Meet Anne Marie Adam

Anne Marie is the new Head Chef of Misty Hills Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa and we are excited to welcome her aboard. From the onset, we were confident that she would fit in well as her and our Group Executive Chef, Ryan Houston, share something in common – passion for food! And, if there is one thing we at Misty Hills agree with Donald Trump,

it is that; “Without passion you don't have energy, without energy you have nothing” – we therefore welcome passion in all aspects of our business.

Anne Marie’s passion for food was cultivated at a very early age when she used to spend time on their family farm in Limpopo. Here, they would live off the land which meant lots of fresh, organic and healthy ingredients at meal times.  She particularly remembers the giant strawberries and the homemade Boerewors they made together as a family. Anne Marie’s grandmother used to be up by 4 am every morning and by the time everyone got to the breakfast table, there would be this wondrous spread of farm fresh produce waiting to be consumed. Needless to say, grandma had a little helper who was already honing her culinary skills from a young age.

It was clear what she wanted to pursue and when the time came, Anne Marie studied to be a chef with the International Hotel School (IHS). Here, she attained a City and Guilds and AHLA International Diploma.

After attaining her qualification, Anne Marie was fortunate to have worked with some of the best in the business including Chefs Heinz Bruner and Bruce Burns amongst others. She predominantly gained experience in the area of banqueting and events but also had a fair amount of exposure to fine dining having worked at various fine dining restaurants in hotels such as the Michael Angelo and the Hilton.

Anne Marie also worked at Johannesburg Theatre where she gained a great deal of experience, steadily moving up the ranks from complex Sous Chef to Executive Chef to Group Executive Chef of the City of Johannesburg theatres. Here she covered huge events such as the City Budget Speech, the Mandela Memorial, Soweto Drumbeat Festival and the Caxton News Awards. This was a rewarding experience which taught her how to maintain quality, standards and composure during high pressure, high profile functions.

We welcome Anne Marie and hope to see her continue to grow as chef while taking our guests on a culinary journey with every meal.

Meet Patrick Mmbulawa

Partick Mmbulawa is the new Horticulturist at Misty Hills Hotel, Conference Centre & Spa. He holds a National Diploma in Horticulture from Unisa. His career commenced at Johannesburg Zoo where he gained practical experience through the completion of an Internship in Plants, Machinery, Nursery management and garden design.

Following his internship at Johannesburg Zoo, Patrick got more hands on experience through a Garden World Leanership programme. The experience at Garden World was particularly useful because of the wider variety of plants he got exposed to and also more disciplines such as landscaping, irrigation and flower arrangement.

At Garden World Patrick participated in designing and building the Unisa stand for the Garden Show Exhibition where they took 2^nd place in 2010 and 1^st in 2011. He also gained more exposure to garden design when he got a chance to rebuild the Chelsea Exhibition stand where South Africa took 1^st position in London in 2010. This exposure really opened Patrick’s eyes to the beauty, depth and breadth of horticulture.

Patrick then decided to go into freelance landscaping which was a rewarding experience with a diverse array of clients and requests - this kept Patrick on his toes!

In 2016, Patrick joined the Misty Hills team and has hit the ground running. His first project is to redo the nursery which will include packing plants and organising them according to variety (he’s a stickler for order). He will also conduct monthly lessons for the gardeners to train them on how to appropriately deal with weeds and pests. This will be good for the gardeners’ individual skill sets and good for our botanical gardens, particularly the roses that are quite sensitive and susceptible to weeds and pests.

Patrick also intends on replanting around the property (aloes at the reception and roof gardens for example). We are proud to welcome Patrick to Misty Hills family and feel that this is going to be a mutually beneficial journey.