Reuben Riffel

Reuben Riffel
Born Reuben Riffel
(1974-12-23) 23 December 1974
Franschhoek, South Africa
Home town Franschhoek, South Africa
Spouse(s) Maryke Riffel
Children 2
Website reubens.co.za

Culinary career

Cooking style South African cuisine

Reuben Riffel (born 23 December 1974) is a South African celebrity chef, restaurateur, and media personality known for his food-focused television shows and advertisements, cookbooks and philanthropic work.

Early life

Reuben Riffel was born in Franschhoek, South Africa,[1] on 23 December 1974.[2] He is one of twelve siblings, and grew up in an area called Groendal, a valley in Franschhoek.[3][4] Riffel grew up in a family, where cooking and eating well, played an important role.[5] His mother was intermittently involved in the restaurant industry and his father was involved in the building and construction industry. She occasionally brought home some morsels from the restaurants she worked in and this is where Riffel first developed his palate for good food.[6] Riffel attended high school in Paarl. He recalls that he liked working with his hands.[2]

Career

Riffel worked briefly in the building trade, but soon migrated to the hospitality industry where his first job was that of a waiter at Chamonix Restaurant. He soon migrated to barman, but one day the kitchen had two no-shows and he was moved to the kitchen to assist. He left Charmonix to work with his uncle in a nightclub, but very soon decided that the environment was not one in which he wanted to remain. In 1994, at the age of 20, he went back to Charmonix.[2]

Under the guidance of Christoph Dehosse, he learned about food preparation. When Christoph moved on and was replaced by Richard Carstens, Riffel was made Sous Chef, where he learned the art of preparing vegetables and sauces and running a tight kitchen.[4] His career began with humility and was forged in the principles of hard work as he earnestly learnt from his mentors, being both women in his life, in the early days and the chefs he worked with at the restaurant.[4] One day Richard failed to show up to work, and he was forced to step into the role of Executive Chef without warning. Many of the patrons expressed their satisfaction at the meals they ate. When Richard never returned to Chamonix, Riffel stepped up, filled the position and was officially made Executive Chef.[2][7] Riffel realized that he wanted to be a chef when a French tourist complimented the meal prepared by him as “the best meal he ever had”.[2]

Riffel did not go through any formal channels or study to be a chef, but applied a combination of natural ability and talent. He also learnt from his family and the chefs he worked with, and his success today can be attributed to this. He worked in a few restaurants following this and was reunited with Richard, his mentor at Monneaux, where he continued to grow his skills in the kitchen and experiment with various textures and ingredients. He also traveled overseas and these experiences were also brought back into the kitchen.[7] After honing his skills for three years at Monneaux,[8] Riffel moved to Cambridge, England to run a startup restaurant, Bruno’s Brasserie, which soon drew in the crowds.[7] In 2004, he was offered an opportunity by friends to return to Franschhoek to open a restaurant, named "Reuben’s".[7] Within six months, the restaurant was a success and this was cemented by Reuben winning Chef of the year and restaurant of the year at the Eat Out Restaurant awards.[9] This elevated the reputation of the establishment and Reuben alike and the first Reuben’s is renowned in Franschhoek as a culinary landmark.[9] Reuben Riffel became a well-known name locally and abroad.[10]

Riffel continued to see opportunities to bring the offering of his food to a broader market and in 2009; a second Reuben’s was opened at a five star boutique hotel in the Robertson wine valley, The Robertson Small Hotel. The following year, the opportunity arose to take over Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, Maze, post its demise, at the One&Only hotel in Cape Town. Reuben’s at the One&Only was thus established with Reuben himself being the Executive Chef.[5] In 2013, Riffel opened two new restaurants, one at Abalone House, a five star guesthouse in Paternoster[11] and a bistro style offering named Racine, at the Chamonix Wine Estate in Franschhoek, where his culinary career began.[12] Riffel’s philosophy is to keep things simple, bringing out the natural flavors of each ingredient, and to strive for perfect balance in the finished dish.[9] In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2012, he admitted to, at that point, having over 250 cookbooks as he continues to learn, experiment and create new and flavorful dishes.[10]

Riffel continues to be hands on and involved in all restaurants and thus splits his time between establishments.

