Cut from a different cloth

It is a widely accepted reality in the professional culinary industry that ICA students are cut from a different cloth. ICA alumni are dispersed all over the globe, soaring on their respective career paths. Yet, the strong brotherhood that tied them together from the first day of their first year on campus, holds strong throughout a lifetime of culinary work.

Esteé Skein, ICA Graduate Class of 2022 and recipient of the ICA Merit Award for Best Practical Performance welcomed all present at the Graduation Ceremony in Stellenbosch on Monday evening, 3 April. The above sentiment was echoed in her delightful speech:

“At the ICA we are constantly reminded that we are cut from a different cloth. I’ve done some research on cloth and the various applications thereof throughout history.

In ancient Egypt, the cloth was used to preserve.

During wartime or in the medicinal field, the cloth is used to heal.

The Bible recognizes cloth as garments, a reflection of one’s identity.

But the actual manufacturing of cloth is what interested me most. The weaving together of multiple strands to form a unit which can then preserve, heal or reflect identity.

We are all manufactured from a strand of passion, perseverance, discipline, and hard work, making us individuals cut from the same cloth. It is our responsibility to preserve the art of good cooking, it is our responsibility to heal others through our cooking, and lastly, it is our responsibility to live our identities through the food that we serve.”

Qualifying world-class graduates and seeing them take flight onto their chosen culinary paths every year is a humbling experience. As students transform into chefs at the ICA, we understand that there is a common thread that connects them all – culinary excellence. It is this excellence that equips them to proudly walk amongst the best in the global culinary arena.

Just a few days ago, ICA Graduate, Hylton Espey, was awarded a Michelin Green Star for Sustainability for his restaurant CULTURE, in Cornwall, UK. Graduates Peter Tempelhoff (FYN Restaurant) and Kobus van der Merwe (Wolfgat) are both proud holders of positions on the S. Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants Lists and Alumni Callan Austin and Angelo Scirocco have both been the proud wearers of winning crowns at the same prestigious organisation’s Young Chef Academy Competitions.

Armed with their black chef’s buttons and internationally accredited qualifications, the word CHEF not only “refers to the capability of cooking and presenting food.” These graduates share the “characteristics, discipline and passion displayed by an individual with an inconceivable love for food. “

The ICA’s goal of training world-class chefs means we remain true to culinary training principles of excellence in all we do. ICA graduates continue to pave the way for future chefs to follow, EXPANDING AND REFINING THE INTRICATE WEAVE OF ICA CLOTH THROUGH ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD.