Welcome, Executive Chef Gary Opperman!

Simbithi Country Club would like to officially welcome our new Executive Chef, Gary Opperman. Chef Opperman takes overÂthe reins at an exciting time in the Simbithi story: with our kitchen having recently undergone an extensive renovation andÂour beloved Fig Tree Restaurant re-opening earlier this year.Â

About Chef Gary OppermanÂ

Chef Opperman took an interest in cooking at an early age. “My grandmother used to bake all the time, and that’s where myÂpassion was first developed. She would bake cookies, and let me help her make the dough. Getting my hands messed withÂdough, feeling the texture and tasting the different cookies: these are my most special, earliest memories of the kitchen.ÂAfter matriculating from Stanger High School, Durban-born Chef Opperman graduated from INTEC College with an AdvancedÂGourmet Cooking Diploma and completed his in-service training at Wits Hotel School.

His culinary expertise has taken himÂaround Africa: he has headed up the kitchens at the Hilton Curio Legend Hotel Lagos Airport and Radisson Blu AnchorageÂHotel in Nigeria, Rani Resorts in Indigo Bay, Mozambique and the Tsogo Sun Garden Court Kitwe and Edgar Chagwa LunguÂConvention Centre in Zambia – his most recent. Locally, Chef Opperman gained recognition for his outstanding work at theÂTsogo Sun Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort, the Tsogo Sun Garden Court Umhlanga and Fairmont Zimbali Lodge.Â

A member of the South African Chefs’ Association, Chef Opperman is proficient in an array of cooking styles, includingÂGerman, French, Italian, Danish, Sushi, Indonesian, Mexican, Mauritian, Central African and Cape Dutch. His favourite,Âhowever, is anything Asian. “I love cooking with Asian flavours; Chinese, Japanese…anywhere I get to play with aÂcombination of sweet, salty and sour!” As a Chef who started out in pastry, he also enjoys the art of creating a masterfulÂdish.Â

While he has cooked in some of the most beautiful parts of Africa, and catered for weddings of up to 3500 people, one of ChefÂOpperman’s best memories in the kitchen is witnessing the development of a unique, deaf-friendly kitchen at Garden CourtÂUmhlanga, in 2010. “Four deaf chefs were brought into the kitchen. We used different coloured lights and chalkboards toÂcommunicate, and trained the staff in basic sign language. So many people thought it would be impossible to have a deafÂchef in a noisy kitchen, but watching that unfold was truly special and something I won’t easily forget.”Â

Now, returning to South Africa to take up his new position at Simbithi, Chef Opperman is enthusiastic. “I’ve been out of theÂcountry for a while, and I cannot wait to come down to the North Coast! I have learnt, and grown, so much in my travels andÂit is going to be fantastic to bring this experience to Simbithi. I want to bring a wow factor to the kitchen, and really be theÂtalk of the town. One is never too old to learn, though, so I look forward to meeting the team at Simbithi and working withÂthem.”Â

Simbithi Eco-Estate and Country Club General Manager Malcolm Samuel is excited to officially welcome Chef Opperman toÂTeam Simbithi on 1 August, 2019. “I am sure Chef Opperman will find our community to be warm and welcoming, and weÂlook forward to having him on board.”Â

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