Alumnus: Kyle Marshall

When Kyle Marshall was 23, he was faced with a toss-up - whether to play cricket professionally or study to be a chef. He chose to do both and in 2013, while playing for Eastern’s Cricket Union, enrolled for a part-time cooking diploma at Capsicum's Boksburg campus. He soon found himself alternating between batting and batter and bowl and bowling and a year later enrolled for the part time pastry diploma to get a well-rounded experience in the kitchen. After graduation, Kyle went to England for six months to play club cricket and also worked in the kitchen of a café in a small village. When he returned home in 2015, he landed a job at the Southern Sun Hyde Park Hotel as a Commis Chef and a year later moved to 54 on Bath in Rosebank where he learnt to be a chef, “with long hours, plenty of coffee, striving for perfection and the kind of camaraderie I’ve only ever felt in a team change room.” He also learnt independence and leadership and the importance of taking ownership. In 2019 Kyle moved to Palazzo Monte Casino but lockdown came and, while he found himself sitting at home waiting to return to work, an old guest phoned and asked if he could cook a few meals for him. From there he launched his own personal chef business which he ran successfully for a few years before being asked to help run The 11th Floor, a rooftop restaurant based in Bedfordview, where he is not only a partner, but executive chef tasked with developing and shaping the vision, food and customer experience of the eatery into a highly sought-after venue.