Marli Roberts

Marli Roberts: Regional Customer Chef-Gauteng

Marli completed her National Diploma in Catering Management at TWR, before going on to do an Advanced Certificate in Food & Wine at Prue Leith’s School of Food & Wine in London, a B-Tech degree in Hospitality Management at the Free State Technikon and Continuous Education courses through the Culinary Institute of America.  She did her experiential training at Eskom’s Simmerpan Lodge before moving to London, where she did silver service waitering at the Blue Arrow in London and was appointed head chef at the Royal Ballet Hotel School for Sutcliffe Catering.  She became personal chef to a family of 21 and in 1998 was appointed head chef and duty manager at Tredenham Guesthouse.  In 1999, she moved back to South Africa, where she was appointed lecturer’s assistant in Culinary Studies: Theory and Practical at Technikon Free State.  She then spent a year cruising American and foreign waters as a chef on a privately owned motor yacht, before rejoining Technikon Free State as a lecturer in Culinary Studies: Practical and doing freelance catering.  She moved on to work under Garth Shnier at the Western Cape Hotel & Spa before moving back into training at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Cape Town.  In 2007 she joined Unilever Food Solutions in Johannesburg as regional customer chef, where she is heavily involved in training, with a focus on the development of chefmanship.

Her accolades include winning the National You/Huis Genoot and Pick ‘n Pay Top School Cook Competition, the National Potjiekos Competition, the Simonsberg Cheese Challenge, the Easigas Young Chef of the Year, the Inter-Technikon team competition in the hot kitchen, a silver medal in the Nestle Golden Chef’s Hat.  She also has a distinction in the Cape Wine Academy’s Certificate Course. 

Internationally, Marli has represented South Africa in three of the world’s top culinary competitions – the American Culinary Classic in Chicago in May 2003, the IKA Culinary Olympics in October 2004 (winning three silver and one bronze medal and an 11th place ranking) and Food & Hotel Asia in Singapore in April 2006.  Marli was also the coach of Junior Team South Africa, whose representative won gold in the world’s most prestigious competition, the Hans Buesckens Memorial Trophy, held in New Zealand in March 2006.

In October 2008, Marli represented South Africa as part of the core team to compete in the Culinary Olympics in Germany, bringing home gold. For more info on the SA Team visit www.saca.co.za