Introducing Lee-Andre Fortuin - Class of 2020
“Generally, holidays are a time for relaxation but, at this time of the year, many young people have yet to decide on a career. Please know that I am a phone call away and will happily answer any questions related to the food industry.”
I enroll only 15 students each year so, after an interview with applicants, I am confident that I select those who will succeed in this demanding yet exciting industry. The students I sign up are those who I want to see graduate.
I trust you are enjoying reading each student’s story about how he/she decided upon a career in the culinary industry, as much as I’m enjoying getting to know and nurture each one of them. It’s fascinating to know where their individual journeys with food began.
Lee-Andre Marissa Fortuin, a past pupil of Girls’ High School in Pietermaritzburg, is another of our first-year students. Her teachers chose to celebrate the end of the 2019 school year at Jackie Cameron School of Food & Wine and were delighted to know that this was where Lee-Andre had enrolled – her consumer science teacher, Eline De Jongh, in particular.
Lee-Andre is a very determined young lady. She jumps at every opportunity and is completely committed to give of her best. I am eager to see how she progresses on the course. Growing up, she tells me that she was always in the kitchen, either cutting tomatoes with her great granny or helping her mother bake.
“I think that's when a seed was planted within me,” she says. “I remember, when I was eight years old, we had to do 'show and tell' at school. My contribution to the exercise was a little ‘mood board’ covered in food pictures I’d cut out of magazines. I told everyone that I wanted to become a chef.”
The years went by, and so did Lee-Andre’s idea of becoming a chef. When choosing school subjects, she gravitated towards consumer studies, and she said that those three years of being in the kitchen and learning about food “really watered that seed within me”.
Lee-Andre’s mother was introduced to our school in Hilton, on Facebook, and suggested that Lee-Andre should consider enrolling here. After extensive research she wondered whether she’d be accepted because “Chef's standards are so high and all I know are the basics”. She came for the interview and told us she was thrilled when she received the news that she had been accepted.
“When it comes to cooking and baking, my mother and I are always trying new recipes to see what goes well with what,” she explains. “This recipe, I feel, is perfect because everything just falls into place and it’s pleasing to the palate. You also get different textures, and in my opinion that is really amazing.”
I have little doubt that Lee-Andre's chocolate cake, with mocha-chocolate-mousse filling and a chocolatey-caramel icing, will have chocoholics excited. It’s a decadent, rich-and-textured delight.
The students and I always look forward to your comments and we hope you share our recipes with family and friends.
Happy cooking.
Visit www.jackiecameron.co.za to find out more about my Women’s and Men’s Chef Clothing Range. Remember Jackie Cameron Cooks at Home and Baking with Jackie Cameron – the books highlight all my foodie adventures. I always look forward to hearing from you so please communicate via email: jackie@jackiecameron.co.za.
Jackie Cameron - owner of Jackie Cameron School of Food & Wine in Hilton, KZN - for enquires email admin@jackiecameron.co.za.
Find me on Facebook – Jackie Cameron Cooks at Home, Twitter - @jackie_cameron and Instagram: @jackiecameronincolour
Food assistant and recipe developer: Lee-Andre Marissa
All photos by Kathy Pitout Photography