Chef Mateo Erasmus

Chef At Home in East London

I am a chef that started off in the kitchen as a very young boy, with my Gran. I eventually ventured into cooking at the age of 9 and started cooking for my busy family. Later, I studied professional cookery and hospitality in East London, where I discovered a great enjoyment for hearty foods that are: honest, with good ingredients, made with love and skill. My flavour profiles are unique, with a fusion of west meets east-suddenly a boring Wednesday night South African cottage pie, is not an ordinary experience anymore. No micro this or puree that…… honest food with passion. I’ve hosted many functions and enjoy the reactions I get from my cuisine.

For me, cooking is...

Cooking to me, is a love language. You either do it with passion, or you stay away. My Euro-South African palette has a love affair with the East.

I learned to cook at...

I studied in my hometown, East London, Eastern Cape. But it was truly my Gran, the women of my family, that gave me the culinary heart

A cooking secret...

Good ingredients, with love and skill. Thought must go into each dish and with that, goes hours of planning. I aim to enhance flavour, not disguise it