Ever wondered what the staffat award-winning restaurants eat before they start cooking your dinner? Former chef turned photographer, Claire Gunn, knows. She took her camera backstage to document the ‘family’ meal, whch can forge deep connections in a kitchen team.
Claire Gunn’s love affair with the kitchen started with her first visit to the Spur. “I sat watching the grill on Dean Street in Newlands and was mesmerised by the flames licking at the blue tiles. Orders were going in and men were sweating and grilling, then a plate would magically appear on the pass and I’d be like ‘Is it mine, is it mine?’ I’ll never forget the excitement, the smell, the sound. It’s what keeps me going back into the kitchen.”
Spend time talking to Claire about her work and you’ll realise this is not just her job, this is her passion, and she is endlessly thrilled (and slightly disbelieving) that she gets to spend her days combining her two great loves: food and photography. She’s only been doing the latter professionally for the past seven years and is entirely self taught – hard to believe considering she’s the official photographer for some of the country’s best restaurants.
The spark that was lit in the Newlands Spur became a fire when Claire was in her late teens. “When Food Network arrived in SA I started watching Rick Stein and Keith Floyd and decided I wanted to travel the world and be a chef. I had no idea what I was in for...”
It turned out she was headed for some of her biggest career and life lessons courtesy of her bosses in the kitchens of the UK. “Today when I have a new assignment, no matter how daunting, I know I’ll get it right. That idea of not failing came from those hard-assed Scottish men who threw pots at me and told me that if I ever wanted to be anything I would have to make sacrifices. There was lots of swearing. It was hardcore.
この記事は Woolworths TASTE の April 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Woolworths TASTE の April 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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