, as the Mount Nelson is
or science. The possibilities became more do-able, so I
created my own little
is conducting interviews for the day. He is seated
Jan Hendrik had always spent a lot of time in the
with his back towards the dining room, with a subtle
kitchens of his mother, and grandmothers. They were
‘Do not disturb – Interview in progress’ aura.
influential in teaching him to be always ready for the
restaurant in an empty old bus that was left standing on blocks on our farmstead in Middelburg,” 18
little tuckshop from the back house on the farm from t is a Friday
val de vie
affectionately known, is where Jan Hendrik
You’d be forgiven for mistaking Jan Hendrik for a movie star. Tall and slim, with perfectly chiselled
could cook every day! Then it started big time!”
unexpected guest, and how to improvise and quickly put things together while remaining cool headed.
features, dreamy green eyes and day-old stubble, he
“There are dishes from my childhood that have
epitomises understated elegance. Dressed in black, a
stayed close to my heart. My mother used to wake
hint of a blue shirt collar peeps out from under his
us up at 6 in the morning, as young children. The
jersey. His feet are adorned by a pair of white sneakers.
coal stove would be lit and she would make toast on