Deaf American actress Marlee Matlin once said the handicap of deafness is not in the ear, it’s in the mind - Amanda Vermaak is a living example of this.
The self-taught pastry chef at the Table Bay Hotel said she learnt everything she knew while working in professional kitchens.
“My passion for cooking, baking and all things culinary have grown immensely over the past couple of years,” she said. “Communication is very important, so imagine not being able to hear what people are saying all day - let alone in a lifetime.”
Restaurant and hotel kitchens are known to get quite loud - whether it’s screaming chefs or utensils clanging as they hit the floor.
Fortunately for Vermaak, 37, this is not a problem she has to deal with.
“I can lip-read really well and I enjoy not hearing other chefs when they yell at me or when they are shouting,” she said in jest.
Vermaak said cooking and baking were all about “vision, tasting and alertness, with minimal communication”.