Shane’s amazing cooking adventure
It was a proud moment for ex-Springs resident Shane Smit (30) when he was chosen to be the group head chef of the first Jamie's Italian restaurant in Melrose Arch.
“My heart nearly stopped when I received a message from my dear friend and mentor Marcos Georgiou in October 2015 saying ‘The time has come,'” says Shane.
Jamie’s Italian was founded by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and Shane says the menu has been developed by Jamie and his international team.
However, Shane and his team will get to play around with amazing specials of Italian inspiration and to localise the type of dishes.
What really gets his blood flowing is the fresh pasta that will be made daily.
“We have designed an area in the restaurant where both the patrons in the restaurant passing pedestrians will be able to see the pasta being made,” he says.
He says cooking is like love, it should be entered into with complete abandon or not at all.
Shane gave up his chance to become a lawyer to pursue his burning passion to cook.
“The urge lay dormant for quite some time as I was always fascinated by food,” says Shane.
His career began when he spent one year at the first Janie’s Italian restaurant in Oxford, England, which opened in 2008.
“Being an executive chef is the easy part.”
He comments that being a chef means to be a manager, counsellor, therapist, mentor, artist, cook and a team leader.
“There is something amazing about the nostalgia food can bring upon a person,” says Shane.
He believes it is that warm, amazing memory that will last a lifetime.
Sharing those memories about food makes it that much more special because everyone can relate to it,” he says.
Although he is based in Johannesburg, he is currently in London completing training in the Jamie’s Italian in Victoria.
Shane loves anything that comes with a good kick of adrenaline.
Besides cooking, he loves doing something adventurous in his spare time.
“I love mountain biking, trail turning, river rafting, cross fit and about anything that gets the blood flowing,” he says.
In a high stressed job he believes one needs to release the tension in a positive activity.
“Being an executive chef is the easy part, changing people’s lives while you are doing your job, that’s what really gets me going,” he says.
