Chef Neill Anthony
 
Thursday 2 June
 
Private chef Neill Anthony has worked in London under the likes of Alyn Williams and Gordon Ramsay. He’s cooked for celebrities such as Madonna, the Beckhams, Paul McCartney, and more locally, Francois Pienaar. Today, he joins us on the show for a curry themed masterclass!
 
Neill describes his culinary journey as a “classic story”. He grew up in a large family surrounded by great cooks. “My mom was always cooking, and my grandmother was a prolific baker,” he says. His sister also works as a chef.
 
He grew up in Zimbabwe and later moved to South Africa. In the early years of his career Neill travelled to London for work, “My big break was working for Gordon [Ramsay].”
 
“I was working for Alyn Williams and then I got a foot in the door – he sort of got me my job with Gordon. It went from strength to strength from there,” explains Neill.
 
Since moving back to South Africa, Neill has made the transition from restaurants to being a private chef. He considers himself lucky although admits it was difficult. “It took jumping into it and a lot of hard work. I threw myself into it, that’s all you really can do,” he says.
 
Working as a private chef, Neill says that he wears many different hats. “You need more social skills as a private chef, because you’ve got to deal with people the whole time. Restaurant chefs, you get in at 5am and then you leave at 1am the next day. You’re in that zone and that’s your entire life,” says Neill.
 
Ultimately, it’s about the people and the food, according to Neill. “Food has this amazing power to bring people together and every time we do a really nice dinner party, function or even [my] show – it’s all about bringing people together.”
 
Website: https://www.neillanthony.com
Socials: @privatechefneillanthony / @neillanthony / @neillanthony