Tanja grew up in Plettenberg Bay and finished high school at Knysna High.  After that, she moved to Stellenboch and studied at the Institute of Culinary Arts, graduating in 2004.

She then worked at Lanzerac, moved to England for a while, came back to do some private cheffing in Plett and went on to work in Cape Town at the Radisson hotel and Five Flies restaurant. She then moved back to Plett to be with her family and got a job as Chef de Partie at Hunter’s Country House.  She quickly moved through the ranks to Junior Sous Chef and recently moved to Senior Sous chef. 

She has achieved a lot since moving to Hunter’s, including winning the Gastronomica and Chaine de Rotisseurs young chef of the year competitions in 2008.

What is your philosophy on food?

Passion! And you can never know everything, you can always learn something

What inspired you to become a chef?

The love of food

Globally, which chef do you admire?

Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Weiring, Margot Janse

If you couldn’t be a chef, what profession would you ideally take up?

Pilot

Other than food and cooking, what inspires you?

Life

What was your worst culinary catastrophe?

Throwing all of my meat on the grill because I was spinning too much to remember how to count!

What is your fondest memory in a kitchen?

Sitting in the kitchen after a very long shift and thinking that it sounded like a symphony – it was then that I knew that I belonged to the madness!

What do you eat for breakfast?

Green juice

What dish would you cook to seduce someone?

Something quick and easy to leave more time for other things

What do you never cook?

Nothing – I’m willing to try everything once!

What is the one dish you find hard to get right?

The next thing going on a new menu – it can always do with some more work.

In your opinion, who is the most famous person you have cooked for?

The most exciting was Richard Branson

Gas or induction?

Gas

Sweet or savoury?

Sweet

Traditional or trendy?

A bit of both

Summer or Winter?

Summer

Comedy or drama?

Comedy

Ice-cream or sorbet?

Ice-cream

Thomas Keller or Heston Blumenthal?

Thomas Keller

Who is your most influential historical figure?

Escoffier – one of the fathers of cooking, without whom I wouldn’t have a job!