Career Profile, Martyn Hill

Joined the SANDF after leaving school in the Catering Corps and completed the two year stunt. Joined Holiday Inn / Southern Sun Group in the late 1980’s and did the in-service trainee ship of professional cookery. Worked at five of their units from Vaal Triangle (Gauteng), to the Mother City and the Free State for a period of six years. Joined the Protea Managed hotel group in Grahamstown then off to the Garden Route – King George III Hotel in George, St James Club in Knysna, Wilderness Karos Hotel, back to Grahamstown with FEDICS Food Services, down to the Knysna Oyster Company as Chef then GM and a stint at the Knysna Log Inn for 3 years then finally back to the Knysna Oyster Company as GM.  Headed up The South African Chefs Association Garden Route from November 2006, had the honour to become a Member on the Board of Governors for The Eden School of Culinary Arts in 2008. I have had an illustrious career for the last 20 years and yes there is blood sweat and tears involved.

The South African Chefs Association Garden Route came into being many years ago and took a bit of a turn for the worse once Corne Levithan left the Chairmanship to pursue his own business interests. One of the main tasks of the Association in Knysna is the Oyster Cooking Competition held during the Knysna Oyster Festival. (This is a Charity driven event.) The old Oyster Cooking Competition took a plunge in 2006 and as a member of SACA this was not what we wanted. Francois Ferreira (Celebrity Chef, Principal of Eden School of Culinary Arts, Head of the Chaine des Rottiseurs Outeniqua) and myself had a meeting and decided to get The South African Chefs Association Garden Route up and running again. We got permission from Chef Martin Kobald (President of SACA) and re-started in November of 2006. The Oyster Cooking Competition took on a new face and became “The Pick n Pay Oyster and Wine Madi Gras” in 2007. This once again put the function in as one of the icon events of the Knysna Oyster Festival. Money raised in 2007 was R72000.00.

Fundamental ethic is the KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid.