PAGE STRAP CHEF’S PROFILE
Well-travelled Omar Menhouk brings a taste of the world to the Maslow When the Maslow Hotel Sandton’s executive chef said that he doesn’t look at the time, he looks to see if a job is done, you begin to appreciate why Algerian-born Omar Menhouk, 51, said that he drinks espressos every day.
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ith more than 30 years of culinary experience in some of the continent’s most exclusive properties, Omar first arrived in South Africa in 1994 to open a well-known French restaurant in Pretoria. He returned to Gauteng in December 2020 – after working in neighbouring Swaziland – to head up the kitchen brigade at The Maslow, Sun International’s premier business hotel in the heart of Sandton. He said: “Having grown up in a family who takes food very seriously, from homemade bakes to traditional casseroles and soups, from an early age I was curious about food and the preparation of it, it's 62 Business Events Africa March 2022
then that I decided that I had to be a chef.” This is not Omar’s first foray into cooking for Sun International guests. Early in his career he worked as a chef de partie at Sun City from 1998 until 2001 and returned as executive sous chef a year later. Since then, he has cooked his way up to his most recent position of resort executive chef at the Royal Swazi Spa. Having worked for a member of ‘the Leading Hotels of the World’ as well as one of the world’s most exclusive game lodges in Kenya, Omar prides himself on attention to detail and knowledge of many of the world’s leading cuisines. “My goals for the next five years are to
improve the offering at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, to secure my retirement and guide my daughters on their journeys of life,” he said. Omar has cooked for celebrities including Sir Richard Branson, the First Lady of Zambia and the Royal family of Saudi Arabia. “Sir Branson was a true businessman and a gentleman. He would ask me to dish up for him from the buffet as to what I thought he should eat.” “I am happy to be back home and closer to my three daughters, two of whom live in Pretoria,” he said. With a diploma in cooking from Algeria, Omar speaks five languages including www.businesseventsafrica.com
