Sometimes landing a Michelin star is more of a curse than a blessing, but it’s worked out pretty well for Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen.

The South African chef has now become a household name around the world, and he’s only gone from strength to strength since heading over to France.

That doesn’t mean the hours aren’t long and the stresses unrelenting, but that’s pretty much par the course in the restaurant world.

Carte Blanche’s John Webb was stuck with the task of having to head to Nice to chat with Jan Hendrik – shame.

This from their write-up:

A flourishing international career and the culinary world’s most sought-after accolade – South Africa’s first Michelin-star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen has been living the dream. His restaurant in France has been awarded the coveted Michelin-star accolade – and retained it for three years running.

Now he’s heading back to the country of his birth, to open a fine-dining eatery in the heart of the Kalahari and an innovative test-kitchen in Cape Town. Carte Blanche travelled to Nice for a taste of home on the French Riviera.

Props to the restaurant for some quality South African recipes and flavours on that menu:

Has Jan Hendrik settled the pineapple on pizza debate? Nah, it will never die.

Always nice to watch an artist in action, as opposed to the bumbling wreck that is me in the kitchen. Long live those meal kits with idiot-proof step-by-step instructions.

Well played, Jan and team, and all the best with those new ventures ahead.

[source:carteblanche]