Consulting
Culinary and operational advisory for restaurants, food businesses and new hospitality ventures.
Discuss a projectConcept · Operations · Food cost · Menus · Systems · People · Training
01Advisory services
Independent advice from someone who has owned and run the kitchens, not only audited them.
01
Build it properly from the start.
02
Identify issues. Improve results.
03
Exceptional food with commercial sense.
04
People make the difference.
02The Kitchen Health Check
A focused, independent review of your kitchen, systems, menus and costs. Identify the real issues, the risks and the opportunities.
Book a Kitchen Health CheckYou leave with a clear action plan.
03Who I work with
Restaurants
Independent, destination and neighbourhood.
Wine Estates
Restaurants, tasting rooms and food concepts.
Independent Operators
Cafés, delis, artisanal and bespoke concepts.
Restaurant Groups
Multi-venue support and standardisation.
New Ventures
From concept to opening.
Private Hospitality
Private dining, retreats and exclusive food experiences.
04How I work
01
Discovery
Understand your objectives and current position.
02
Assessment
Review operations, systems, menus and performance.
03
Scope
Define priorities, deliverables and timeline.
04
Implementation
Develop and implement the agreed work.
05
Measure
Review results and identify further opportunities.
05Selected projects
More than three decades of restaurants, kitchens and concepts: my own restaurants, menu development, kitchen systems, training and private hospitality. A selection, not the whole record.
Restaurants and concepts
1993 to 2015
Ristorante Italiano, Waterkloof, Pretoria
Owner · Executive Chef · Manager
My own Italian restaurant, built and run for twenty-one years. I was responsible for the whole operation: the menus and the kitchen systems, the staff and the suppliers, costing, marketing, the guests and the daily running of the place. It became known for its Italian cooking and its pizza.
Restaurant ownership · Concept development · Italian cuisine · Menu development · Kitchen systems · Food costing · Supplier management · Staff leadership · Marketing · Guest experience
2019 to 2023
The Pearls, Umhlanga
Shareholder · Executive Chef · Manager
Senior culinary and operational leadership in a shareholder-owned restaurant: the kitchen and its performance, menu development, food and beverage, the team, marketing and the guest experience.
Open chapterOwnership · Culinary leadership · Concept development
Blue MangoYour Deli40 KnotsThe Bay CaféLa BiciclettaLegends
Restaurant and food businesses across the years, among them 40 Knots, a Mozambican restaurant concept. Across the group the work ranged over ownership, executive culinary leadership, concept development, menu development and operational consultancy. Their stories are being documented individually in My Story.
Consultancy and development
Culinary concepts
Culinary and menu consultant · Chef trainer
Menu development and kitchen-team training for three of the group's restaurants: Donna Modern Italian, Butcher and Wine, and St Yves Bar.
Open project2023
Culinary consultant
Menu development, kitchen operations and professional standards, October to December.
Open project2024
Durban North
Culinary consultant · Chef trainer
Menu development, kitchen workflow, operational improvement and practical chef training, January to February.
Open projectWebsites and practical digital systems for chefs, restaurants, food businesses and hospitality brands. Designed around how the business actually works.
Enquire about digital work06Let's work together
Opening, improving, developing a menu or training a team: tell me what the business is and what needs to change.
Consulting enquiries are reviewed personally.
Better food.
Stronger teams.
More sustainable
businesses.