Recreation Africa

Meet Chef Ryan!

The Executive Chef of Misty Hills Country Hotel, Conference Centre and Spa, Ryan Houston, affectionately known as “Pappas” was born and bred in the Magaliesberg where he fluently learnt the local language Setswana. Chef Ryan’s father purchased a couple of Taco Joes franchises which was his first experience with catering upon his return from a gap year in the UK.

However, what many people don’t know about Chef Ryan is that in the early days, he was a semi-professional rugby player being versatile enough to play either loose head/ tight head prop for the Greenside Pirates. The Pirates Club, Greenside is the oldest sports club in Gauteng and one of the three oldest in the country!

After a soccer injury (yes, Chef Ryan was also a striker), he joined Mount Grace as a skuller for about 8 months before working his way up the ranks under the watchful eye of established chefs such as Michael Broughton and Trevor Boyd. Chef Ryan then got a SACA bursary to do a City and Guilds diploma. His career saw him work at places such as Legacy Hotel and Michael Angelo before returning to Mount Grace and eventually graduating to Executive Chef. After running a consultancy with his long-time mentor Trevor Boyd he moved to work with Luke Sacco at Irene Country Lodge before joining Misty Hills Country Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa.

Chefs Ryan Houston (Right) and Kurt Quadflieg (left) cooking and representing Misty Hills in India

A self made man, Chef Ryan strongly believes in the importance of family, having had a very strong bond with his parents and as a husband and father himself. He also lives by certain ethos such as the 5 P’s (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance) and “When you do something, do it properly the first time” (something his mom always told him). Even when you walk into his kitchen, one will evidently see the Nike slogan, “Just Do It” on the wall.