SHANE SMIT
Head chef Jamie’s Italian, Melrose Arch, Joburg
I have always been intrigued by food and I would go out with my father on family holidays and pick mussels from the rocks, which we would take home and steam and even pickle. My love affair with food continued while I studied to be a lawyer and in my third year I realised I needed to pursue this burning desire to be a chef.
I set my sights on the UK to learn how to become a chef. I met Jamie’s Italian’s first head chef, Marcos Georgiou, who took me under his wing and I worked at Jamie’s Italian in Oxford.
A qualification in anything can be a ticket to travel the world, but a positive attitude fuelled by passion can take you places you’ve never dreamed of! My best kitchen memory/inspiration was working at Jamie’s Italian in Oxford alongside chef Genarro Contaldo and experiencing his love and respect for ingredients. I would prefer to forget a couple of kitchen injuries as I can’t deal with blood! I came back to South Africa because I missed our beautiful country, the people, the culture, the cold beers and the weekend braais. I really wanted to come back and embrace what we have to offer as a nation and work with that — in my own back garden. For any young person wanting a career as a chef I advise them to be open to learn as much as they can, stay humble, follow advice, and most of all get their mind set on becoming great. If you have a burning passion to succeed, anything is possible. In 2008 I had an opportunity to do a trial shift in Jamie’s Italian kitchen and nailed it — and became part of an amazing “family” in Oxford. I’m addicted to Jamie’s ethos of “family”. It makes working with a team so much better. The opportunity to open the first Jamie’s Italian in South Africa came about because of my having similar values. It’s not about titles, but working together as a collective towards the same goal of such an amazing brand. My three favourite ingredients have to be Parmigiano Reggiano, pancetta and a good chianti wine. The quote I live by is: “Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with complete abandon or not at all.”
Bookings@jamiesitalian.co.za Monday-Sunday, 12 noon-11:00pm