Chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Jameson Stocks reunite after 20 years
Nostalgia lingered in the air as chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Jameson Stocks sat next to each other at a table in Tempelhoff’s famous FYN Restaurant on Parliament Street, Cape Town. Stocks had just arrived in South Africa, excited to be doing restaurant takeovers and cooking with long-lost friends like Tempelhoff. Apart from a brief get-together the day before, this was their first time seeing each other again after more than twenty years. And, following the interview, we got them to cook together once more. This time, at Tempelhoff’s other restaurant, Ramenhead.
Contrast was the theme from the start. From the ways in which the two chefs grew up, to their personal styles and their cooking methods. Yet, some things – call it the golden string if you like – have stood the test of time: Kinship. Respect. Gratefulness. Compassion. Heart. Things worth celebrating this time of the year.
Destiny & Determination
Determined to succeed
Stocks originally grew up in Leeds, but left home at the vulnerable age of thirteen. He lived on the streets before finally landing next to Tempelhoff at a cooking station in British Chef, Marco Pierre White’s historic Soho restaurant, Quo Vadis. Today, he has a home to go to; a set life and he doesn’t worry about money and paying the bills so much anymore. The hunger to work, make money and continually be active is still there, though. “For me it’s not just about making money and being a success; it’s actually more about self-worth and getting up every morning and doing what I do, because that’s what I enjoy,” Stocks said.
What Stocks knows about food did not come from reading recipes and deciphering books. “I’ve never read a book in my life,” he admitted. “I couldn’t read until I was about twenty, twenty-one.” He learned to cook by tasting, so his education was “handed down by oral tradition,” as Tempelhoff put it.
The kitchen that brought change
Few people know the story, but Stocks grew up in the same area as Marco Pierre White. In fact, he knew Marco’s brother, Graham – also a chef – from a young age. “I grew up seeing him breaking down rabbits and making rabbit pies – the very basic stuff. So, I always had a very keen interest in food. My grandma was quite a good cook as well. I always knew what I wanted to do.”
Being quite tall, Stocks was able to get himself into Marco Pierre White’s kitchen at the age of fifteen. “If I was shorter, I don’t think I would have been able to fake it, really. I don’t think I would have gotten away with it,” he laughed at the bittersweet memories trickling through. To this day, Stocks is convinced that if he hadn’t landed alongside Tempelhoff, he wouldn’t have made it. As a fifteen-year-old, he knew the basics, but he didn’t know much about cooking. “In the beginning, Peter protected me,” he said.
Building on basics
Trained in modern European cuisine, Stocks feels most comfortable with broader European cuisine and Italian food today. His travels are his main influence and while he believes in having a strong foundation when it comes to cooking, he’s all for being his own person and cooking his own food.
Having travelled extensively, Stocks believes that Europe is a decade ahead of London when it comes to creativity in cuisine. “I’m in Milan most weekends and it’s just so far ahead of England.”
On the runway
Stocks’ social media is not only filled with food, but also with fashion. Once, while cooking for Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos in New York, Tommy Hilfiger – one of the guests – asked if he wanted to do something with the brand. “I thought, ‘not really’ but ended up doing Fashion Week.” He’s since done London Fashion Week two or three times, as well as New York, Paris and Milan. Stocks quite enjoys being part of the fashion industry and said that food and fashion blend well. “Prada has opened up cafés across the world; Dolce & Gabbana has got loads of restaurants in Italy; Armani has opened up restaurants all over the world; Chanel is starting to open cafés around the world.”
As we sat under the impressive ceiling installation at FYN restaurant, we could not help but imagine a runway underneath it. While Tempelhoff admits to always having many new ideas, this fusion of food and fashion was not one he seemed too keen on exploring. “I think you should carry on with the interview,” he laughed.
Cuisine, Culture & Compassion
The Boston boy’s come home
Peter Tempelhoff is no stranger to South Africans. His entrepreneurial, food-forward mastermind is unparalleled. Born in Boston in the States, his parents moved to South Africa when he was one year old. He moved back to Canada as a teenager, but it wasn’t until his late twenties that he decided to cook.
Tempelhoff moved up to England when he was twenty-eight, where Marco Pierre White’s was the first European kitchen he’d worked in. Stocks arrived in the same kitchen a few months later. After a year and a half in London and another four years in the Midlands of England, Tempelhoff returned to London and opened his own business, which landed him a few awards. His wife, Angela then gave birth to their first child and they decided to move back to South Africa.
