Wickedly Odd’s chef pushes the limits

Meet the chef creating the delicacies at Wickedly Odd‘s magical garden wonderland dining and entertainment experience, Paula Elliott, who is the owner of Swanzie Catering in Ballito. Wickedly Odd is on at Durban Botanical Gardens until December 10.

Why did you decide to become a chef?

I grew up on a sugar cane farm near Noodsberg, KZN. My family grew all our own food and I was fascinated with cooking from a very young age. Working with food was a natural choice.

You have worked all over the world. Tell me about your foody travels…

I have worked in all sorts of environments – from classy restaurants on the ski slopes of Canada to rustic lodges in the Russian arctic tundra! My time at these places refined my cooking style but also taught me to be incredibly resourceful. I returned to South Africa and started my dream business – personalised catering. My business is called Swanzie Catering, because Swanzie is my middle name and has been passed down through several generations in my family, so it was a natural fit for my business too.

My favourite part of catering is the personal interaction I have with the client right from the first few meetings and tastings to the function day. I love seeing the joy good wholesome food brings to a celebration. Sometimes clients themselves can be the biggest challenge – it is a delicate balancing act to figure out what will work well with a client’s personal touch.

How did you get involved with Wickedly Odd?

Katheryn Stone from To your Taste approached me asking if I would be interested in helping her with the catering and once I heard the concept of Wickedly Odd I was jumping at it. We have now become very good friends and help each other out on other big functions.

Give me a taster of the food people can look forward to at the event…

On our menu for the evening, we welcome the guests with three canapés in the garden and then they move onto something a little heartier. The two bowl foods in the garden are a favourite of mine as the one uses Parmesan cheese and the other is a fresh tuna taco. The guests then head down to the main event in the tent where they are treated to an Amuse Bouche (gift from the chef), followed by a sorbet and a plated main course and dessert.

What is it like being part of this eccentric show?

It’s challenging, exciting and pushes limits. The key is to be well prepared for an event of this size.

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