James Khoza’s exhilarating journey with food started almost 20 years ago. From humble beginnings at the Technikon Witwatersrand in Braamfontein, Khoza then started his culinary journey working under Walter Ulz at Linger Longer restaurant as Demi Chef de Cuisine.

Since then, his career as a Chef has given him the chance to travel and work in places such as France, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Berlin. It was in Berlin that Khoza was given the amazing opportunity to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant. He then returned to his South African roots where he has been with the Southern Sun group for more than eight years as Executive Sous Chef.

Khoza’s position as Executive Chef at the Sandton Convention Centre is bringing top restaurant quality food into the conferencing environment. Sandton Convention Centre is known for its innovative spirit and its commitment to staying abreast of the latest trends in every aspect of its operations.

Khoza meets Knorr

Khoza is a strong advocate of companies that support and strengthen the culinary industry, particularly as far as innovation in the kitchen is concerned. He was recently exposed to Knorr’s range of wet and dry marinades - and gave them a try.

“Having spent so many years in hotels while also overseeing the preparation of meals for staff canteens, and now being involved in a convention centre, I’ve seen brigades get smaller while we try not to let quality suffer. These professional ingredients help you meet the challenges of the kitchen environment without compromising on what is so important – taste. The other key benefit of the Knorr range is the fact that they produce consistently good results; something that can’t always be said of marinades prepared from scratch.”

Khoza gives feedback on Knorr

“Knorr has a range of wet and dry marinades that have been ‘voted most loved by South African Chefs’. This says a lot. It shows Knorr’s single-minded commitment to providing great ingredients that help Chefs to create irresistible dishes.

“I tried all the Knorr marinades, in different ways – and was always impressed at the results. In fact, they were often better than I anticipated. The first thing that Chefs need to know is that these products are truly user-friendly, easy to handle and easy to store. Having said that, even more important is the fact that the dishes tasted excellent. I was proud to put my name to meals that I had created using these marinades.

“I had a couple of special dishes that went down particularly well: one was spare ribs using the Spare Rib marinade – the tenderised meat was moist, flavourful and soft. The other was using the Mozambican Peri-Peri marinade on seafood; I used it on a fish & prawn kebab for an event and had people asking for the recipe!

“I understand that Chefs are concerned that they might lose their unique touch when using a Knorr marinade over scratch marinades, but the advantages outweigh the concern. The bottom line is that the consistently good flavour and quality is an excellent foundation for a delicious meal.

“In using the dry marinades, the marination time is reduced, but at the same time, the product is flavourful – easily competing with overnight marination. I also used dry marinades as last minute seasoning on dishes to allow maximum protein flavour to be released.

“I use Knorr’s marinades, and it is to every Chef’s benefit to explore them for the best advantages in their own kitchens.”