SOPHIA'S STORY:

Everyone who has tasted my food has asked me the big question,

“Where did you train?” Well, my love affair with food started at about five years of age. Perhaps even earlier – I think it’s in my genes! I grew up surrounded by kitchen aromas, and at around five years of age, began to show an interest.

So, my grandfather fielded a wooden box for me to reach the stove beside my Lebanese Granny.

And, to this day, the smell of garlic takes me straight back there…

My late Mother was a very powerful force in shaping my current ‘chefdom’! One of the things she did was to allow me to be creative in the kitchen. She would ask me to prepare the meal from an early age on, and never dictate what I should be doing. She gave me the wings to fly beyond the conventional clouds of flavour in the kitchen. And so, her little Right Brain Chef was born…

My Afrikaans Ouma, whom I only saw twice a year, was also a brilliant cook, and her passion for the traditional food of our beautiful country inspires me to this day.
And then, yes, I studied food and wine for six years, but these years really

only put words to a melody that had been playing throughout my Life!

SOPHIA’S PASSION

When it comes to food, I like to get down and dirty – I love good, wholesome home cooking, chunks of bread dipped in juices, melting butter… I guess that my saving grace is that I have very little fear when it comes to cooking, and I try to expel fear in general from my life! I love presentation – colour, texture – and believe that food should not only taste good, but that ‘tasting good’ starts with ‘looking good’!

My strength is to reinterpret traditional recipes in new combinations, permutations and presentations.

I love children – perhaps it’s because I’ve never really grown up myself, and hope I never will. Their honesty and transparency is something I strive towards. And then I love the wisdom of older people! I’ve learnt my biggest life lessons from a three-year old, and a seventy-year old. My Grandfather’s advice shaped my life – he said, “Anything worth doing, is worth doing well!” And when my Mother passed away, in the stillness that followed, I learnt how short life was. So, I live my life according to these truths – whatever I embark on is worth doing well, and I do whatever I am busy with, with gusto because I know that our time here is over before we know it, and I would like to end it all with as few regrets as possible!

I was wise enough to choose a life partner who inspires and challenges me to greater things. Not only is he a brilliant dentist, but my husband has a passion for Italian food, the Italian language and all things Italian, and loves playing with risottos and pastas. He does this well!

Family, friends and food form the cornerstones of the amazing life that I live! The rest is made up of reading, writing, playing, singing, laughter and thoughtfulness!

I am loyal to a few suppliers of excellent fresh produce in Cape Town. The availability and quality in this beautiful city is phenomenal!

And then, as I am learning and growing, and my experience is developing, so my dishes change and get better. I believe that the learning must never stop! And so the learning of where to shop also continues to grow.

I grow my own herbs. And I have seven artichoke plants that will hopefully produce enough of these gems to keep me satisfied in the seasons to come