Restaurants

Year Opened Restaurant Location
2004 Reuben's Restaurant Franschhoek
2009 Reuben's Restaurant Robertson Small Hotel in Robertson[7]
2011 Reuben's Restaurant One&Only Hotel, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
2013 Reuben’s Restaurant Abalone House, Paternoster
2013 Racine Chamonix, Franschhoek[12]

Television

In 2011, Riffel appeared on both The Martha Stewart Show and The Today Show.[13] In June 2012, he was a guest judge on the second season of the M-Net television cooking competition, MasterChef South Africa. In 2013, Riffel also hosted his first Afrikaans cooking show ‘5 Sterre met Reuben’ (5 Stars with Reuben),[14] in which he taught viewers how to make five-star dishes from home. In 2014, he replaced Andrew Atkinson as a permanent judge on MasterChef South Africa, beginning with its third season.[9] Riffel, together with Pete Goffe-Wood and Benny Masekwameng comprised the judging panel and hosted the third season as well as a Celebrity MasterChef season in 2015. Riffel is the face of Robertsons Herbs and Spices and presents television adverts featuring different recipes using Robertsons Herbs and Spices. Riffel is also a brand ambassador for Samsung Home Appliances in South Africa.[9]

Books

Riffel has published three cookbooks with Quivertree Publications:[15]

Accolades

Riffel’s work and cooking style earned him the SA Chef of the Year Award in 2004. In the same year, his Franschhoek-based restaurant was awarded the Eat Out Restaurant of the Year Award.[5] His restaurant was awarded the Eat Out Johnnie Walker Restaurant Award: Top 10 Restaurants in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2007, Reuben was awarded the distinguished Unilever Chef of the Year award.[9]

Personal life

Riffel is married to wife Maryke who he met while working at Monneaux. They have two children. He lives in Franschhoek, South Africa.

Charities and social activities

Reuben supports numerous local charities and events. These include his collaboration with chefs Margot Janse, Neil Jewell and Duncan Doherty in 2012 as part of the Celebrity Chefs Challenge Dinner. The event raised funds for the Peninsula School’s Feeding Association to assist in fighting hunger in schools.[16] Reuben is involved with the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PFSA), Hope Through Action, Hospice and Pinotage Youth Development Academy (PYDA). He is also one of Paarl School’s ambassadors, a school for neurally disabled children.[9] Charity events hosted in 2015 by Riffel include the Chef Reuben Riffel Charity Golf Day[17] in support of the Franschhoek Hospice and the Stop Hunger Now South Africa charity dinner.

References

  1. ↑ "Reuben Riffel | Who's Who SA". whoswho.co.za. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Reuben Riffel". My Story. Season 1. Episode 10. 2 November 2015. M-Net.
  3. ↑ Perry, Alex (2010-12-30). "Cape Crusader: Chef Reuben Riffel". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  4. 1 2 3 "A little about our Chef Reuben". Reuben's Restaurant, Bar & Deli. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  5. 1 2 3 "Chef Reuben Riffel is a popular South African chef". www.southafrica.net. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  6. ↑ "The truffled tale of Reuben Riffel's rise | Daily Maverick". www.dailymaverick.co.za. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Our Restaurants". Reuben's Restaurant, Bar & Deli. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  8. ↑ "Reuben Riffel | Hope Through Action". www.hopethroughaction.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Reuben Riffel | MasterChef SA 2015". 2015-10-12.
  10. 1 2 "Cape Town Chef Reuben Riffel". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  11. ↑ "Abalone House & Spa". www.abalonehouse.co.za. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  12. 1 2 "Chamonix Cuisine". www.chamonix.co.za. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  13. ↑ "Reuben Riffel cooks with Martha Stewart". Food24. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  14. ↑ "Reuben Riffel | TVSA". www.tvsa.co.za. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  15. ↑ "Reuben's Books". Reuben's Restaurant, Bar & Deli. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  16. ↑ "Charity dinner promises celebrity chefs, staple foods". www.bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  17. ↑ "Chef Reuben Riffel Charity Golf Day on KFM". www.kfm.co.za. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
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