Our Chef
From Mining Fields to Maître De Cuisine
Duane Lewis, Executive Chef of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, is as versatile, creative and unique as the gourmet creations that he conjures at the two 5-star restaurants on this world-renowned eco resort - the state of the art Red Indigo and the smaller, cozy The Garden restaurants.
Like any true artist, Duane's career path zigzagged across many detours and off-roads before it reached its final destination as maître de cuisine at Grootbos. He almost became a parabat, volunteered as a guinea-pig for anti-depressant trials and even scrubbed pots and pans across the globe to earn his controversial, but all-encompassing education. It paid off. At the age of 32 Duane manages both internationally acclaimed restaurants with a natural flair and talent that is reflected in the tantalizing dishes and delicacies that he masterfully sculpts and blends into delightful culinary artworks. He inspires and leads his 20 staff members by example and with a firm but friendly hand.
Hooked For Life
As a teenager growing up on a farm in Rustenburg, Duane watched his mother grating carrots and peeling potatoes for dinner. He questioned her motives and methods and menus and soon did the grating and peeling himself. It was not long before she recognised a cordon bleu chef in the making - and Duane was hooked. "I knew then already that the mystique of food was my passion." Duane did not take "short-cuts" to earn his T-shirts. He followed his passions and his heart together with his childhood sweetheart, Angelene, to grow systematically into his niche.
Hard Eggs To Crack
After enduring severe insults, rebuke and snide nicknames for doing the "unheard of" in the 1990's of taking Home Economics as a school subject, he matriculated in 1996. "In those years, as a boy, I had to get special permission to take Home Economics as a subject."
His father, who supplied machinery to mining companies, organised his first school holiday jobs at steak houses and restaurants in "dodge-hole mining communities" where he worked as kitchen help, making pies and washing dishes, but he loved it. Then followed Brasserie de Paris in Pretoria, where he washed pots and pans and avidly picked up the tricks of the trade in French cuisine. "It was a good starting place - old school, rough working hours and French peers - making or breaking and high standard. You must really love it - it's a high pressurised job, lots of tension and grafting. It's not just a job you can try out - it's a career you need passion for."
After a year he was recruited by the competition of French cuisine in Pretoria - Chagalls - where he further honed his skills and then it was off to London to start his exploration of the international trends and traits. "I was always interested in the history of food and spices - where it originated from and why and how it was used."
It was hard, but interesting and exciting times. Angelene found an au pair job whilst Duane worked at Mezzo in Soho, London, cracking up to 800 eggs per night and even partook in a pharmaceutical drug trial in order to earn money for their airline tickets.
In Search of the Spice of Life
They travelled the globe and did odd restaurant jobs whenever they ran out of money, ate at dodgy places and learnt about the various cultures and cuisines of the world - from Canada and Ireland to Egypt and Israel - the whole tuti except the Asian countries. Duane even worked as Chef de partie on a 6 star cruise ship Seaborne Pride after Angelene returned to South Africa and started studying Psychology part time whilst working at the Marine Hotel in Hermanus. Duane eventually joined her and through a combination of destiny (coincidence) and perseverance landed at Grootbos, where he found his niche and home.
The surrounding beauty of indigenous flowering fynbos, Milkwood forests, sun, sea and sky is Duane's muse. He follows his own instincts and inspirations and is seldom side-tracked by the latest trends and deconstructive styles of the Heston Blumenthals and Gordon Ramsays. "Those foams and bubbles and popular trends are fun and I would occasionally indulge in it, but Grootbos is not a restaurant per se. Our guests are here for the whole experience of unique natural outdoor beauty, comfort and enjoyment. You can't do crazy stuff every day - you have to cater for the entire international market."
Food For The Soul
Duane and Angelene teach their children, Connor (3) and baby girl Mackenzie, the same healthy eating habits and eco-friendly food produce and practices that distinguish Grootbos as one of the international pioneers in 5-star hotel cuisine and extravagance based on the Keep it Green principles. Duane uses mostly fresh, seasonal produce grown on Grootbos and the surrounding local farms.
"This is my home. Angelene and I got married in the time I have been here, we had both our kids here and the owners and staff are like one big family. We have our tiffs and we sort it out and we carry on."
And maybe THAT is the secret to the success and charm of Grootbos. It is real, it is natural and unpretentious. Good solid food from the earth, blended and spiced masterfully with natural ingredients to accentuate the ingredient and not the recipe. Created by a seasoned maestro of the culinary art and served with style in an environment of unsurpassed natural beauty.
