ADRIAN VIGUS-BROWN: CALLED TO CULINARY

CALLED TO CULINARY

Chef Adrian is living proof that cheffing is a calling rather than a simple career choice.

Cheffing is a calling rather than a career for Adrian Vigus-Brown – and as living proof, he has the enthusiasm and the passion for his craft, he’s put in the hours, the hard work, and the practice, and he has achieved an enviable array of achievements and accolades, all within a relatively short period.

Chef Adrian, aged 30, is Executive Chef at the glamorous African Pride Melrose Arch, Autograph Collection® Hotel in Johannesburg, which has the March Restaurant, the Library Bar, pool deck, 118 rooms with 24-hour service, as well as five meeting rooms and an auditorium.

He achieved the position of executive chef at age 25, which added more challenges to Adrian’s career than anticipated. “I have been passionate and driven since I first fell in love with the world of food as a child, preferring to be in the kitchen when other kids were playing, and watching food channels on TV rather than the normal programmes my friends were watching. On a family holiday at age nine, I was found in the hotel kitchen, firing a string of questions at the executive chef. I knew it was the place I wanted to be. In high school I worked in restaurants and did private catering.

“When I was appointed executive chef, I found I constantly needed to prove myself and my worth in the kitchen as fellow executive chefs often underestimated or overlooked me. But that helped me hone my skills further – and I soon learned to live out the quote by Tony Robbins that, ‘people are rewarded in public for what they have practiced in private for years’.”

Adrian loves his work at African Pride Melrose Arch. “The senior management has faith in me and supports me. They give us creative licence – knowing we will use discipline and responsible management in our meal and menu development. We also have opportunities to take in a bucketload of young trainee chefs every quarter, sharing our knowledge and passion with them and inspiring them on their culinary journeys. This is an environment of growth.”

Hailing from the East Rand, Adrian matriculated and joined the in-service apprenticeship programme at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Sheraton Pretoria, completing his exams at HTA School of Culinary Art and later adding a City & Guild Level 2 IVQ Diploma in Food Preparation and Cooking to his education.

He lists some of the lessons he has learned along his career path as: • Seasons change, trends change, but one thing that can never change is your attitude to the profession – that’s when things go wrong • Being a chef is a calling – it’s being part of a network of likeminded people • Not everyone has the same skills in the kitchen, but that measure is often based on passion rather than knowledge

He describes his culinary style as “ever-changing. I’m not set on any one style. I’m classically French trained and am more refined in my style, but, as in all things in life, trends and options change, and my culinary style does too.”

This also means that his signature dishes are always changing. “But at the moment I love slow braising and really rich food.” Underrated food for him is the part of the animal that isn’t ‘popularly’ shown on TV – using the animal ‘from nose to tail’ rather than just the best-known cuts and discarding the rest. “This is rare, but it needs to change, and it is a challenge I constantly set for my team.”

Adrian is a firm believer in volunteering and industry involvement. He has been a keen participant in the World Chefs Tour Against Hunger for several years and is active in SA Chefs

ON A FAMILY HOLIDAY AT AGE NINE, I WAS FOUND IN THE HOTEL KITCHEN, FIRING A STRING OF QUESTIONS AT THE EXECUTIVE CHEF. I KNEW IT WAS THE PLACE I WANTED TO BE.

Association. He was recently re-elected to the board of directors of SA Chefs. For his second term heading up the culinary portfolio, he has strategic plans to implement impactful programmes, including mentorship programmes and restoring the SA Chefs competitions to their former prominent status.

In April this year he was appointed to the management team of Chefs with Compassion as National Administrator and Logistics Coordinator. He explains, “There were many good reasons to join Chefs with Compassion. I’m committed to volunteering, and I cannot bear to see food wasted. It would have been unhealthy for me to do nothing or very little during lockdown as I have a normally very busy mind, I am in a position to use my management and culinary skills, and looking at the bigger picture, I am helping people in desperate need. The choice was obvious.”

ADRIAN’S AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS: • SA Chefs Association Presidential

Plate Award • SA Chefs Association National Board of Director 2019 • Ambassador Mentor Middle East

Africa for WorldChefs Young Chefs • SA Chefs Association Young Chefs

Club National Chairman 2013-2018 • Disciple for the Disciples d’Auguste Escoffier South Africa • Associate fellow of the Royal

Commonwealth Society • IKA Culinary Olympics 2020

Restaurant of Nations –

Bronze medal • IKA Culinary Olympics 2020 Chefs

Table – Bronze medal • Unilever Chef of the Year 2010

Category 4 winner • Finalist in various culinary competitions

SA’S FIRST ONLINE FOOD SHOW SET FOR NOVEMBER

The Festive Vegan & Plant Powered Show (FVPPS) will play host to a wide range of plant-based food and lifestyle brands who will be featured in a virtual expo area.

Live Events, organisers of the Vegan & Plant Powered Show – together with JAG Communications and Missing Link – is bringing revolutionary changes to the traditional food and trade show exhibition format with The Festive Vegan & Plant Powered Show (FVPPS).

The six-hour event is set to take place online on Saturday, November 28, running from 11am to 5pm. It’s a new look show for a new look exhibitor in a new look world and is an interactive event that you won’t have experienced before.

The Festive Vegan & Plant Powered Show (FVPPS) will play host to a wide range of plant-based food and lifestyle brands who will be featured in a virtual expo area. Exhibitors will have the option to select a booth package tailormade for them. This professional integrated platform offers exhibitors an opportunity to have their own expo booth from which they can broadcast live or embed a pre-recorded video. They can chat live with visitors while audiences will also be directed to the exhibitor’s online shop for purchases.

It will feature a host of international and local chefs – including a finalist from last year’s MasterChef Australia and the UK’s leading vegan chef - as well as cooking demos, expert talks, special appearances, entertainment, The Great Big Festive Vegan Banquet and networking sessions.

IMAGE BY CREATV EIGHT VIA UNSPLASH

Here are just a few of the benefits for exhibitors: • The FVPPS is a remarkable online space where exhibitors can meet new contacts and audiences can make their purchases via the online store with the tap of a finger. • You can reach a much wider audience throughout South

Africa and internationally. • This customised food show offers top-class 3D graphics and entertainment throughout the lobby, cooking theatre and beyond. Not only does this compel visitors to register and attend the event, but entices them to stay and explore for longer. • Exhibitors can engage with customers through live webinars and meet and greets. • FVPPS is both a trade and consumer show – buyers, agents and distributors in the F&B/hospitality industry are also expected to attend. Exhibitors will be listed on the VPPS website for a minimum of three months and over the festive period as well as in the PDF Show Guide and recipe book download which will be made available to show visitors and others in December. Edited parts of the event will be made available as content on demand on Quicket in the month of December.

The FVPPS is not only for at vegans and vegetarians but also flexitarians, reducetarians, sports enthusiasts, individuals who have compromised their health and those looking for healthier and more ethical lifestyle choices for themselves and their family. It will also bring much-need support for small South African food producers.

Says Heidi Warricker, CEO of VPPS and Live Events: “Exhibitions are the marketplaces and meeting places for entire industries and will be much-needed to fast track and drive the economic recovery after COVID-19. This is especially the case for small and medium-sized businesses which represent the backbone of every economy and for whom exhibitions and face-to-face events are a leading sales channel.”

Early bird tickets for the FVPPS are available from Quicket at R80 until 7 October 2020.