Young chef climbs the culinary ladder
Former Boksburg High School student and rising chef, Adrian Vigus-Brown, is determined to make a significant impact on the culinary industry.
As the chairman of the South African Chefs Association Young Chefs Club, Adrian says he is passionate about leading young people who want to enter the industry but don’t know where to begin.
At only 24, the Boksburg resident is already on the way to forging a reputation of being one of the best young chefs in the country.
Adrian began his culinary career in high school, working under Chef Dagney, at Carnival City, and went on to qualify from the HTA School of Culinary Arts with a diploma in Food Preparation & Culinary Arts.
He has since then also acquired his City & Guilds diploma with a distinction, worked as a personal chef for a French Diplomat in Morocco, worked at a Caribbean five star resort and cooked for the Australian cricket team on their incoming tour of the West Indies.
He was also chosen to be a judge for the Shoprite Checkers Championship Boerewors Competition.
However, Adrian considers being appointment as Chairman of the South African Chefs Association Young Chefs Club, his biggest achievement yet.
The club is the youth arm of the South African Chefs Association, and a member of World Association of Chefs Societies Young Chefs Clubs.
“This is an influential position and a step above what I had originally planned to do before turning 25.
“The second most important achievement is the reputation that I have forged for myself in the association through a lot of hard work, passion, time and dedication has gone into becoming who I am today,” says Adrian.
“It has been a thrilling adventure and not to mention the different skills I have acquired along the way.”
One of his ambitions as the chairman is to increase the involvement of young chefs within the South African Association events.
“My other key objectives with this position would be to promote young chefs who are interested in the field of culinary and hospitality, to also promote research into culinary and hospitality, and as well as to enhance the learning process for young chefs.
“My goal is also to provide a central organisation for young hopeful chefs who are either already working in the industry or understudying food and beverage-related fields,” says Adrian.
“By doing this, I hope to bring fellow chefs together in an effort to promote cooperation and mutual assistance within the field.”
The club will hold various events throughout the year, varying from social, educational, charitable and competitive.
The young chef says that being the leader of such a committee of the South African Chefs Association is gratifying, but his future plans include furthering his career and to become an executive chef of a renowned hotel.
“At the peak of my career, I would like to have travelled internationally within the culinary circle, and be a revered international culinary judge,” says Adrian.
