Food world mourns Christina
Doyenne of culinary arts
CHRISTINA Martin, the internationally famous culinary doyenne who died this week and who cooked for royalty and presidents alike, was a legend who would not be forgotten.
So said Sundru Pillay, one of her many admirers, yesterday, in the wake of news that Martin had died suddenly at her home in De Rust, near Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape, on Monday.
It is a sentiment shared by all who knew her and many who knew her only by reputation.
Martin, 66, had a massive heart attack and died within minutes while holding the hands of her beloved husband of 48 years, Bill, and one of her two daughters, Candice.
Her eldest daughter, Michelle Barry, a hospitality consultant in Durban, flew to join her father as soon as she could get a flight and said yesterday that they were all still “battling” to come to terms with her mother’s sudden loss.
They are taking comfort in the fact that she was in no pain.
Martin, who put Durban on the international culinary map, started the first independent private chef school in South Africa, and the Christina Martin School of Food and Wine in Florida Road, which operated from 1973 to 2006, produced some of the world’s top chefs. Graduates were sought after and are now in ho- tels and restaurants around the world. Martin ran several cookery courses, and the school was renowned for its one-year intensive diploma chef ’s course, ideal for people from all walks of life wanting to make a career in professional cookery. Her school was registered with the City and Guilds in London.
“She… has left such an amazing legacy… she will never be forgotten,” said Pillay, the former president of the KZN branch of the Chaine de Rotisseurs, the international gastronomic society founded in Paris in 1950, which promotes the art of fine cuisine.
Martin started the KZN chapter of the Chaine de Rotisseurs and six years ago, she was feted by members for her dedication and commitment to the food industry. Internationally known as chef de cuisine, her school of food and wine was voted in the top three worldwide in 2002.
Trained in South Africa, the UK and Europe, Martin, a member of the world-famous Cordon Bleu de France, received many awards from the Chaine de Rotisseurs over the years and together with her husband, recently received the president’s award for their long and faithful service.
Faithful
She was a fellow of the South African Chefs Association and was one of the first women to get the president’s award. Martin was consulted on many occasions for food development and styling for national and international companies and magazines, and cooked for Prince Charles at London’s Kensington Palace and for former president Nelson Mandela, as well as top White House diplomats.
Michelle, an executive chef, worked side by side with her mother at the Florida Road school for 20 years, recalling that they had a wonderful connection.
“She had the most unbelievable passion and discipline to do things correctly, the classical French way,” her daughter said.
When her parents moved to the Western Cape, Michelle continued running the school, which was eventually bought by the International Hotel School (IHS) in Westville. Although the school later closed, the IHS still offers a Christina Martin programme.
“We wanted to keep the name going. It carries a lot of weight and we kept it for the contribution that she has made,” said Don King, the managing director of the IHS, who will attend the funeral on Monday.
The Martins built a four-star luxury guest lodge in an old Victorian manor house in De Rust, naming it the Housemartin Guest Lodge. “It is named after a swallow in the area and is also appropriate,” said Michelle.
Martin continued teaching, passing on her skills to the underprivileged and enabling them to get a professional qualification.
In December she made about 300 bottles of jam, Michelle said.
Martin’s dry sense of humour was second to none, recalled Steve Mack, the previous dean of the IHS. Durban photographer and friend Peter Duffy, who attended graduations, said she was a complete perfectionist. “She ruled with an iron rod in the kitchen. Everything had to be spot-on,” he said.
About 20 members of the local Chaine de Rotisseurs will form a guard of honour at the funeral.
Martin leaves her husband, two daughters and four grandchildren.