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Four chefs have been spotlighted this Women’s Month, including Chef Amori Burger, Chef Nina Du Toit, Chef Teenola Govender and Chef Megan Meikle. These up-and-coming South African chefs are some of those who are part of the rise of female chefs in the culinary sector.
Chef Amori Burger
Amori is the Executive Chef at Upper Union Restaurant in Cape Town. Her cooking style is influenced by her love of hosting friends and family, especially the joys of Sunday lunch. At Upper Union, she recreates these moments, providing the opportunity for guests to indulge in good food, fine wines, great conversation, and a sense of community.
Her culinary style is characterised by bold and vibrant flavours, utilising interesting spice combinations, the heat of chili, and the tang of acidity. Food has always been integral to her family, with many fond memories formed in the kitchen and around a table.
Inspired by the women in her family, one of her earliest cooking memories is making sandwiches with her sisters, layering fillings and removing crusts to ensure a perfect bite. This pursuit of flavour harmony continues at Upper Union, where she enjoys the research, creativity, and use of sourced produce to create balanced, vibrant dishes.
Chef Nina Du Toit
Nina is the head chef at Salsify at the Roundhouse. Together with the team from Salsify, she draws inspiration from the seasons, land and the sea when developing the dishes on Salsify’s menu.
As a chef she revels in the ability to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, taking the humblest ingredients and elevating them to the most impressive of forms, seeking pleasure in the complexities of the seemingly simple. This is what excites her the most and is evident across Salsify’s menu.
Her cooking, while rooted in classic technique, is constantly pushing the boundaries of the intricacies and artistry of fine dining. Alongside this attention to detail, Nina’s philosophy is one which embraces sustainability and locality, well aligned to the ethics of Salsify’s kitchen.
Chef Teenola Govender
A born and raised Durbanite, Teenola pursued her passion for food when she moved to Cape Town in 2014. She credits her love for cooking to her mother, who remains one of her sources of inspiration and is a constant reminder of the beauty of her heritage.
As one half of the duo heading up the kitchen of Chef Ryan Cole’s new restaurant, COY, she looks forward to bringing her distinct style of cooking to the kitchen, while relishing the challenge of being a part of this new project.
At COY, under the guidance of Cole, Teenola, together with co-head chef Geoffrey Abrahams, will present an ocean-inspired exploration of African produce, age-old preparations techniques, and forgotten ingredients and ways of cooking. The young chef is excited to share the stories of the produce, and the talented suppliers who provide it, while equally looking forward to having the opportunity to mentor a young team of chefs as they embark on this new project.
Chef Megan Meikle
As head pastry chef of David Higgs’s Marble Group, Chef Megan Meikle is behind the desserts served up across the group’s three restaurants and convenience store.
Having honed her talents under a host of the country’s top chefs, Meikle is an expert when it comes to crafting these culinary creations, be it Marble’s ice cream sandwiches, Saint’s twist on a Tiramisu or The Pantry’s doughnuts.
Meikle’s talent merges her creativity and inspiration with top-notch technique, premium ingredients, and an eye honed for attention-to-detail to create these dishes.
In addition to her position within The Marble Group, Meikle is also an Ambassador for The Chocolate Academy of South Africa.
