Cooking in the wild

eateat

In the new teaching kitchen at Lebombo.

cooking

in the wild

Education and passion are a powerful combination and the Singita Community Culinary School certainly has its share Words Nicky Manson

Graduates learn the ropesalongside the head chefs at Lebomboand Sweni (pictured here).

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on a recent

trip to Singita Lebombo I was lucky enough to visit the Singita Community Culinary School, which is based in a beautiful part of the Kruger National Park, near Satara. The school has been going for 11 years but was recently moved to the lodge’s headquarters.

A new state of the art kitchen has been built in the heart of the bush lodge and is home to 10 students and their teacher Paul Antolik.

The kitchen was previously based off site at the staff village. Its new location, boasting a full glass facade, allows the students to experience the lodge’s working kitchen and meet guests; an important part in building their confidence as students and as future chefs. The kitchen showcases cutting-edge, energy-saving technology and prioritises the reduction of waste with a forward-thinking waste management policy. It follows the Singita ethos with its ethical, sustainable and local sourcing of ingredients. All together, this epitomises Singita’s commitment to “touching

the earth lightly”, which is echoed throughout the lodge and the company as a whole.

The Culinary School is one of the Singita Lowveld Trust’s community partnership programmes. Aimed at communities just outside Orpen Gate, anyone living there can apply. The other criteria is being aged 18-24, and having a matric. “If they discover cooking is not for them, then they still have their matric certificate to fall back on,“ explains chef and teacher Paul.

Applicants come in the hundreds. Many of the kids in these communities have no idea what to do after school and the cooking school also offers a small monthly stipend, which is a huge incentive. In fact most of them have little or no interest in cooking when they come for the interview. “But this is okay,” laughs Paul. “Through the classes and learning, they quickly develop a passion for it. They definitely watch too much MasterChef though, in a real kitchen there are also food dangers and hygiene issues, the unexciting stuff that has to be learnt.”

TK and Paul in the Lebombo kitchen.

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There are two interviews at which applicants are assessed. “We first do a meet and greet at the local Nasreen Church outside Orpen Gate,” explains Paul. “This allows the village elders to confirm the applicant does in fact come from their community and we can assess the basics, like their English ability. Their English has to be good as we teach a large English syllabus using English text books and we must know they will cope.” Interviews are conducted by Paul alongside the lodge HODs. Forty kids make it into the kitchen for a cook-off and cooking demo and then they are whittled down to just 10.

“This year we had over 300 applicants. It’s growing in popularity, which means we hope to grow too,” says Paul.

Paul has been teaching here for almost two years. Pietermaritzburg-born, he taught cooking before moving to Singita and realised he not only loved sharing his cooking knowledge but was quite good at it too. “My mom’s food was very boring. My dad’s health problems meant no salt was allowed. I would visit friend’s homes and think their parents cooking was amazing so when I started cooking at 12, I experimented with different seasonings,” says Paul. “I didn’t originally think of cooking as a career but soon realised I loved it. I enjoy the late hours, the chaos of the kitchen, the rollercoaster shifts.”

Today, he loves teaching these kids and watching them blossom. The new location of the kitchen also allows him to be on site more and he work his own shifts in the Singita kitchen; an ideal mix of cooking and teaching, which suits him perfectly. “I want to spark passion and then nurture it.”

The course has changed a lot since it was first introduced. When Paul joined the team he sat down with Andrew Nicholson, the Group Executive Chef, and Cape Town’s food guru, the award-winning Liam Tomlin and they all said – ‘let’s take this to the next level’ to be on par with Singita standards. They also began a work programme whereby the top two students are given a job after the one-year course. These graduates start in the staff kitchen – “the food is so much better there now by the way,” quips Paul and then, they move up to Singita’s Lebombo and Sweni kitchens. “This year we offered six graduates positions at Singita. The standard of cooking just keeps getting better and better.” The students are also awarded with an international certificate so they can literally work anywhere.

Classes are held daily and involve theory, food costing, and food practice. “In the first week, the guys come in here and they have never used a cutting board before. They use the traditional method of cutting food in your hand. By the end of the year, they are creating their own dishes, costing them, plating them and cooking 5-Star meals. It is amazing

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to see,” says Paul. “It’s life changing.”

Within the course, the students travel to meet other working chefs. These include the guys from InfoChef and the Olympic cooking team. “When they start the course, cooking is just a job but then they meet these amazing chefs, and our students begin to realise that people want to be chefs; they choose to learn about food because then they can do anything, work anywhere. It’s eye opening for these kids,” explains Paul.

The classes are structured and there are regular tests. In the curriculum you will find maths literacy for conversions, French for cooking terminology, tastings, basic knife skills, making stocks, seasoning and more. Paul assesses the tests and then they are sent to City and Guilds of the London Institute for marking.

“We work in a controlled environment, where there is a mentor around all the time. In the larger kitchens, trainee chefs may never meet the big guys but here it is different. We encourage interaction. We are all very approachable and live and work in a tightknit community,” says Paul. “The school is a huge investment for Singita – they want to change lives.”

The kitchen has seen its fair share of mishaps. Paul regaled us with stories like a bottle of Spray and Cook being left by the stove and exploding, serving raw gammon for breakfast and using baking powder instead of salt. “One student couldn’t understand why his Crème Brulee would not caramelise, as he had used salt instead of sugar,” laughs Paul.

In the Lebombo Lodge kitchen I am introduced to TK. She is just one of Singita’s success stories. She graduated three years ago after which she joined the kitchen team as a commis chef at Singita Lebombo and through hard

work was soon promoted through the ranks. After work experience at Liam Tomlin’s restaurant, Chef’s Warehouse in Cape Town, TK travelled to New York where she worked at the prestigious Blue Hill at Stone Barns – rated the number 11 restaurant in the world. “She wowed them with her work ethic and enthusiasm, and now she has chosen to come back and work for us again,” says Paul. “We are lucky to have her.”

The Singita kitchen also offers guests private cooking lessons in its dynamic kitchen for a small donation that goes back into the teaching programme.

GETTING THERE

We travelled by road from White River to Singita Lebombo with GAP Tours & Transfers. We drove through the Kruger National Park due to road works on the route, and were rewarded with an exciting and fruitful game drive. Johan was our driver and comes highly recommended. The comfortable ride takes roughly three and half hours. Conveniently we were picked up from home and then dropped off 48 hours later. Gap Tours & Transfers also offer Hazyview and lodge transfers, transfers from all local airports in Mpumalanga and Limpopo and they can do pick ups from OR Tambo. The company’s other services include wildlife tours which can be guided, scenic tours across the Panorama, big five safaris, night drive tours and cultural tours. Get in touch with the professional and friendly team.

INFO 013 737 8063, 082 574 2535, info@gaptours.co.za, www.gaptours.co.za

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