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- Cape Town-born chef Shanon Peters was a young boy, helping his mom in the kitchen when he realised he wanted to become a chef.
- In his 14-year career he has already cooked for internationally renowned personalities and popstars like UB40, Macy Gray, Usher, Serena and Venus Williams, Rodger Federer, and even former president Jacob Zuma.
- Peters says his humble beginning paved the way for his cooking career.
Cape Town-born chef Shanon Peters was a young boy, helping his mom in the kitchen when he realised he wanted to become a chef.
What started out as regular trips to the shop to buy onions and garlic for his mom, grew into a deep curiosity over how simple ingredients could fill a home with amazing aromas.
Peters, who hails from Strandfontein, is the youngest of his family of four and credits his "14 glorious years" of cooking to his mom and grandmother's nurturing.
He told News24 his older brother and relatives teased him for being the only boy in the kitchen while the other boys would do more "manly" work, like working on cars, tiling or playing football.
"Back then, there were only females in the kitchen," he laughed.
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At the age of 15, he started job shadowing at The Capetonian Hotel in Cape Town, where he learnt the rhythms of working in a kitchen.
His passion and eagerness to learn impressed the head chef at the time, so much that he was offered regular work, but still without a salary.
It took a financial toll on his family because he would have to fork out to travel to and from work.
After completing his matric in Muizenberg in 2008, he secured an internship at the well-known Vineyard Hotel in Claremont and started working there on 1 December that year.
He recalls how he had to be ready by 03:00 every morning for his transport to pick him up to start his shift.
"I spent three years at that hotel. It was my first paying job and as tough as it was, it was the best decision I made as a young boy," boasts Peters.
While doing his internship, he completed his diploma in 2011 at Capsicum Culinary Studio and obtained his professional patisserie qualification at South African Chefs Academy.
Peters always had his sights set on working as a chef in Dubai and kept applying to different hotels and restaurants.
His dream came true when a chef at a hotel in Dubai called him on his off day after reading his CV.
"After a five-minute phone call, the rest was history and in August 2012, I was on a plane to Dubai," he said.
He was there for four years and spent most of his time at The Irish Village restaurant and The Grand Hyatt Hotel, cooking for a variety of celebrities, such as UB40, Macy Gray, Usher, tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and Rodger Federer, and our very own former president Jacob Zuma.
"Just being in the same presence as these celebs was mindblowing, I was completely star struck," Peters exclaimed.
According to him, the only downside was that the kitchen staff were not able to speak to any of the celebrities, and could not ask for pictures.
In July 2014, when he got a call from an executive chef informing him that Zuma was at The Grand Hyatt and requested a South African chef to cook for him, he was very excited.
Peters said:
Peters said the former president engaged with him and complimented him on his food.
"At one stage he even asked me if I was able to braai for them," said Peters.
After his four-year stint in Dubai, Peters returned to South Africa to work as the head chef at Sotto Sopra Italian restaurant in Johannesburg, where he's cooked for several local celebs.
His mom, Charmaine, 56, is very glad her son is back home.
"It is always a concern as a parent if your son is living in another country. I'm very proud of him for making a success of his career, but I'm so glad my boy is back home," she said.
In 2018, Peters became the youngest chef to be introduced into the Association Mondiale de la Gastronomie, a culinary association first conceptualised by French King Louis IX.
His next goal is to open his own restaurant. He has already drawn up business plans and the financial projections to kickstart the project.
"I've gotten a sense of what works and what doesn't work in the kitchen, what trends last long what ones fade out real soon," he said.
He urged young aspirant chefs to "take their time" climbing through the hierarchy.
"Do not rush to the top without building a solid foundation of experience, knowledge and education. Gone are the days where it's just women who are to be found in the kitchen," he added.
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