Golden Impalas Bush Resort Head Chef Zee Zink never thought he'd become a chef. Now, his food does the talking, and it's delicious.
He’s not a typical, highly strung chef. Not in the way that cooking shows always depict kitchen bosses.
Head chef at the five star Golden Impalas Bush Resort in the Dinokeng Game Reserve, Zee Zink, is quite the opposite. He’s as chilled as they come. He wears his love for his craft on his sleeve, and it’s evident in ever meal he preps, because it’s delicious.
Zink said that he’s had a lifelong affair with food. “My relationship with food goes back to my childhood,” he said. “My grandmother loved cooking, and I was always by her side. That is where my love for food began.”
It’s also his gran that taught him the basics. But cheffing was not on his radar. After school he studied food technology and looked forward to audits, testing and the behind-the-scenes science that keeps the hospitality sector compliant to health regulations.
Yet the universe segued his path to earn his degree saw him placed him inside hotel kitchens rather than laboratories and he fell in love with cooking all over again.
“It pushed me to grow my cooking skills and eventually become a chef instead,” he said.
‘It pushed me to grow my cooking skills’
Since then, Zink has cooked across the country, had cheffing sorties in West Africa and the United Kingdom. He said that each environment had its own pressure. Some kitchens demanded strict uniformity, others allowed experimentation. It shaped his approach to creativity in the kitchen, he said.
“I create my own recipes by trying different combinations,” he said. “I let people taste them and if they enjoy the dish, it becomes one of my specials. I want guests to fall in love with the food. I want my food to have its own identity,” he said.
“I do not follow someone else’s recipes. I prefer creating my own and adding my own signature touches.”
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Golden Impalas Bush Resort’s restaurant Maatte hosts guests from all over the world and, too, over the course of his career Zink has seen nearly every palate and preference imaginable. Some groups are straightforward. Others arrive with recipes already formed in their minds.
“Some guests, especially those who enjoy heavily spiced foods, are the most challenging,” he said. “Some culture’s cuisine has very specific flavours and even when they visit our restaurant, many still want the taste they know from their own places. Sometimes you’d have to comply and give up your own style to accommodate diverse palettes,” he said.
“South Africans enjoy their traditional dishes, especially when they are mixed with modern flavours. They are very open to trying new things.”
South Africans are his favourite guests
Zink said that he pays close attention to dietary requirements and ensures that vegetarian and vegan options feel like deliberate dishes rather than obligatory add-ons.
“I always try to accommodate everyone,” he said. “When you create a menu, you have to think about people with different dietary needs.”
His current gig does not just cater to lodge guests. Because Dinokeng Game Reserve is so close to Joburg and Pretoria, a lot of day visitors come for lunch and dinner at the restaurant.
Zink said he has guests who return time and again for two of his signature dishes, one’s a side that people cannot get enough of. His mash. Then, there’s his Lamb Shank.
“The secret is patience,” he said. “You cook it slowly for four hours until it is soft and tender and the meat comes off the bone.”
There’s an art to the perfect mash, too.
“You have to be careful not to overcook potatoes,” he said. “When they are soft and fluffy, you add the butter at the right moment. That is how you get the perfect mash.”
Don’t overcook potatoes for great mash
Zink loves working in the bush.
“Working in a lodge gives you peace of mind,” he said. “You see animals around you every day. In the city you cannot experience that. The bush has so much to offer.”
Despite the long hours, he said he never tires being behind the pots, either.
“My wife cooks when I am at home,” he said. “I make breakfast or dessert, but she takes care of most meals. It gives me time to relax.”
Right now, he’s prepping for the festive season, too. But, he said, it will be a South African styled Christmas lunch with no turkeys in sight. Zink said that an Mzansi festive plate comprises lamb and chicken instead.
“A chicken Balentine stuffed with spinach and peppadew works well, especially with a coconut mango sauce,” he said. “Summer salads are always popular. And for dessert, malva pudding remains a favourite.”
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