Most young graduate chefs attribute their love for cooking and baking to their mothers or grandmothers, citing a childhood brought up helping her out in the kitchen or licking the last remains of cookie dough from the mixing bowl.
For Matt Labuschagne though, it was his father Merlin who inspired him to embark on a culinary career.
“My dad loves cooking and was always the one preparing the meals on our family camping trips and at home. I remember one time he made a potjie in the middle of the desert in Namibia. Although it always looked quite relaxing for him to cook, I can see now how rewarding it was for him to feed us a delicious meal.”
Born and raised in Benoni, 23-year old Labuschagne enrolled at Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Boksburg campus in 2019, embarking on the school’s three year Advanced Professional Chef Programme.
“My dad told me about Capsicum. It was quite close to where we lived so convenient to travel to. I went there to check it out and liked the staff who were welcoming and friendly.”
After just one year Labuschagne found himself in Aspen, Colorado working at the ski resort town’s renowned 5-star, luxury hotel, The Little Nell.
He takes up the story: “My first industry placement was one of the best things to happen to me. I worked on the grill section in a crazy kitchen the size of a shoebox cooking for 600 to 800 people a day. In the beginning I was so anxious about the impending lunch service I could feel my heart thumping loudly in my chest as I made my way to work, already picturing the line of people around the block wanting to eat at the restaurant. But I knew that if I didn’t do a good job I would get reassigned to banqueting and have to brunoise (finely dice) shallots for the rest of the day.
“When Covid struck I returned home and, like everyone else, sat at home waiting for lockdown to end. When restrictions were lifted the hotel asked me to return, so I went back to The Little Nell and this time worked all the stations. They gave me a promotion and wanted me to stay, but I had to get back to Benoni because I still had two more years of culinary school, and my US visa was about to expire.”
Following his return home in 2021, Labuschagne completed the final two years of his course at Capsicum’s Pretoria campus. For his next placement he worked at a bakery in Germiston and then got a position at the acclaimed Embarc in Parkhurst.
“It was while I was there that I was contacted via LinkedIn, for a post at a restaurant called Riviera by Jean Imbert, one of the dining options at The Lana, which is Dubai’s first Dorchester Collection hotel.
“Voted Chef of the Year in 2019 by GQ magazine and considered one of the 50 most influential French people in the world in the Vanity Fair rankings, Chef Jean Imbert is a graduate of the Paul Bocuse School. He was also the iconic winner of the TV show Top Chef in 2012.”
So what does Labuschagne’s current position entail?
“There are two hot lines. One that looks after all the fish and meat dishes and the other that prepares the pasta orders. I am on the latter, which also involves dishes like the ratatouille tart which I really like for how technical it is to get right. The kitchen is small so each section preps everything for the dishes they make. I take care of the proteins, sauces, homemade pastas and all production on the station. I also do service twice a day for lunch and dinner and manage our inventory to ensure we have enough of everything and order whatever I need ahead of time.”
So what is a typical day for this young chef?
“It varies depending on the season. When we did the opening I was up at 7am, on the bus at 8:15am and at work by 9am, prepping for lunch. After lunch it was prepping for dinner, a short 20 to 30 minute break and then back for dinner service, finishing up around midnight. Currently it’s a lot less hectic because it’s low season, so I’m up at 8am and after a morning run or swim, I have breakfast (three eggs on a toasted sesame seed bagel, a bowl of yoghurt with granola, honey and frozen berries, washed down with a cup of coffee), then shower, dress and catch the 10:15 bus to work. I’ll collect my uniform from the laundry department, get changed then check to see if my orders were delivered and if there’s anything we need for the day ahead. I set up my station with all the equipment I need, switch everything on and go through my mise en place to see what I have to prep.
“I usually have to do small things before lunch, like zucchini rosettes for the ratatouille tart. Then I’ll do mise en place until lunch and when lunch starts I’ll do the service until it ends at around 3.30pm or 4:00pm, before starting my mise en place for dinner and finding out how many guests are expected. I’ll try and finish my prep before 6pm so I can take 30-minute breather before service starts at 6:30pm. When the dinner service ends we’ll break down and close and clean the kitchen and organise our mise en place list for the next day and check ordering again. I catch the bus home at 10.45pm or 11.45pm – depending on what time we finish – and get home to my girlfriend Gabriela and ask her how her day was.”
It’s a demanding, intense job, so what does he do to relax on his days off?
I work five or six days a week and on my days off I like to go to the beach or head out with Gabriela to Alserkal Avenue which is in the centre of Dubai and comprises of around 40 warehouses, converted into galleries, dance studios, artisanal cafes and more.
And where does this clearly talented, ambitious young chef see himself in five years’ time?
“I’d like to be working as a sous chef in a Michelin star restaurant. Or maybe I’ll become an entrepreneur and open my own place,” he laughs.
We also asked Labuschagne a five fun questions:
Name five things we’d always find in your fridge
Sauerkraut, grass-fed beef, organic yoghurt with rhubarb (my favourite flavour), avocados and eggs.
What would be your last meal?
A massive Wagyu Côte de Boeuf cooked on a charcoal grill.
Favourite celebrity chef and favourite cookbook?
Chef – Alain Ducasse. Cookbook – Le Répertoire de sauces by Èric Trochon (shout out to Chef Etienne!)
Favourite kitchen tool?
Mandolin.
If you had to cook dinner for five famous people, who would they be and what would you make them?
Teddy Roosevelt, Hunter S. Thompson, Martin Luther King, Salvadore Dali and Marilyn Monroe and I’d make them a beef potjie like my Dad made us in the desert in Namibia!
