From cheffing in hotels and ships while sailing all over the world, to pivoting to lecturing, find out more about the opportunities Shanay Roelfse from Delft explored so far.
Growing up, Shanay Roelfse loved hanging around the kitchen while her mother was cooking or baking, because she was always asked to taste the different elements of the meal – whether it was a sliver of ham, a teaspoon of sauce, a chunk of homemade bread or, best of all, licking clean the remnants of a bowl of chocolate icing.
“It’s where my love for cooking started,” says Shanay, now 27 and living in Delft in the Western Cape. “My mother instilled the passion in me and made me realise that food is a real labour of love.”
Following matric, Shanay decided a career in cooking was what she wanted to do fulltime, so in 2015 she enrolled at Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Cape Town campus for a two-year combination course of Professional Cookery, Patisserie and Sugar Craft.
Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel
In 2017 Shanay was offered a permanent position as a Commis in Pastry at the renowned 5-star Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel.
“Working at the Belmond Mount Nelson was a real eye opener to the demands of the industry. I woke up every morning at 3am and was collected by the allocated work transport at 3:30am to arrive at the hotel at 4:30am for a 6am start.
“My duties initially consisted of preparing the scones and packing the buffet items in the designated holders for the popular ‘Afternoon Tea at The Pink Lady’ and then replenishing those items throughout my shift. After a few months I was given more responsibility by helping to develop the requested dietary requirements alongside the Sous Chef.
“My duties would end at 3pm when the morning shift would break down to give a decent handover to the afternoon/evening shift. Traveling home in peak traffic would take around two hours and, after a shower and a quick bite I’d crawl into bed at around 9pm. That was the schedule for five days with two days off per week.
Shanay stayed for three years and, during that time, was promoted to Demi Chef De Partie of pastry.
Cheffing On A Cruise Liner
“I really enjoyed working at the hotel and met so many interesting people,” she says. “But the lure of travel was too strong, and I applied for, and got, a position as a Demi Chef De Partie onboard a new cruise liner called Virgin Voyages that was undersigned by that well-known business mogul Sir Richard Branson.”
Her days on the ship could not have been more different to what she had experienced in her previous job.
“A typical day onboard would start at 8am with a shower and a light breakfast before commencing my shift at 9am. A quick morning meeting with the commis chefs that worked for me would give them an overview of what was needed to be done for the day and what could be advanced for a function or service. A detailed handover would be given by the nightshift and preparation time would kick in until around 1pm.
“Mandatory lunch would be taken to comply with the MLC rules for compliance on humane practices and, if we had a successful prep time and all items were in stock, we were allowed to go on an afternoon break for about two hours, during which time most of us would go out and eat or explore the port of call we were docked in on that day.
“If working an a-la-carte outlet, the usual time for closing and clean up would be between 10.30pm and 11.30pm. On the replenishing outlets, usual ending time would be sometime between 11.30pm and 1am. On the unfortunate days when there was no one assigned to nightshift or the designated person was ill, I would have to step in as the senior of that section to complete those tasks and then take a rest and come in for my assigned shift at 9am.”
Shanay worked for the company for five years, rising to the position of Senior Chef De Partie in Pastry and working on board all three of the ships in the fleet, during which time she literally saw the world - visiting Dubai, the US, the Bahamas, Honduras, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, the UK and many more countries.
Time To Reflect and Refocus
After recently returning home and getting engaged, Shanay has had time to reflect on her career and has decided to take a break from life onboard ships and in hotel kitchens and refocus on her future.
“I’m currently busy with my assessor’s course to hopefully enter the lecturing field of my profession and hope to be equally as successful in that. Maybe I’ll be fortunate enough to end up back at my old alma mater,” she laughs.
In addition to her talents in the kitchen, Shanay is also an accomplished musician and artist.
“I grew up around music my entire life and I am considered an ‘old soul’ when it comes to my taste. I love the way instruments individually have a significant part to play. Classically, I play the violin and was a member of the University of the Western Cape Orchestra (UWCO) back in 2008. I also enjoy drawing in my spare time but have resigned those talents to designing novelty cakes.”
So where does this multi-talented young woman see herself in five years’ time?
“I hope to have achieved my lecturing dream and be in a position to shape and mould more young minds to love and appreciate the craft as much as I do.”
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