Discover the maestros behind the delicious dishes at a few of our local restaurants. We chat with these chefs about their career journeys, what inspires them, and their favourite meals to cook.
From cute coffee shops and quaint bed and breakfasts to luxury hotels, the Midlands is never short of scrumptious food. There is something for all tastes, but who are the culinary masters that curate our sumptuous plates? We celebrate three of our countryside chefs – meet Mla, Richard and Reggie.
Mla Njoko has been the head chef at Highgate Wine Estate since 2019, but his cooking journey and love of food began when he started working as a waitron at Lythwood Lodge Hotel when he was in Grade 11. “I was so driven by this passion that I had to pursue it alongside my school studies,” he shares.
What inspires Mla, and what he loves most about being a chef, is that he can learn about different cultures and cuisines and share this knowledge with his loved ones and customers. “It is a privilege to have guests enjoy the food I make. I feel so much joy when seeing an empty plate return to the scullery. It shows the hard work and passion that my colleagues and I have put into every single dish,” he says. One of his favourite dishes is his mozzarella and sage arancini balls, which consist of risotto balls on a Neapolitan sauce, drizzled with burnt sage butter and parmesan cheese. Yum! Visit Highgate to taste Mla’s delicious food!
Richard Poynton has been the head chef and part-owner of Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse since 1998. He started his culinary career at Granny Mouse’s Country House, where he worked from 1985 to 1993. However, before his journey with food started, he was in the farming business, first at Cedara and then at Rhodes University where he studied agricultural economics.
He also spent most of his time rocking in a band, which made him realise that farming was not quite his thing. He decided to try out something completely new and started to pursue cooking! This led him to travel overseas and learn from a variety of chefs in the industry. Some of his inspirations come from his work with Peter Gravilius in his restaurant, Truffles, in the Cape, where he learnt about the French style of cooking. “I love butter and cream, which I feel are the essential flavour-makers, so the French philosophy suited me well. They live by the tradition of living to eat, not eating to live. Our motto at Cleopatra is ‘flavour, flavour, flavour’, and if it looks good on the plate that is a bonus.”
Richard’s favourite dish is a chocolate cake, of which he generously shared that yoghurt is one of the main ingredients, which keeps the cake moist and delicious. Of course, the quality of the chocolate used is also key. What he loves most about being a chef is introducing his guests to new tastes. “At Cleopatra, we serve a set menu which enables our guests to taste the flavours of what is in season and what we have chosen to serve them – maybe something they would not have chosen from a menu.”
From painting to platters, Reggie Ntombela has been cherund chef at Rawdons Hotel since 2019, H6 first started working at Rawdons Hotel in 1985 in the maintenance department doing wallpapering and painting. He discovered his love of food after he was asked if he would like to work in the kitchen. He was mentored by the executive chef, Steven Madlala. “It was a five-year internship learning from many chefs. Chef Gerard Van Staden also got me into competition cooking and we went to many competitions and won many events.”
Reggie’s favourite meal is their lamb curry and oxtail, but he also misses the table d’hote menu, which the hotel now only offers for weddings and other functions. One of the best things about being a chef is when Reggie gets feedback from his guests that they loved his meal. With no formal training, but a lot of passion, he is inspired to teach others how to cook in the way that he was taught. He loves using everyday ingredients to create “something spectacular”.
From savoury to sweet, each chef has had their own special journey that got them where they are today, which has ultimately flavoured their unique styles and tastes that they now get to share with the rest of us. Be sure to pop into one of these spots and give the chef a shout!