Chef Roelz

all began:
I was born in Johannesburg but we moved to East London when I was 11. Cooking is in my blood. My family loves to entertain and we would always get together for birthdays, holidays and special occasions and we always have the most amazing foods. I remember once when we had seven braais in one day!! (yes you can braai for breakfast!) My gran was a great baker, my mom and aunt are amazing cooks, even my brother and dad has a couple of foodie tricks up their sleeves. Cooking has always been a joy in our family and not a chore. Dishes … now that’s another story! In 1992 I worked at Mpekweni Sun as a casual. I was thrown in the deep-end working front of house, being a waitress, serving customers, working at the bar and various food service sections. I got to do a bit of everything and instantly fell in love with the hospitality industry. I waitressed for extra money while I was a student and worked at various establishments from pubs to fine dining restaurants and my favourite place was always the kitchen. I love the energy in the kitchen and watching the chefs make incredible looking dishes. I would pitch in and help if they ever needed me –I fell in love with food and cooking even more. My favourite colour is RED, that's why I usually have the most vibrant red hair colour! It is the color at the end of the visible spectrum of light, it is warm, positive & passionate – just like me! It signifies action, energy, confidence, courage, excitement and determination and therefore had to be part of my business name Red events & photography. I started my own part-time business in 2005 focusing on events & hospitality and offer services including photography, event planning, graphic design services and catering. I started with snack platters and grew into small ladies event function catering to private chef as Chef Roelz services in recent years. When my son, Ivan turned 18 I knew I could finally focus on my dream of travelling and going to chef on the superyachts and learning about new ingredients & styles of cooking. I completed yachting courses through PYT and my food safety lv 2 and food, prep & culinary arts training through City and Guilds. Covid-19 put a major pause on my plans, like for so many of us. I was offered a part-time position as a culinary instructor at Blue Ribbon Culinary School in East London and loved teaching and learning even more about food. I also focussed more on catering and offer private cooking classes and interactive guest experiences when required. I did an Atlantic Crossing on a super yacht cooking to various dietary requirements for 10 crew. I travelled from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean and came home for a brief visit and to service some local customers. I offer a complete event management service in planning dinner parties and other functions. My camera (aka my boyfriend) also always joins me when I cook for guests so I always offer them a couple of group photos at the beginning or end of service if they want some. Just an added little service because I love happy guests! As a graphic designer I also like to send them little digital menu’s and invites to send to their guests if they want to. Its like a little tease of what’s to come…

I am also a CPD qualified pilates instructor as I believe a healthy mind & body is key to success. Please contact me for any of my services... I am here to cater for all your needs. Cuisine types:
African, Mediteranean, Asian, Mexican, Italian, British, Indian and more