CHEF’S PROFILE
I get to do what I love every single day With more than 23 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, Stuart Cason, 39, executive chef of Hilton Sandton has a wealth of knowledge in the culinary arts. He was born and bred in Johannesburg.
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r Cason always dreamt of being a chef and at the age of 16 years started an apprenticeship at the Sandton Sun and Towers Intercontinental Hotel. Stuart has never looked back. “I get to do what I love every single day. Not many people can say that. I love doing what I do. Meeting the people I get to meet, and building lasting relationships with many of them.” In 1999, he received a bronze medal in his first Salon Culinary competition, and in the same year he was nominated to participate in the Inter Hotel Chefs Academy. This gave Stuart the opportunity to work in leading properties in Johannesburg and train at the International Hotel School. “This gave me the upper hand in my career, and I was extremely privileged to be able to participate in such a prestigious challenge at the start of my career,” Cason said. At 21 he became the youngest chef ever to win the Unilever Chef of the Year competition. “After leaving the Sandton Sun, I spent a few years at Kievits Kroon in Pretoria, the Saxon as sous chef, the Castle Kyalami, and then seven years with Radisson Hotel Group. During this time, I
have competed and won several competitions. The Unilever chef of the year 2002, 2004 and 2010 and also represented SA in Dubai at the MLA black box Finals in 2008. I also received the chef of the year award 2018 for Hilton Middle East and Africa.” He added: “Before I joined Hilton
The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating and challenging to our industry. As an industry, we need to make sure that we look after and take care of protecting our guests, clients and employees. Sandton, I was with Radisson Hotel Group, based at Radisson Blu Gautrain, as area chef for Sub Saharan Africa, looking after 18 properties. While at Hilton Sandton, I was relocated to Hilton Doha, Qatar, where I spent the whole of 2019, returning in December.
14 Business Events Africa November 2020
“Hilton has been great for me and my development. My five year plan is to do a management course with Hilton, and my plan is to move to a general manager role. My next step would be, after the programme, to be a director of operations for a while, and then move into a general manager role,” Stuart said. In terms of food trends, he said: “One of the major trends in recent times is the whole plant based diets. I find it fascinating. People are starting to be a lot more conscience of what they put into their bodies.” However, the world has changed. “The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating and challenging to our industry. As an industry, we need to make sure that we look after and take care of protecting our guests, clients and employees. While some clients just want us to go back to normal operation, and don’t really understand the government guidelines and procedures we are facing, which is really challenging. Therefore from a global trends perspective, he said: “Covid-19 has opened up opportunities that many people did not really think of before. A lot of establishments are now preparing meals for home. A lot of really great www.businesseventsafrica.com
