Gobey Or Go Home

Having recently won an American Express Dining Award for the 20th year in a row, it’s clear that the opulent Bellgables Country Restaurant in Swartkop, Gauteng, is an exemplary kingdom of epicurean pleasures. At its helm is tireless chef-patron Errol Gobey, who walks Anna Trapido through his life’s colourful journey...

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

I don’t have formal chef’s training but, right from when I was a young boy, I always helped out in the kitchen. I am the ‘laatlammetjie’ in my family and my mother died when I was only 9 years old, so, my dad and I just sort of muddled through and made a plan in the kitchen. We didn’t cook anything fancy, but it was good, hearty food; comforting and fresh, like cottage pies and generous meaty stews. Over the years, my food style has matured, but you can still see the ethos of those dishes in some of the items on Bellgables’ menu. Things like our creamy potato-and-leek soup with garlic croutons are elegant, but also just what we all want on a cold night; and our dish of springbok loins with a Champagne-honey sauce is restaurantchic, but also rooted in the tastes of an earlier time.

TAKING THE PLUNGE

I didn’t plan to go into the culinary world; I sort of fell into it by accident. I was a florist with shops in Linden and Sandton, and was living in Northcliff at the time. I had always wanted to live in the countryside, so I moved to a sprawling rural property in Swartkop [near Muldersdrift]. Initially, I drove to the flower stores every day, but I hated it.