Dining out is not a binary experience according to Greenhouse’s Executive Chef Peter Tempelhoff, whose menus are meticulously designed around a holistic sensory dining experience. Whether it’s a smell, image or feeling that inspires, Peter creates modern, complex dishes that earned Greenhouse Restaurant the Eat Out accolade of Top Five restaurants to visit in 2017. Laying further testimony to Greenhouse’s legacy of excellence, Eat Out has billed the restaurant as one of the Top Ten eateries to visit for eight years running. To boot, Greenhouse Restaurant took home the trophy for best South African Restaurant of the Year in the 2011 Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards. This string of praise proves Peter to be a stalwart on the South African culinary map, and a shape-shifter behind the country’s rise in stature as an international destination for progressive world-class cuisine.

Peter began his chef training in Cape Town at the Institute of Culinary Arts, before being awarded a bursary to study abroad at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America following which he made a trans-Atlantic leap to London and worked his way through a series of Michelin-starred restaurants. 

Mentored by globally renowned chefs, Peter cut his teeth at London’s Quo Vadis with Marco Pierre White at the helm before moving on to Hambleton Hall under Aaron Patterson, a restaurant that boasted a Michelin star. Building on this experience, Peter took his knives to the Michelin starred Zafferano under the guidance of renowned Italian chef, Giorgio Locatelli and in 2005, his British tenure culminated in a move to American Brasserie, Automat where he crafted the restaurant to be one of the best places to dine in London, heralding nods from Harpers And Queen Restaurant Awards (nominated for Restaurant of the Year) and a vote as Top Table in London 2005.  

Arriving back in South Africa in 2007, Peter was appointed Executive Chef at Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate in Franschhoek where his local renown quickly grew amounting in his being voted Sunday Times Chef of the Year.

Tempelhoff moved to The Liz McGrath Collection in 2008 where he was tasked with overseeing the 5 kitchens across the portfolio. During Peter’s tenure as Executive Chef, the collection has been awarded numerous accolades – including holding a record nine stars at once throughout the group from Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide. The SeaFood at The Plettenberg was named best Hotel Restaurant on the Garden Route for 2009 and 2010 by CXPress Newspaper. Peter has also put The Cellars-Hohenort Hotel on the culinary map through the Greenhouse’s ongoing success, which consistently draws awards as well as a discerning foodie crowd.

When asked “why cooking?”, Chef Peter cites a 7-course dinner, prepared by Raymond Blanc at The Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl in 1996, as the food moment that made him want to become a chef saying, “Each dish that Raymond cooked was beyond superb – beautifully created, simple and balanced; I told myself that I would like to cook like him one day. There have been other great meals along the way, but none could come close to the meal that affirmed my decision to become a chef. It was the meal of a lifetime!”

Peter is inspired by the abundant and diverse resources offered by the local landscape (ocean, garden, veld and farmlands) and the rich food history and heritage of South Africa. His menus incorporate innovative cooking and preparation methods and his dishes are always plated with meticulous attention to detail and inspiring levels of artistry – he’s constantly experimenting with new flavours and ideas, stretching the boundaries and elevating the Cape’s dining experience.  

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FOOD NETWORK ADDS VA VOOM TO SOUTH AFRICAN KITCHENS WITH BRAND NEW SHOW SIBA’S TABLE: SIBALICIOUS 

Siba’s new series will premiere on Thursday 15 February at 20:00 CAT on Food Network (10x30) 

JOHANNESBURG (5 February 2018) – Food Network announces brand new series Siba’s Table: Sibalicious will premiere on Thursday 15 February at 20:00 CAT. This series features recipes submitted by loyal fans as well as all new Sibalicious recipes developed by the Food Network star.  

Watch as Siba adds va voom to recipes submitted from around the globe, adding twists to local favourites and international delicacies alike. South African braaied butterflied lamb is paired with a Mediterranean couscous salad and homemade tzatziki for a divine weekend dinner. Travel to Europe to enjoy an Italian feast including Siba’s #Busymom’s cheat pizza, saving you time to savor the raspberry tiramisu trifle for dessert.  

