Amazing Food + Good Music = Awesome People
As a small girl, Sham Cerfonteyn was more interested in watching cooking shows than cartoons on TV. All because of her love of food which was inspired by watching her mother and grandmother cooking in the kitchen.
“Whether it was for daily meals or special occasions like Christmas or birthdays, watching them make my favourite meals with the simplest ingredients fascinated and intrigued me,” says Cerfonteyn (now 34) who resides in Willow Glen in Gqeberha.
“As I grew older, I was the one in my family that ended up cooking meals, my mother often boasting that my flavours were becoming better than hers; words that excited me more and more and the germination of an idea that maybe my future lay in the culinary world.”
But fate had other ideas and after leaving school, Cerfonteyn spent a brief time studying analytical chemistry before venturing into her other big love – DJing. It was only last year that she decided to venture back into the kitchen professionally.
“I’d been a successful DJ for over 15 years before I finally decided to go to culinary school. Besides cooking, DJing has always been a passion of mine, and I knew that one day I would tie the two together. Music moved me abroad and enabled me to see and experience a different side of life living and working in the Middle East. A few years later I returned home and found myself walking into Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Nelson Mandela Bay campus asking for more details about their various programmes and taking a tour of their facilities.
”Besides being a prestigious culinary school, I’d always heard amazing success stories of Capsicum alumni both at home and abroad, so I knew that my decision to choose Capsicum would play in my favour, not only teaching me everything to get me started in the culinary world but to also mould me into the chef that I am today.”
Satisfied with what she saw and heard, Cerfonteyn signed up for the school’s one-year Professional Chef Programme and qualified in July this year. Work came quickly and easily.
“After completing my studies in 2023, I managed to get an opportunity at a brand new family-style restaurant called Elements, which is located in Little Chelsea in Gqeberha. This all happened before graduation which surprised me because I had just left Capsicum and having this opportunity fall into my lap was a blessing in so many ways.”
Although Cerfonteyn was hired for an initial three month probation period, she was offered a fulltime position as Sous Chef even before the 12 weeks was up.
”This has been my biggest accomplishment of my life to date, and I can proudly say that I now run one of three kitchens at the establishment,” she says.
“Each restaurant has a different menu and setting, so boredom and change of environment is never an issue. I have six chefs in my kitchen, and I work the pass, calling out the orders keeping them on the right track and pushing out the orders when they are ready. I check that each dish is of the highest quality, and I garnish every order before it is sent out to the customer. On busy days, I find myself cooking and assisting the team, making sure everyone is cool and calm and most importantly to avoid the kitchen from spinning out of control. I also assist the head chef with stock take, to ensure that the kitchens are fully stocked for service.”
It’s not a job for the faint-hearted or the lazy and a typical working day for Cerfonteyn begins between 05h30 and 06h00.
“I’m usually the one getting lunches packed for my wife, my son and myself so I don’t have time for breakfast at home. But I always start the day with a cup of strong coffee before dropping my son off at school and then making my way to work. Once I am at the restaurant, I’ll cook up some eggs with a few slices of toast or have a bowl of cereal that I’ve packed in my lunch bag.
“Then I start my day by cleaning the kitchen and making sure that the ingredients are ready for prep. My team arrives a few hours later and we all make sure that we are prepped for service. I’ll have a late lunch that consists of a piece of meat with a salad or maybe a burger or even a bacon, eggs, sausage-type classic breakfast – the kind of meal that fuels me up and gets me ready to take on a busy service. I drink lots of water and often find myself having the odd Coke to sustain my energy and I always carry a chocolate bar just in case I need a pick-me-up. The kitchen closes at 10h00 and, after a good scrub down of the kitchen, I head home, shower, have a cup of tea and call it a day.”
Cerfonteyn still DJs on the side so if she has a weekend gig, she sometimes only gets to bed after 1am and has a few hours sleep before her alarm goes off for the start of another day.
So where does she see herself in five years’ time?
“Definitely owning my own establishment. My ultimate goal is to own a beach bar, combining great street food with amazing music. I firmly believe that good food and good music brings awesome people together. That’s going to be my success story one day!”
Eight things to know about Sham Cerfonteyn
- I love Asian food as well as street style food; I love the idea of eating with your hands
- I still want to master menu development and food styling and I’m very inspired by sustainable kitchens and how they operate, especially zero waste kitchens.
- Chillies, coriander, limes, pickles and spring onions are the five ingredients always in my fridge.
- My last meal would be either a Tom Yum Soup or a Thai Green Curry.
- I do not eat offal
- If I had to choose only one favourite celebrity chef it would be Marion Grasby.
- My two favourite cook books are Fatima Sydow Cooks and Jamie Oliver’s ONE.
- My favourite kitchen tools are a mandolin and a bench scraper.
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