Alumnus: Raidin van Rooyen

When Raidin van Rooyen was in Grade 10 he decided that one of the subjects he wanted to do was consumer studies. It turned out to be a serendipitous decision because almost from the outset his interest in the culinary world was ignited and his passion for cooking and baking rocketed. Says the 23-year-old Grahamstown-born Van Rooyen: “In my last year of school, two chef lecturers from Capsicum came and demonstrated how to make and plate up a dish and I was not only hooked on cheffing as a career, but I knew that I wanted to study further at Capsicum.” Van Rooyen signed up to study at the school’s Nelson Mandela Bay campus graduating in July 2022 with a Professional Cookery Diploma. Four months before graduating, van Rooyen applied for, and was appointed, Chef De Partie at Off the Menu Food Emporium, a luxury deli and restaurant that offers boutique wine, food and artisan coffee. His employer, Chef Conrad Gallagher, was the youngest chef ever to be awarded a Michelin star, at the age of 26, for his restaurant Peacock Alley in Dublin in 1998. Two years earlier he had cooked for President Bill Clinton and his guests at the White House.” Inspired by Gallagher’s success and international career, Van Rooyen’s short term goal is to explore, travel, develop new skills and continue to learn from the best. “In five years’ time I want to be designing and launching new menus for upcoming restaurants and hotels,” he says.