With each episode dedicated to a theme, this series is packed with recipes and tips for everyone. Keeping it local, Siba’s going to the market for the freshest ingredients in Cape Town to cook her home town shakshuka – the perfect bargain brunch. Time conscious chefs will be inspired by Siba’s shortcut spinach lasagna and favourite make ahead marvels, including a flawless Thai Prawn Basil Curry that goes from fridge to table in less than thirty minutes. For show stopper entertainers interested in perfecting their own va voom prepare to be inspired by Siba’s exceptional food styling with a beautiful jazzed-up cheesecake. 

Phillip Luff, Managing Director, UK & EMEA Scripps Networks Interactive, said: “Food Network is incredibly proud that this innovative new format brings fans so much closer to Siba’s table. The success of the #MakeItSibalicous campaign is a testament to Siba’s talent and worldwide popularity. Siba’s mix of fast, fabulous and easy entertaining recipes are perfect for this modern world and I look forward to watching Siba’s Table: Sibalicious.”  Siba’s Table: Sibalicious (10 x 30) will premiere on Thursday 15 February at 20:00 CAT on Food Network, DStv Premium and Compact, channel 175.

September 2017: Having worked alongside some of Europe and South Africa’s most acclaimed chefs, Farrel Hirsch now brings his exuberant mix of passion and experience to Joburg with his appointment as chef of the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff Johannesburg’s flagship eatery, View Restaurant.The 30-year-old studied professional cookery in Nottingham, and was declared runner-up for that city’s 2008 Young Chef of the Year competition.

After five years of working in the UK, the pull of home proved too strong: he moved back to Durban, where he was born, to join The Oyster Box Hotel’s Grill Room Restaurant. Having worked in the kitchens of the Singita group of luxury lodges, his two most recent posts were in Cape Town where he worked with Peter Tempelhoff at the acclaimed Greenhouse Restaurant. He then worked at The Test Kitchen (awarded Top Restaurant in SA at the Eat Out Awards from 2012 to 2016) seconding Luke Dale-Roberts before becoming head chef at View Restaurant.The restaurant – which following its opening in 2014 fast became a favourite fine dining destination for Joburg’s most discerning foodies – was previously helmed by Dirk Gieselmann, who had previously served as Chef de Cuisine alongside owner Marc Haeberlin at the famed Michelin three-star Auberge de l’Ill restaurant in Illhauesern in France’s Alsace region.Hirsch loves to travel, experiencing different cultures and meeting new people – whether that’s visiting the Dalai Lama’s home in Dharamsala or seeing the ancient pagodas of Burma.

His travels are also an opportunity to broaden his culinary horizons. “I love stepping out of my comfort zone – I’m always excited by the idea of the unknown,” he says. “Nothing beats going to a foreign country where no one speaks English and pointing at the dish being eaten at the table next to you, and order that. Not to taste is not to know.”This curious, adventurous spirit informs his approach back home in the kitchen. “If you look close enough at View’s dishes there will always be a classic thought behind it but pushed out far enough so that it is something completely new,” he says.

“South Africa produces a bounty of high quality ingredients, and so we want our diners to taste the finest this country has to offer,” he says. Changing every week, his menus are an opportunity to showcase the freshest local and seasonal produce in breathtakingly creative ways. Working closely with trusted local suppliers and farmers to provide special ingredients including foraged mushrooms, Karoo lamb and fynbos, Hirsch will also be procuring herbs and vegetables from the hotel’s new food garden.While the unsurpassed vistas of Joburg’s jacaranda-cloaked northern suburbs makes any meal at View unforgettable by default, the sociable Hirsch is committed to serving up much more than great food and incredible views. For him, the personal touch is paramount.“I love meeting the people I’m cooking for, and sharing with them the stories of the food I make” he says. “While I see my role as building on the stellar dining experience created by my predecessor, I do have a few changes of my own up my sleeve,” Hirsch confirms. “The first is the launch of “Preview” – a bar-inspired casual dining experience offering small plates and fantastic drinks.

The emphasis at View, on the other hand, is on taking guests on a culinary journey – with set menus and wine pairings in a more sophisticated setting. When they’re not admiring its legendary vistas, our guests can also witness glimpses of our team at work in the kitchen through its linear window.”www.viewrestaurant.co.za