days, Stephen was the President of
the South African Chefs Association
(SA Chefs), ending on 28 March 2018.
“This was the best period of my
working career with the power to do
good,” he notes.
He changed the face of education
in the industry with the Enterprise
Development programme aimed at
growing the culinary and business
skills of township caterers, and
the National Youth Chefs Training
Programme, in which SA Chefs
partners with the National Department
of Tourism to develop and train young,
previously disadvantaged people as
chefs. During that period, many say
SA Chefs transformed from a “corner
café” into a “hypermarket” way of
operating, from membership growth,
financial stability, networking with
government and township caterers,
to broadening the base of sponsors
and patrons.
To respect the fraternity of chefs,
Stephen encourages regular get-
togethers with elders in the industry,
with chefs like 82-year-old Wolfgang
Heiduck sharing stories of his
decades at Sunnyside Park Hotel, for
example. Gathering around the lunch
table at fine-dining restaurants will be
retired chefs, together with prominent
members of the culinary industry,
sharing anecdotes and camaraderie.
The Culinary Theatre at the HTA
School of Culinary Art features a
legacy wall in progress, displaying
signed photographs of some of our
country’s leading chefs of distinction
and achievement. It is considered an
honour to be featured on this wall.CONSCIOUS COOKING
Stephen Billingham firmly believes
that being a good chef is all about
respecting ingredients, tools and
resources. This means nothing goes
to waste: professional cutting skills
ensure no unnecessary wastage or
excessive food costs; food trimmings
are reused in interesting ways; water,
electricity and gas are used only as
and when necessary; and staff work to
maximum efficiency. Students at HTA
School of Culinary Art are immersed
in this work and life ethos right from
the start.
“This isn’t only about the water or
electricity bill, it’s about developing
good skills going forward to contain
costs and do your bit for the
environment,” Stephen emphasises.
“We want to help our students change
the world – this affects food safety,
hygiene and sanitation. There is a
philosophy surrounding waste, which
we are keen to impart. For example,
sometimes it involves using LED lights
that draw less power and other timesit’s just common sense: switch off the
light! Turn off the tap! Don’t leave the
oven on! Constantly look at ways to
work more efficiently. Efficiency is
a way of thinking that impacts our
actions. I call it ‘conscious cooking’ –
being aware of everything you’re
doing, which leads to being mindful
about your usage of resources.”
From February to June 2019, HTA
School of Culinary Art achieved
impressive figures from its recycling
drive. Of a total of 6 321kg of
recyclable waste, some 3 927kg
of food waste went to composting
and the remainder to recycling. Only
1 240kg of general waste that cannot
be recycled was sent to landfill. This
means a saving of 15 trees, 1 975
hours of electricity and a whopping
9 000L of water! In a country like
South Africa, where water is becoming
a scarce resource, as seen during
the drought in Cape Town in 2018,
this is a vital life- and work skill for
the students passing through HTA.CHEFS OF THE FUTURE
HTA School of Culinary Art’snext
intake is in February 2020. The
school’s four chef-training divisions
cater to students and corporates: one
for students and three that focus on
chef-training programmes for people
employed in the hospitality industry.CULINARY HERITAGE