“Covid-19 is a virus to the body but medicine to humanity.” These words by Ladles of Love founder Danny Diliberto epitomise people like Cape Town chef and hospitality consultant Jason Whitehead, who produced an e-cookbook during the first few weeks of Lockdown to raise funds for a Cape Town NGO.
He admits it was something of a labour of love, “a very honest portrayal of how I felt each day”. The well-known Cape Town chef, restaurateur and hospitality consultant is referring to My Lockdown Cookbook, the e-cookbook of 30 recipes he compiled shortly after the national lockdown was enforced in March this year.
It tells the story of a chef in quarantine, and naturally reflects the ups and downs of life during those surreal first weeks of “the new normal” in South Africa. But this was no vanity project: 50 % of sales will go to city centre NGO, Khulisa Social Solutions, a Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) partner NGO, which he has been supporting for four years. Since its release in May, the e-cookbook has already raised R20 000.
Whitehead supports Khulisa’s Streetscapes programme, a rehabilitation programme aimed at providing known homeless individuals with work opportunities, social services and the means to earn a living. Whitehead was introduced to Streetscapes in 2016 and was drawn to their philosophy of “giving people a hand-up and not a hand-out”.
Other charities Whitehead has been involved in include Nazareth House, which caters for orphans and underprivileged children. In 2017, he was the ambassador for The Veggie Box Initiative by The Chefs Who Share organisation, which raised funds to help feed children in need across South Africa. He’s also no stranger to writing books as he contributed to an award-winning cookbook written in 2016 called Tasty WasteNOTS with other renowned chefs in Cape Town.
One of the recipes from Jason's Whitehead's e-cookbook, My Lockdown Cookbook.
JW DELECTABLES
Besides raising funds for the less fortunate, Whitehead is something of an entrepreneur. In August, he launched a range of curry-flavoured readymade meals under his JW Delectables brand. The range is available to order online in Cape Town and includes the restaurateur’s Signature Chilli Sauce which “packs the right amount of fiery punch and a great balance of acidity and sweetness, without tonnes of sugar”.
Says Whitehead: “There are over twelve products under our pastes and sauces category, but we thought we’d start with this sexy guy to tie in with our first range of meals. Think big, start small, learn fast is our philosophy, and we hope people will be joining us on this journey.”
A LOVE AFFAIR WITH FOOD
Having been born into a family of chefs, it was only natural for Whitehead to follow the same route. His grandmother was a professional chef and his mother and father were both business owners in the hospitality industry.
To equip himself with skills in the food sector, he obtained a National Senior Certificate in Food Service Management from the College of Cape Town in 1996. Soon thereafter, he went to London for two years, working in different sectors including outside the food industry.
“When I returned home, I worked at Five Flies in the Central City, one of the top restaurants in the country at the time, where I became good friends with the head chef. We decided to start a business together and Outsauced Catering was born. It went really well, and I have been self-employed ever since, bar one or two jobs in between,” he explains.
To date, Whitehead has over 20 years of experience in the food industry. He has additional qualifications in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, a Masters in Thai Cookery from the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School and several other qualifications related to the food sector. His experience includes working with well-known brands including Robertsons Herbs and Spices and Unilever Food Solutions as well as running his own successful restaurant, Frères Bistro in the Cape Town CBD from 2013 until 2015.
When it comes to his cooking style, Whitehead says he is known for “off-the-wall flavour combinations”. “I’ve calmed down somewhat over the years and find myself focusing on good produce and making dishes packed with flavour. My extensive travels around the world have allowed me to explore so many different foodie cultures, with my favourites being French, Indian and Thai,” he explains.
The restaurateur’s journey has also led him to kitchens of the rich and famous. He worked as a private chef over 16 years ago, including “for one the wealthiest families in the world”. While the experience was invaluable, he recalls it also being “super-stressful, depending on clients of course”.
Culinary mover and shaker, Jason Whitehead, the former owner of the popular French-style Central City bistro, Frères Bistro, which he sold in 2015.
SHAPING YOUNG CHEFS
Having made his mark in the food industry, as a hospitality consultant, Whitehead is now using his flair to mould restaurants into lucrative businesses. He also has a knack for shaping young minds. In the past, he has said: “I have made many a dishwasher a competent chef in my years”. He says to succeed as a restaurateur, “it boils down to the way you treat your staff, as well as their ambition and willingness to learn”.
On what kind of boss he is, he says: “I have always had quite a calm demeanour in the kitchen and try to lead by example, but don’t get me wrong, I have had moments where I have lost my temper.”
On a personal note, he draws inspiration from his travels, his “tonnes of cookbooks” as well as people like Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa and Spanish chef Ferran Adrià. Outside the food business, “selfless people like Jesse Laitenen from Streetscapes, whose entire life revolves around making a difference in the lives of others” inspire him.
LIVING UNDER LOCKDOWN
Whitehead lives with his partner in his late mother’s home where the forest is right behind his house. When he’s home, he loves making curries, from Indian, Thai, Sri Lankan to Cape Malay. He admits he has adopted bad eating habits during Lockdown but is getting back into shape by training at Bodytec every week and going for runs.
“I am trying not to be too hard on myself though, considering we are all going through some treacherous times due to this global pandemic,” he says. Living in a forest has many benefits, says Whitehead, as he gets to unwind by being able to play music loudly. “I am a huge fan of Electronic Dance Music and I love DJing,” he says.
While international travel is on hold at the moment, prohibiting him from visiting faraway places like Saint-Tropez and indulging in a simple fresh truffle pizza, with Level 2 Lockdown, he is looking forward to dining out including at any of chef Liam Tomlins’s restaurants, including Chefs Warehouse & Canteen in Bree Street.
* My Lockdown Cookbook costs R99 and is available here.
IMAGES: Jason Whitehead