Meet Uttam Singh

Chef Uttam Singh is one of two Indian chefs from Delhi, in the North of India, plying his trade with Recreation Africa (at Misty Hills Country Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa and Kedar Heritage Lodge, Conference Centre & Spa). His culinary journey commenced 17 years ago in Mumbai, India where he started working at the Ramee Guestline Hotel.

Mumbai's culture is a blend of traditional festivals, food, music, and theatres. The city offers a cosmopolitan and diverse lifestyle with a variety of food, entertainment, and night life, available in a form and abundance comparable to that in other world capitals. Mumbai's history as a major trading centre has led to a diverse range of cultures, religions, and cuisines coexisting in the city. This was an absolutely great place for Chef Uttam to “earn his stripes” if you will.

Chef Uttam has a wife and 2 kids and he moved to South Africa 8 years ago. He has been with the Recreation Africa group for 2 years now. He specialises in Mugalai food, Indian and Tandoori and he even dabbles in “Indian Chinese” food which he says is a spicy take on Chinese food. Apart from his love and expertise in the Indian cuisine, Chef Uttam enjoys other flavours from other cultures such as Mexican and Thai food.

Chef Uttam is an avid cricket fan and enjoys watching the Indian Premier League (IPL) where, even though he ought to be rooting for the Delhi Dare-Devils (at least from a geographical perspective), he is a Chennai Super Kings fan because, as he puts it, “they are simply the best!”.

Meet Sabbir Ahmed

Chef Sabbir Ahmed is one of two Indian chefs from India who form part of the Recreation Africa culinary team (Misty Hills Country Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa and Kedar Heritage Lodge, Conference Centre & Spa). He comes from Lucknow city in India. Lucknow is the capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India and is a major metropolitan city of India. Lucknow is also the administrative headquarters of the District and, according to Sabbir, “by far the best city in India!” It is the second largest city in north and central India, after New Delhi. Chef Sabbir then moved to Delhi where his wife, three daughters and two sons live today.

Sabbir’s journey into becoming a chef was almost non negotiable as he comes from a long line of chefs in his family. His grandfather and father were both chefs and this left little choice for Sabbir and his brother (who is also a chef) as any deviation would have been “breaking tradition”. Fortunately for Sabbir, he never felt any pressure to pursue the culinary arts and it came naturally as something he is passionate about.

Chef Sabbir been a chef since 2002 and he joined the Recreation Africa group in June 2014. He is taking the establishment’s Indian cuisine to the next level through imparting the wealth of experience that he gained at various restaurants. These restaurants include the ITC Maurya (5 star luxury Hotels) & New Delhi; Le Meridean (5 star luxury Hotels), New Delhi; Fortune in Garazia hotel and 5 star Delax hotel and world renowned restaurants including the iconic Bhukara. 

Meet Nicolene Nortjee

Nicolene is the Pastry Sous Chef at Misty Hills Country Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa. Her journey into pastry is an interesting one. You see, Nicolene started her journey at culinary school although she wasn’t particularly interested in cooking. That is, until the first time she ever stepped into the pastry kitchen and, in an instant, she immediately fell in love with pastry! The rest, as they say, is history. One of our pre-requisites for all those associated with our brand at Recreation Africa is passion and Nicolene, particularly when it comes to  pastry (desserts and cakes too), oozes tonnes of it.

One thing you didn’t know about Nicolene’s work is that behind every cake she makes, whether

it’s a birthday, anniversary, surprise gift or a baby shower; there is a story of the person who it has been commissioned for. This story influences her creative process to ensure that the cake reflects the person and personality. She simply loves this “behind the scenes” approach to her baking as it is always a pleasure to see the look on the face of yet another satisfied client.

Nicolene’s creative process has three tenants that must be upheld each and every time she prepares something and these are perfection; she strives for perfection in every dessert, happiness; it must bring happiness to the diner and improvement; it must always be an improvement on the last dessert.