Join Chef Izaak Haarhoff on a journey beyond the border of cuisine

So where do I begin,

I can tell you all about how I studied at one of the best chef schools in South-Africa or how I worked at some of the top restaurants and game lodges but lets not do that. No one wants to hear from that guy. How about I tell you about my passion for food and how it has taken me all over the world in search of new cuisines and flavors.

After leaving South-Africa I spent some time on the yachts, from there I moved back for a brief stint, working in a 5 star game lodge. I then went to India for 9 years, where I was granted the once in a lifetime opportunity to be taught by the locals how to make authentic Indian cuisine. I also went to Thailand where I studied the art of Thai cuisine with all its beautiful, deep flavors and combinations. Spanish and Mexican was next on my list to master. French cuisine was actually one of the first styles that I was taught as I studied at Silwood Kitchen in Rondebosch. To be honest I have learned to make so many different styles and cuisines that if I start talking specifics we might be here a while. But even with everything I have learned it is never enough.. I am always searching for new ways to combine flavors and trying to find new cuisines to master.

So fast forward to about seven months ago where myself, my wife and two beautiful sons moved to the coastal town of Hermanus. As I grew up in the Lowveld I do not have a lot of knowledge of all the magical ingredients and foraging techniques that the ocean has to offer me. But believe me when I say that I have taken every opportunity to learn from the locals and have been discovering the endless treasures that the ocean and its surrounds has to offer.

I decided to start my own company where I offer cooking demos and private chef services, sharing my love and knowledge for food is something I find very fulfilling. There is nothing that can bring people together like food and lets face it a proper meal makes anybody feel better.

Because of this I really enjoy meeting new people and figuring out what style of food it is that they will enjoy, lets call this a hobby of mine. And yes, I am so passionate about food that the hobbies I have is actually the same as that which I do for a living, so I am in fact one of the lucky people where I have found a way to make money from the thing that I love.

I cook for my family and friends on a regular basis, they are particularly good and willing Guinea pig. I am not one of the chefs that leaves work at work, I bring it home with me and keep practicing, keep bettering myself with every opportunity I get.

I believe that you should at least try everything once, food wise, so I have eaten some very strange things in my life, some of these include scorpion, duck tongue, Mopani worms, monitor lizard, bat, rat, snake, porcupine and many many more. I have a tendency to try and get people to join in my strange endeavors, my wife tends to be reluctant but my sister always jumps on board.

You see food is a lot like wine in that way, for your pallet to expand you need to expose it to new flavors on a regular basis. I would say that is why food and wine go so well together, but lets face it we all know why they go so well together, its because fermented grapes is just another style of food, in liquid form.

On a serious note though, I do love food and wine pairings and while working in India I traveled to London at least once a year where I got the opportunity to eat at some of the best restaurants and partake in some fantastic food and wine pairings.

With the new health kick and skinny dreams in place we as people tend to forget that food can be one of the most exotic, sensual and lasting experiences we can have. It takes up at least three of our five main senses, and with the right chef at the wheel it can occupy all five senses. This is why I want to share my passion and knowledge of food as far and wide as possible. So that people realize it is not just the top chefs that can make the amazing dishes that you see on TV and on the internet, with a little help and passion anyone is capable of bringing food alive and taking people into another world, or maybe just even another country.

I look forward to sharing my love and knowledge of food with anyone that is willing to take the journey with me.