So Chef! 2018 - Celebrating French cuisine with a South African twist

So Chef! 2018 - Celebrating French cuisine with a South African twist

All of you food lovers out there were waiting for it and it's finally back!

So Chef! 2018 is back in South Africa and Lesotho from 6 to 21 October for more mouth-watering and finger-licking culinary experiences.

Save the dates and don't miss some of the top chefs of the gastronomic world, with our four talented chefs Scott Philip Borreros Armstrong, Jean Alexandre Galmar, Florian Py and Khalid El Kasimi (biographies below). They have dozens of yummy recipes up their sleeves, and they will meet you for a rendez-vous all over South Africa and Lesotho. Catch them in the following cities: Cape Town, Durban, East London, Johannesburg, Maseru, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria.

So join us for a celebration of French cuisine with a South African twist!

The So Chef! Program

Our four prestigious chefs will tour South Africa and Lesotho to serve up delicious meals through various activities and events. So Chef! offers a packed programme for foodies and people of all ages: eatalong, workshops for self-learners in the Alliance Française network and cooking schools, 4-handed gastronomic dinners (2 Chefs, 1 menu) in partnering restaurants, and many more!

Movie Eat Along

An immersive food experience as the audience can eat along with the protagonists of the lm. Several dishes are prepared specifically by one of our chefs to match the food in the movie. A culinary experience not to be missed!

Johannesburg | 10 October at 19:30
HTA School of Culinary Art with Scott Philip Borreros Armstrong

Port Elizabeth | 11 October at 18:30
Black Box Theatre with Khalid El Khasimi

Durban | 11 October at 19:00
Alliance Française of Durban with Jean Alexandre Galmar

East London | 12 October at 19:30
Alliance Française of East London with Khalid El Khasimi

Pretoria | 17 October at 19:30
Alliance Française of Pretoria with Jean Alexandre Galmar

Cape Town | 19 October at 19:30
Alliance Française of Cape Town with Florian Py

Disco Soupe

'Disco Soupes' are collective and open cooking sessions of scraped or unsold fruit and vegetables in a musical and festive atmosphere. The idea is to sensitize people to food waste but also to eat healthy and tasty cooking, and of course to (re)discover the pleasure of cooking together!

Johannesburg | 6 October at 09:00
Alliance Française of Johannesburg with Scott Philip Borreros Armstrong

"4-handed" gastronomic dinner

Come to one of our partner restaurants to eat a dinner prepared by two chefs teaming up together to bring the best of French and South African gastronomy in an amazing menu - a real treat for your taste buds!

Port Elizabeth | 7 October at 12:30
Flava Restaurant with Khalid El Khasimi & Chef John Burger

Port Elizabeth | 8 October at 19:00
Muse Restaurant with Khalid El Khasimi & Allan Bezuidenhout

Maseru | 12 October at 18:00
Lesotho Wine Festival / Avani Lesotho with Scott Philip Borreros Armstrong & Jan Botha

Durban | 12 October at 19:30
Chef Table Restaurant with Jean Alexandre Galmar & Kayla-Ann Osborn

Durban | 13 October at 19:30
Glenwood Bakery with Jean Alexandre Galmar & Adam Robinson

Pretoria | 16 October at 19:30
Brasserie de Paris with Jean Alexandre Galmar & Ané Wait

Pretoria | 18 October at 19:30
Prue Leith School Restaurant with Jean Alexandre Galmar & Adele Stiehler Van der Westhuizen

Workshops

Along with these great activities open to the general public, numerous culinary workshops have been organised in partnerships with schools, cooking schools, universities and the Alliance Française network in South Africa and Lesotho. They are designed to discover and experience French inuenced tastes, with easy-to-find ingredients, as each recipe can then be cooked at home.

So Chef! workshops will take place at the HTA School of Culinary Art in Johannesburg, at the TVET Colleges of Port Elizabeth, Durban and East London, at Capital Hotel School and at Prue Leith School in Pretoria, as well as at the different Alliances Françaises of Southern Africa.

Through So Chef!'s partnership with the Department of Basic Education, the four chefs will also hold workshops at Mandlenkosi High School in Durban, at John Bisseker Secondary School in East London, at Pace Secondary School in Johannesburg, and at Stanza Bopape Secondary School in Pretoria.

A little bit more about the Chefs

Chef Jean Alexandre Galmar

Durban | 9-14 October
Pretoria | 15-21 October

Jean Alexandre Galmar is a leading chef in his native Reunion Island. The French territory is famous for its colourful local cuisine that draws upon the culinary wisdom of its French, African and Asian influences. Growing up around this rich culinary heritage gave Jean Alexandre both the passion and the skills to become one of the islands leading culinary players. He has worked in some of the island's top restaurants and has been invited to share his craft in kitchens in China, France and the Seychelles.
His favourite dish is traditional duck stew with vanilla bean from Reunion Island. "I love mixing local products in meals with all of the techniques and spices I work with," he says.
Jean Alexandre is currently the Chef of the Apoteek mixologie and food restaurant in Saint Denis.

