Chef on his way to Norway
ROODEPOORT - Luxolo mentioned that hard work pays off
Silverstar Casino’s junior trainee chef Luxolo Tabata will be representing the South African Chefs Association’s Young Chefs Club at the World Congress of Chefs in Stavanger, Norway from 2 to 5 July.
As a member of the Gauteng committee and Vice Chairman of the SA Chefs Association’s Young Chefs Club, Tabata is looking forward to connecting with other Young Chefs Club members, discussing food and learning about different cultures and cuisine. Silverstar helped him to raise funds to make his trip to Norway a reality. Over R100 000 was raised through a joint fundraising event with the SA Chefs Association which took place on 20 March at Silverstar. His career has flourished since he made his culinary debut as a scullery assistant in a hotel in Cape Town and achieved 35th position in the MasterChef South Africa competition in 2012.
He completed his SA Chefs Association National Youth Chef Training Programme and is currently at the HTA School of Culinary Art in Randburg where is studying towards his Diploma in Food Preparation and Culinary Art.
Tabata has been working for just over two years as a junior trainee chef under Silverstar’s Executive Chef, George Georgiou. Part of his training includes running the Black Cherry restaurant’s kitchen.
He said, “This will be my fist time overseas and as a chef, your world is all about diversity and cooking dishes influenced by ingredients and cultures from the world over. I look forward to implementing what I’ve learned in Norway in my cooking.” Tabata’s love for cooking began when he was still a child when he used to watch his grandmother preparing meals every day.
According to Tabata, salt and pepper are the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen and the hardest dish he’s ever prepared is savoury salmon with berry compote. “The most expensive ingredients I’ve cooked with are saffron that I use in my paella dishes and oysters.” He said the highlights of his career include cooking for 18 hours straight at Madiba’s funeral and at the Eminem concert.
