tothinkeachitemIcollectcarriesthe
spiritofthosewhocamebefore–
ourancestors.Ilookforobjectsthat
arestrong,builttolast.I’vebeen
attendingauctionsalmostweeklyfor
aboutsixyearsandIfindthebuzz
addictive–it’sexcitingandmaybeI’d
liketobeanauctioneermyselfone
day.Mywife,Kerry,saysIamgifted
inturningcashintotrash!”hejests.
ForStephen,transformingHTAinto
somethingofaculinarymuseumis
ajoy.“I’mrecreatingwarmandfuzzy
childhoodmemories.Thereis
somethingaboutpeoplewholikeold
things–pieceswithastoryandhistory- andpiecesthathavetravelleda
journey.Manytimes,peopledon’t
knowwhat’sunderthegrimebutwith
ascratchofafingernailonablackened
pot,Icanspotthebigfinds,likea
valuablecopperpiece,”hesays.
AmongStephen’spersonal
favouritesareitemsboughtonauction
fromtheoldCarltonHotelandthe
Gramadoelasrestaurant–fromthe
latterhegottheiroriginalmetal
plaquefromwhentherestaurantwas
inHillbrow,stating,“Established1967”,
thesameyearStephenwasborn.
Otherprizeditemsincludeacopper
chafingdishthatisstillinuseandan
Aviaryscale.Thefirstpieceheever
boughtwasavintagepeppermillfor
R5atafleamarketinGreenmarket
Square,CapeTown,in1990.
Inventory-takingisanongoing
processbutStephencanspota
missingiteminseconds.Arecenttally
revealedapproximately 1000 copper
pieces,including 50 vintagecopper
pots; 260 vintagescales; 200 mincers,
gratersandjuicers; 185 peppermills;
50 vintageclocks;and 30 Italian
coffeepots.“Scalesrepresentbalance
andclocksreflecttimegonebyand
timerunningout”,Stephennotes.
Hesaysbothcategoriesparticularly
appealtohimandarehighlyvalued
atauction.Inadditiontoattending
auctionsandvisitingsecond-hand
shops,fleamarkets,car-bootsales,
charityshopsandbric-a-bracareas
likeMelvilleandKensington,friends
andfamilypickupitemsontheir
travelsandspotfindstoaddtohis
growing collection. And chefs donate
interesting menus, biographies, signed
books, commemorative plates and
other industry-related memorabilia.
“Prices are going up, as collectables
are very much in fashion again. I know
my prices and have seen a lot of ‘new
money’ coming in, buying up items
for decorating, props, studios and for
resale. At my favourite auction house
in Bryanston, other bidders know that
I don’t resell what I buy, so I’m usually
prepared to pay a bit more for items
I really want,” he says. “A collection
may be sparked by a single item, like
a 1950s Colman’s Mustard or OXO
tin. From there, I will start looking for
vintage tea and coffee tins – anything
that doesn’t have a barcode is always
older and so much more collectable.”
Stephen was born in Grantham,
Lincolnshire, in England on 23
September 1967. He first came to
South Africa with his family in the early
1970s to Uitenhage, where his father
was a toolmaker at the main VW plant.
He recalls: “I was seven years old and
coming from dingy, grey, rainy UK to
bright sun, sea and sand. I loved it!
We went back to the UK in 1978 and
I always said to myself that I would
return. When I became a chef, I
realised this was a transportable,
international skill and, with the support
of the late Dr Billy Gallagher, I came
back to South Africa at the age of
22 to work as a commis chef at the
Cape Sun hotel. I arrived on 11 April
1990 with only a small suitcase of
clothes, a collection of well-used
chef’s knives, a ghetto-blaster, a DavidBowie Greatest Hits CD and 200
Marlboro cigarettes.”
Stephen’s earliest memories as a kid
who was mad about collecting things
include being besotted by the peel-
out pictures under the tops of Coca-
Cola bottles that one could collect and
stick in a Treasure Island book to win
a range of prizes in the early 1970s.
He used to go to all the nearby cafés,
supermarkets and petrol stations to
scrounge for these prized tops and the
treasures under the lids. He loved all
things bearing the iconic Coca-Cola
logo – a passion his young son,
Ryan, has adopted – then followed
collectable branded yo-yos, stamps
and records.
Something of an amateur
palaeontologist as a child, Stephen52 SEPTEMBER 2019CULINARY HERITAGE