For the love of food

WITH his passion for the craft evident in every word, Preshanthan Pillay, newly promoted executive chef for Gold Reef City, is the epitome of a chef, a taskmaster with exacting standards, creative talent and a steadfast belief in the power of food.

Preshanthan joined Gold Reef City’s lavish Back O’ The Moon restaurant as executive chef in January, last year, and less than a year later he has been promoted to the enviable position of complex executive chef of Gold Reef City.

He believes Back O’ The Moon is an amazing restaurant, which has paramount potential to be the best in the listings, however, his new role is to filter in a new vision of food, which keeps it simple but interesting for valued patrons.

“My mission is to listen to my customers and execute with finesse and perfection, thus being ahead at all times,” he says.

Following a long and chequered career in the gaming, restaurant, hotel and leisure industry, his positions at Grandwest, Moyo Melrose Arch, Royal Mnandi, Emperors Palace, Ushaka Marine World, Three Cities, Coastlands and a year spent in Orlando and at the South Carolina Yacht Club, in the United States, have stood him in good stead for his new position at the recently refurbished Gold Reef City.

Commenting on chefs who have inspired him, Preshanthan lists Dr Bill Gallagher, local Top 10 Eat Out winner, Bertus Basson and Gordon Ramsey, whose philosophy of “if you want something done, you can’t ask politely” is one that resonates with him.

“You have to be perfect or you won’t make it; attention to detail is the key to setting us apart, along with consistency which, in a 250-seat restaurant, is easier said than done,” he says.

Preshanthan’s arsenal of ingredients is vast, but the three he can’t do without are salt, pepper and garlic, along with a good glass of red wine, he says.

Preshanthan believes that his Indian heritage has given him an innate understanding of which methods to use to create which dishes, and he also credits his heritage with having led him to the culinary field.

“For me, the most important part about cooking is the festivity that surrounds it and the homeliness at the heart of it,” he says.

”I find it so humbling to call this my profession. I recently discovered that my grandparents were chefs, so it’s obviously in my blood, although I’ve worked with German chefs who have influenced my cooking today, as has the Jamaican influence from my time in the US.”