In loving memory of our beloved | Chef Francois Ferreira
Chef François, Founder and Principal of the Francois Ferreira Academy was a professional culinary artist who lived to elevate and upgrade the level of training for young chefs long before the opening of the Eden School of Hospitality and Training in 2004 , now the François Ferreira Academy near the George Airport.
The gifted South African ‘food evangelist’, as François became known in the South African food industry, passed on peacefully at his home in the Southern Cape on 31 May 2023.
François Ferreira was Bailli Délégué; Honoraire of Bailliage National d’ Afrique du Sud; a member of the South African Chefs Association, the Academy of Chefs, and of the South African Brandy Guild.
In a recently completed series, ‘Legacy over Legend’, about the lifetime contribution of Chef François to the industry and the lives of multiple individuals he said “Be creative with the most basic ingredients. Respect your ingredients. Food evolves with influences into it. It’s all going back to what it emotionally evokes because preparing food is emotional. We are placing our hearts on every plate.”
His hospitality career started in 1979 when he joined the South African Air Force. In 1982 he was appointed as Lecturer at the Air Force Cookery School in Valhalla, specialising in cookery, gastronomic history, etiquette and protocol, function planning and more. It is here where he won the “SA Air Force Chef of the Year” for consecutive years.
François started working ad hoc for the household of the then Prime Minister PW Botha in 1983. In 1988 he was transferred to State President’s Office and appointed Head of the Household Administrator-General of SWA/Namibia. In 1992 he joined the household of President FW De Klerk. First as Household Manager and then as Comptroller of the Household, a position he held until the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela in 1994.
After working as Head Chef at a few restaurants in Pretoria, and being well-known in the hospitality industry, internationally renowned Chef François, was a consultant for various restaurants and lodges in Cape Town and Namibia before finding his passion for teaching and training. In 2000-2003 he was appointed the Head of Hotel and Restaurant Services at South Cape College in Oudtshoorn.
François decided to share his knowledge and wisdom by opening a Culinary Art School in the heart of George in 2004. His experience, knowledge and love of the industry and his convivial and extrovert personality have been the foundation which added incredible value with personal experience and extraordinary leadership to what is now known as the François Ferreira Academy.
He leaves behind a legacy of love for people, for food and for a training facility with the heart of a chef in George, his home of the past 22 years.
The François Ferreira Support Fund Trust has been established to benefit the training of future chefs in need of support.
Renè Harris Attorneys and Conveyancers Inc
Nedbank Trust Account
Account no: 110 713 7799
Branch code: 198 765 with reference: LBFF01
For contributions from countries outside of South Africa, please the following SWIFT code: NEDSZAJJ.
Do you have special memory of how Chef François Ferreira impacted your life? We would love to hear it! Please submit your message below.
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