Boredom inspires boldness
Classic French European, Italian and German cuisines are engrained in Tempelhoff’s being. But, he admitted to getting a bit bored over the years. “I think I have ADHD. I went to Japan in 2008 and like Jameson’s travels, that trip was genuinely profound.” He explained that the cultural aspect of the Japanese – the food they ate, their outlook on food and on life in general – stirred emotions within and put him on a new path. He’d always had some umami flavours in his cuisine, but it was only after he’d visited Japan that he realised how much he liked it. Ten years later – together with his business partners, Jennifer Hugé and Chef Ashley Moss – he opened FYN, knowing that there was a gap in the market for a Japanese-influenced South African restaurant.
Grabbing opportunities (and awards)
It was just after the Covid-19 lockdown that Tempelhoff got a notification from The World’s 50 best Restaurants 2022, listing FYN at No. 37. It’s Africa’s first stand-alone Relais & Chateaux restaurant and last year it also got awarded the World’s Best Sustainable Restaurant Award. That’s only to name a few.
In addition to FYN, Tempelhoff also opened Ramenhead on the same premises, as well as Sushiya at the V&A Waterfront, and most recently, Beyond. The latter is located in the Constantia Winelands and serves as a nod to Tempelhoff’s classic European style.
A relationship worth celebrating
“I only found out yesterday that he had children,” Stocks’ comment came from the side.
“From the same woman!” Tempelhoff joked and they burst out laughing. More than twenty years down the line and we could still spot the mischief twinkling in their eyes.
Jokes aside, there were few people who had a profound impact on Stocks’ life and Peter was one of them. Not only because he is a great chef, but also because of the compassion he’d shown. At the start of their careers, they did not have many days off. For Tempelhoff and his wife – whom Stocks had come to know dearly – it would have been normal to want to spend time together as a couple when they weren’t working. “But we did quite a lot of stuff together, didn’t we?” Stocks intuitively turned to Tempelhoff, clearly emotional. “Almost like out with mom and dad for the day,” he joked to keep it light.
Tempelhoff humbly added: “He went out with us a couple of nights. He was fifteen, remember. We took him under our wing a little bit…”
Although not related, they became family.
Christmas is coming
Speaking of family, the holiday season is now in full swing and we couldn’t help but wonder what these two talented chefs have planned for Christmas.
Tempelhoff cooks turkey every year. “I grew up with it and now my kids love it.” Stocks, on the other hand, doesn’t like Turkey. “My kids don’t like it either. I find it quite bland.” He’d much rather cook goose or duck. “But we have whatever, really. We’re not traditionalists when it comes to Christmas dinner.”
According to Tempelhoff, they used to put so many things on the table, but over the years, it got less and less. Now, they just do turkey or lamb, with sage, onion and cranberries being the key ingredients of the season.
Back home, roasted chestnuts, cranberries and fruit are quite a big thing for Stocks. But, he loves a warmer Christmas with raw vegetables and barbeques too and he’s all for the “simple stuff.” In fact, he said: “Simplicity is the best way. I think Christmas and festive and seasonal food is actually more about the people around the table than what’s on the table. As long as everyone likes it, you’re in good company.”
Making memories
In contrast to Stocks, Tempelhoff is a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas. “When we first got here in South Africa in the 80s, we were in Durban and there was no turkey available. It was roasting hot. We got a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day and we went to go sit on the beach.” If his mom couldn’t get turkey for Christmas, KFC was the next best thing. Interestingly, KFC is a popular Christmas dinner in Japan. “We’re actually going to be there over Christmas this year, so we’ll get Kentucky in Tokyo!” Tempelhoff exclaimed, clearly excited about new memories to be made.
Stocks’ early Christmas memories are few, having left home at such a young age. He’s been making many special memories with his two boys, though. “Because I didn’t have a great childhood, I make sure that my children have a great childhood.”
As the two chefs got to catch up while making Ramen, we simply watched while memories, ideas and surprises rolled over them and lit up their faces. It was magic. The memories were raw and real; their laughs were contagious and filled with emotion and somehow, we were happy to have been part of something that felt a bit like a full-circle moment in the culinary space.
images: Tegan smith
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