SA Chefs is a SAQA-recognized Professional Body and is a Level 2 BBBEE provider. Its core purpose is to set and maintain the highest level of culinary excellence, food standards and professionalism throughout South Africa. We accomplish these goals through the transfer of skills and the upliftment of individuals, our members… ‘The South African Chef’. One of our many objectives is to have a significant impact on the careers of the chefs with whom we share the knowledge that our members have acquired through international food promotions, competitions, workshops, educational conferences and various other learning experiences. SA Chefs currently has over 12 000 members, who include catering and hotel company directors, restaurateurs, chefs, cooks, culinary educators, apprentices and trainees and can be found in every type of catering activity. The governing body of SA Chefs is a board of directors – 10 leaders in the catering world, elected to serve the interests of the Association in a voluntary capacity. Each region has its own decentralised organisation structure. The current partners of SA Chefs are :
- Premium
McCains and The Montgomery Group (Specialised Exhibitions)
- Gold
Tigerbrands Foodservice Solutions
- Silver Plus
TORK and Nestle Professional
- Silver
Unilever Professional
- Bronze
Chefs on App, Tsebo, Rebel Safety Gear, Urban Foods and Avanti Coffee Company
- Strategic
Shoprite Checkers, SACHEF Magazine, Chefs with Compassion, Department of Tourism, City Lodge Hotels and Southern Sun
Our training and demonstration facility at the SA Chefs headquarters houses the Southern Sun Centre for Culinary Excellence, with a state-of-the-art Skills Kitchen and Culinary Theatre and a reference library. This was created in partnership with the University of Johannesburg and built with sponsorship from companies in the hospitality industry. This is where we fulfill our mandate of training, offering subsidised, basic skills courses to members of the hospitality industry, be they formal or informal. Culinary Team South Africa has represented our country in the Culinary Olympics since 1980 and received official team status from the Bureau of Heraldry in 2008, becoming South Africa’s official representative in the culinary world. The Team is run on sponsorship and they meet regularly to practice both the Cold Table and Hot Kitchen, as these are the two sections of the Olympics.
