What does it take for a young chef to succeed?

loveFOOD chats to award-winning young chef Rowen Darlow about what it takes to turn cooking into a career.

Any young chef would value the opportunity to visit a different country and learn from a master.

The Cook South Africa! competition offers aspiring cooks exactly that; the winner is rewarded with a working trip to South Africa, where they polish their skills in the renowned kitchens of Margot Janse.

Rowen Darlow, winner of the 2014 competition, was keen to share his experiences with loveFOOD upon his return to England. We discussed his time in South Africa, what he’s up to back in the UK, and why becoming a chef is an exciting career option.

Why being a chef is great

The competition Rowen entered is only open to chefs under 25, so it’s a great opportunity for younger staff to get creative. Rowen has worked in professional kitchens since the age of 16 as a part-time chef while completing his A-levels, before taking part in an intensive chef programme and picking up a full-time post in London.

The Caterer magazine reported in April that there is currently a shortage of chefs in UK hospitality, which is being “exacerbated by a sharp decline in the number of students opting for full-time chef programmes.”

Rowen says that, so far, he has always been amongst the youngest in the kitchen, but his hard work has paid off and he is now a demi chef de partie in London's Chiltern Firehouse, run by Nuno Mendes.

“The hours are long and the environment can be harsh,” he admits. “If young students are not passionate about cooking then they can soon be put off” by the representations of chefs on television and the media.

However, he argues, you can adapt to the working conditions if you get started when you’re young and it’s also a really exciting career choice. “The culinary world is constantly changing, new food trends are appearing every day, and I want to be able to explore them.”

Rowen (centre) with Gerald van der Walt and Margot Janse

For anyone interested in becoming a chef, Rowen recommends getting good basic training, and finding a job in a professional kitchen as soon as possible. “If you’re passionate about cooking and want to be a chef, get stuck in and have fun.” The first few months of working in his full-time role were demanding, he says, but “once I found my feet my confidence grew.”

“It is important to feel confident at the level at which you’re working, but as a chef you are always learning, and if you’re not learning then you’re not progressing.” And, perhaps most importantly, “you must enjoy what you are doing.”

“The beautiful thing about the culinary industry is that there are thousands of paths to take. It doesn’t have to be in the kitchen: there are food developers; food stylists and photographers, private catering.

“Everyone’s story is different.”

Visiting South Africa

Margot Janse runs the Tasting Room at the Le Quartier Français Hotel in Franschhoek, east of Cape Town on the edge of the Haweqwa Nature Reserve. This award-winning restaurant deviates from the traditional sit-down-and-order arrangement, as diners are instead treated to an eight-course tasting menu over around three and a half hours.

Rice crispie snow globe

Really, the only culinary experience that could top the excitement of eating the meal itself would be a trip behind the scenes to work with Margot and her team. “She ensures that every dish has a story,” says Rowen.

A tomato dish, for example, reflects Franschhoek in the winter when the tourist season is over. “She imagined tumbleweeds rolling down the deserted streets. To reflect this in a dish she made nests of a potato paste, filled each one with a confit tomato and micro leaves from the garden” to create miniature tumbleweeds.

Tomato tumbleweed

Rowen says that he loved the creativity and thought that’s put into each dish, and moved through each station in the Tasting Room’s kitchen.

He recounts a conversation with the sous chef, where he mentioned how jealous he was of all the ingredients available in South Africa. “He told me that it’s fair to be jealous, but there are so many ingredients from Europe that they can’t get in South Africa.”

“That’s the wonderful thing about cooking. Wherever you go in the world, you will always encounter new and exciting products, skills and techniques. Cooking is universal, but different all over the world.”

Broccoli at the Tasting Room

Some ingredients are sourced by foraging; such as flowers picked from the garden for evening service, while the likes of nasturtiums and Eugenia berries are sourced from further afield.

Eugenia berries are large, vibrant purple berries which are tenderised by being frozen and defrosted so that the restaurant can get more juice out of them. The juice is then frozen again with liquid nitrogen to make granite, as shown below.

Eugenia granita

Rowen commented on the atmosphere of the Tasting Room’s kitchen, which he said was a little different to previous experiences. “The thing that surprised me most was that out of the 14 chefs in the kitchen, only five of them were male. It wasn’t a tense, testosterone-filled environment like the ones in London. It was calm, spacious, lively and happy. It was a family.”

Chefs work together for long hours – around 15 hours a day in the Tasting Room, says Rowen. But they still got along and even spent days off together at the beach or eating out.

How the competition works

If you’re keen to enter the Cook South Africa! competition this year, the 2016 edition should be launching this October. It takes place in two stages: the first is a paper-based round where you design a three-course meal for four using South African fruit in each course.

A shortlist of eight is drawn up from these entries, who will then be invited to prepare their menu in a cook-off second stage.

Rowen did research into traditional South African food to inspire his menu. Starting with a fish pickled in a blend of spices, onions and herbs, served with a plum ketchup, he moved onto his version of bobotie, a long-established South African favourite.

He slow cooked beef in its marinade, and then seared it to caramelise it before plating up with a dehydrated nectarine and banana purée and a peach chutney.

For dessert, he devised a cronut (a croissant-donut mashup) with an apple and sage filling, then added in a baby toffee apple, popcorn crumb, a cider jelly and candy floss. Which, if you ask me, sounds pretty damn excellent.

If that sounds delicious but you think you could go one better, keep an eye on South African Fruit’s website in October for more details of the competition. It’s a really fantastic opportunity for any young chef who aspires to greatness.

The winner of the 2015 competition was Tamsin Claessen, who is due to go to South Africa this summer. "I entered because I wanted a challenge," she said, having only begun her college course the same year. "It felt amazing and so surreal to win... [and] it gave me a much needed confidence boost."

She will be making the trip to the Tasting Room this August and she says that in September, she will be working as a Level 3 apprentice "in one of Belfast's fine dining restaurants."

All images provided by Rowen Darlow.

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