Margot Janse (born 1969,

Naarden Naarden () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and former List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Gooi region in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been part ...

) is a Dutch chef, best known for her work as

head chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...

of Le Quartier Français in

Franschhoek Franschhoek (; Afrikaans for "French Corner", Dutch spelling before 1947 ''Fransche Hoek'') is a small town in the Western Cape Province and one of the oldest towns in South Africa. Formerly known as Oliphants hoek (as there were vast groups of e ...

, South Africa.

Career

Born in Naarden and raised in

Bussum Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands near Hilversum. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren. Bussum had a ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Margot Janse originally travelled to Africa in 1989 alongside her South African boyfriend when he was offered a job in Zimbabwe as a reporter. They lived in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, where she worked as a waitress. His job took the couple to Zambia, where she met the recently released South African political prisoners

Ahmed Kathrada Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada (21 August 1929 – 28 March 2017), sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. Kathrada's involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African National Con ...

and

Walter Sisulu Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu (18 May 1912 – 5 May 2003) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress (ANC). Between terms as ANC Secretary-General (1949–1954) and ANC Deputy President (1991–1994), h ...

while taking photographs for her boyfriend. Following the release of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

, he also visited Zambia where Janse met him. Janse moved to South Africa following the end of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, where she lived in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. She began working at Ciro Molinaro's

Italian restaurant ''Italian Restaurant'' is an Italian comedy television series. Cast *Gigi Proietti: Giulio Broccoli *Nancy Brilli: Connie Mancuso *Adriano Pappalardo: Frank Di Giacomo *Tiberio Murgia: Salvatore *Cristiana Capotondi: Angie *Luigi Montini: Mancu ...

Parktown North on the other side of the city, where she would do double shifts to earn a living. She then moved to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, where she worked at the Bay Hotel. In 1995, she was hired as a

sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command in a kitchen; the person ranking next after the head chef, usually the more hands on manager with regards to training staff and organising the kitchen. Duties and functions The sous-chef has many re ...

at the Le Quartier Français in

. When the

moved back to Johannesburg to work with Molinaro, Janse was promoted into the role. At the time, the restaurant was already award winning and had been named South Africa's Restaurant of the Year. She introduced

tasting menu A tasting menu is a collection of several dishes in small portions, served by a restaurant as a single meal. The French name for a tasting menu is ''menu dégustation''. Some restaurants and chefs specialize in tasting menus, while in other case ...

s to South Africa when she created the Tasting Room within the restaurant. In 2000, she spent three months in

The French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredie ...

under chef

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Founda ...

. Over the course of her time at Le Quartier Francais, she was named Eat Out DStv chef of the year in both 2002 and 2012. The restaurant was named eight best in

The World's 50 Best Restaurants The World's Best 50 Restaurants is a list produced by UK media company William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards however are no longer directly related to ''Restaurant'' magazine ...

. By 2012, the restaurant had been named in the 10 ten list of South African restaurants on 11 occasions. After 21 years at the restaurant, Janse left Le Quartier Francais on 29 April 2017.

Personal

Janse has competed in marathons to raise money for charities and local schools. In 2009, she began a scheme where muffins were baked for a small creche each Friday at Le Quartier Français. Following donations, this grew to a daily production for 200 pre-primary school children each day, and 1100 breakfasts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janse, Margot 1969 births Living people Dutch chefs Women chefs Dutch expatriates in South Africa People from Naarden