Speakers

Born and trained in Belgium Philippe also worked in Israel, France and Italy before moving to South Africa in 1982. He is an Executive Chef and Foodservice specialist. He specializes in customer satisfaction, quality control, new business development and collaborative team leadership. He is dedicated, innovative and a creative executive chef and foodservice specialist with extensive experience in award-winning restaurant environments. Analytical professional skilled in successfully navigating food service operations large and small through periods of accelerated growth. Collaborative communicator continually focused on building relationships within an organization and the customer base to drive new sources of stable revenue. He collaborated with the late Dr. Gallagher to the three World Chefs Tour Against Hunger and was also the Chairman of the SA Chefs Academy of Chefs for ten years. Nicknamed “Mussels from Brussels”, he says that short of the birth of his two daughters his greatest achievement is being name the WorldChefs Humanitarian of the Year 2020. Having started, with the help of Thava Indian Restaurant in Norwood, to feed the underprivileged as soon as the pandemic hit South Africa and helped create and shape Chefs with Compassion. He is now responsible for the kitchens at Oakfield Farm Wedding Venue and makes a point in nurturing the future actors of the hospitality industry by passing on his knowledge and abilities as often as he can. In 2025, he was honored by the Rotary International with the Paul Harris Fellowship