| Thursday, 03 December 2009 | A New Chef for Franschhoek |
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 Franschhoek has gained a new star with the appointment of Darren Roberts as executive chef at Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa, bringing with him the flair of Pacific Rim cuisine.As exeuctive chef at Le Franschhoek, Darren will be running culinary affairs at the hotel’s two restaurants, the fine dining Relais & Gourmand and Le Verger, the latter set in an orchard over-looking the Franschhoek Mountains. Australian-born Darren completed his apprenticeship in Melbourne at a time when the city and Australia were laying a foundation for world food trends. “I trained in Pacific Rim–style which is a wonderful and intriguing mix of classic western and Asian styles and I love the freshness and that there are endless combinations you can create,” says Darren. Cooking has also taken Darren around the world and, after his apprenticeship under the Australian chef Stephanie Alexander, Darren ended up completing his training in Austria at the L’Heiner Konditorei in Vienna, considered by many Europeans to be the finest bakery/pattisserie in Europe. Four more years in the United Kingdom saw Darren working for the preferred Royal Caterers, Searcy Tansley, responsible for all functions outside of Buckingham Palace, as well as private chef to one of the UK’s wealthiest entrepreneurs. Having met his South African wife in London, Darren decided to immigrate to South Africa where, for the next seven years, he ran and operated his own restaurants in Johannesburg. Returning to Australia over the Millenium, Darren then took up the position of Executive Chef on Denis Island in the Seychelles (voted in the top 5 island resorts in the world) where he remained for three years. Offered an opportunity at the luxury Huka Lodge in New Zealand, fate determined otherwise and Darren landed the job as Executive Chef at South Africa’s premier golfing resort, Fancourt, on the Garden Route, a position he held until 2006 after which he ran various restaurants in George while still consulting for Denis Island. Darren joined the team at Le Franschhoek Hotel and Spa in April this year and moved to the Cape with his wife Amanda, three daughters, Natacha, Victoria and Alexandra and a fourth ‘adopted daughter’ called Margaret, a British bulldog. |