T
o saythathospitalitythrewa teenaged
DuncanWelgemoeda lifelinewould
notbeanoverstatement.
“I wasinLondon,aboutsix
hoursofftheplane,andI gotmugged
at a stripclubandlostallmymoney,”hesays.
“So,asa 16-or17-year-old,I turnedto
theindustrythatI knewandgrewupin.”
Welgemoedhadworked at his dad’s
pizzarestaurantwhile
growingupinSouth
Africa,andquickly
founda vacancyat
a Frenchrestaurant
calledLaBoucheein
SouthKensington.
“That’sthething
abouthospo...Theturnoveris high,
butthere’salwaysa jobforsomeone.”
Welgemoeddescribeshisroleaschefdepartie
at LaBoucheeashardcore,buthelastedformore
thana year.Hethenfoundhimselfat TheGoose
inOxfordshire,aspartofa two-manteamwith
upcomingchefMichaelNorth.“Sixmonthslaterwe
wona Michelinstar,”saysWelgemoed.“I’dthought
a Michelinstarwasunachievable,butwegotit.”
Workinginsuchanintenselyfocusedenvironment
hequicklybuiltskillsandself-discipline,butlearnthe
didn’twanttoworkinfinediningforever.“I’dcut
myteethcookingsimple,beautifulfoodandjumped
intograndcuisine.Butit wasn’twheremyheartwas,”
hesays.“That’sfoodforthe5 percentwhohavethe
walletforit,andI wanttocookforthe 95 percent.”
A movetoAustraliafreedhimfromtherestrictions
oftheMichelinheadspace,creatinganopportunity
forgreaterbalance,whichculminatedintheopening
ofAdelaide’smuch-lovedAfricola.
“It’saboutrelaxed,naturalcooking– you’re
nottryingforthreestars,”saysWelgemoed.“You’re
doingthebestyoucantofeedpeoplewelland
runa sustainablerestaurant.”
Doeshefeelworkinginhospitalityhaschanged
himovertheyears?“I’vealwayshada particular
driveandconfidence,andhospohasgivenmean
outletforthat,”hesays.
“It’snota job,it’sa lifestyle– andit’snotfor
everyone.It’shard.It’sbrutalandit’ssaturating
mentallyandphysically.Butit’s one of the most
beautiful ways to connect.”FIRSTHOSPO JOB: Workingthesaladsection
at Gianni’s, his dad’s pizza restaurant, at age 13.●“I’vealwayshada particular drive
andconfidence,andhospohas
given me an outlet for that.”DUNCAN WELGEMOED,
OWNER AND EXECUTIVE CHEF,
AFRICOLA, ADELAIDE, SAFromleft:Duncan
Welgemoed(left)
withcolleagues
atTheGoose,
Oxfordshire.PHOTOGRAPHY ANDRE CASTELLUCCI (DUNCAN WELGEMOED) & KARA ROSENLUND (LOUIS TIKARAM).
GOURMET TRAVELLER 65