Chef Florian Py

Cape Town | 15-21 October

Florian Py is a French chef from the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. With a background in pastry and as a head chef, he has worked in several 3-star Michelin restaurants, and spent time in the USA and in England to gain more experience. While being a trainer at GRETA (adult training centres), he followed his own training under renowned French chef Alain Ducasse. He was also a semi-finalist in the "Meilleur Ouvrier de France" competition in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
Currently Florian is a teacher at his alma mater Lycée Hyacinthe Friant in the Jura wine-growing region, and works as an extra chef at the 3-star Michelin restaurant "La Maison Jeunet". He is passionate about the history of gastronomy and always eager to share his latest discoveries with his students.

Chef Scott Philip Borreros Armstrong

Johannesburg | 6-10 October
Maseru | 12-14 October

Scott started his culinary education at the prestigious Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch. His love and passion for cooking became stronger while he was training at the 5-star restaurant Bread & Wine, in Franschhoek. He then developed most of his knowledge and technical skills from the Foliage Restaurant, one of the best-known restaurants in the region. His skills blossomed at the Demo Kitchen in Stellenbosh, until he successfully went from one Michelin star restaurant, the UK's famous Lympstone Manor, to another, South African Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen's restaurant, Jan, in Nice, France.
Throughout his young career, Scott has felt privileged to be a cook. "The excitement and pressure felt as I stepped into the kitchen, my very first rush of service, I could compare this exact feeling to a pot, boiling water till it reaches that perfect temperature, watching the steam elevate into the air", he says.
Scott is now back in Franschhoek, where he works for the renowned Le Petit Manoir.

Chef Khalid El Kasimi

Port Elizabeth | 6-10 October
East London | 11-13 October

Khalid El Kasimi is a Stockholm-based chef with Moroccan origins. Since his childhood, he's always been inspired by the cooking of his mother and grandmother, where the seasonality and fresh ingredients reigned supreme in the kitchen. "As a young cook, I was obsessed by French techniques, from simply deboning whole chicken to making veal stock to salt-bake a beetroot," he says.
At the age of 19 he moved to Sweden where he found a new passion, which was making food and feeding people. There he worked for various well-known restaurants, including two-star Michelin restaurant Oaxen Krog & Slip. He also expanded his cooking techniques at the prestigious Swedish restaurants of Berns Asiatiska and Pharmarium.
He is currently working in the well-respected restaurant Oljebaren in Stockholm.

The So Chef! Partners

So Chef! partnering with the Department of Basic Education for National Nutrition Week

In celebrating National Nutrition week the Department of Basic Education is teaming up with the French Institute of South Africa to give local learners a taste of French cuisine. This exciting culinary adventure forms part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French Embassy in South Africa for collaboration and cooperation in promoting nutrition education in schools.

The theme for this year's National Nutrition Week (NNW) is "Breakfast: the best way to start your day". It is aimed to promote healthy lifestyles and to demonstrate culinary skills during workshops for learners.

This will enhance the already existing efforts of the DBE through the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) which aims to enhance the learning capacity of learners through the provision of a healthy meal at school. Whilst learners are being provided with nutritious meals, they are also taught to establish and maintain good eating and lifestyle habits for life.

So Chef! brings a piece of Bourgogne- Franche-Comté & Reunion Island to local foodies

This year So Chef! partners again with the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region and Reunion Island, helping us promote French gastronomy in Southern Africa.

The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region is one of the 13 metropolitan French Provinces. As part of its international policy, it has developed a long-term and cross-sector partnership with the Western Cape Province, mainly in the fields of agriculture, professional training, youth development, culture and economic development. Since 2014, in the field of catering training, it supports the development of trainer and student exchanges between the catering school of Lycée Le Castel (Dijon) and partners from TVET colleges in the Western Cape. This year, the region is partnering with the Lycée Hyacinthe Friant (Poligny).
www.bourgognefranchecomte.fr

Located in the Mascarene Archipelago, Reunion Island – a French overseas department – offers travelers the exoticism of a tropical island in the Indian Ocean. At the crossroads of European, African and Asian cultures, Reunion is a true melting pot.
Our chef Jean Alexandre Galmar is native from Reunion Island and is currently the executive Chef of the restaurant Au Cherry in Saint Denis, Reunion Island's administrative capital.
www.reunion.fr

Atout France was established in 2009 to promote the development of French tourism. This objective is pursued through various projects that all contribute to developing the French offer and attractiveness of its destinations, as well as the image and awareness of France throughout the world.
http://uk.france.fr

So Chef! is brought to you by the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), the Alliance Française network in Southern Africa, Atout France, the Reunion Island Tourism Board, the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Province, the Lycée Hyacinthe Friant and in partnership with the Department of Basic Education of South Africa. So Chef! takes place as part of the National Nutrition Week of the South African Department of Basic Education.

Publicity information:
Mylene Loubiere
T: 011 403 0458
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Press release here

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