From humble beginnings to acclaimed eatery, Jan van der Westhuizen is on a roll, writes Nontando Mposo
Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen has fond memories of cooking and eating with his family at his childhood home near Middelburg, Mpumalanga. His parents ran a guest farm and catering service and as a child he helped them prepare some of the meals.
This laid the foundation for the chef’s love for food and cooking, which recently earned his restaurant, JAN, in the south of France, its first Michelin star, which is a rating of fine dining quality.
Van der Westhuizen is the first South African to receive one.
“My grandmother was a good cook. The moment your grandparents can cook and you cook with them, there is a love that you build up during that process,” he says.
“I had an interesting childhood. It was also a difficult time financially as we didn’t have a lot of money to spend, so everything came from our garden.
“We had cows… a real farm life, but I managed to see the glamour in everything. When we went camping in the forest I would take my mother’s fancy pots and hang them on the trees.
“I would take exhaust pipes and weld them into beautiful flower vases and sell them to the neighbours’ wives, and they loved it. I guess I have been a entrepreneur since I was a child, challenging myself in different ways and not following the crowd.”
It is that same entrepreneurial spirit that led to Van der Westhuizen owning his restaurant in Nice, also voted one of the best restaurants in the world by Condé Nast Traveler last year.
His second cookery book, JAN – A Breath of French Air, is a memoir that celebrates the restaurant. His first, The French Affair: Tables of Love, documented his humble beginnings.
The restaurant is without a doubt one of his greatest accomplishments, says Van der Westhuizen during a short visit to Cape Town.
After completing an Advanced Diploma in Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch, he furthered his studies with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Design and Photography at UCT. This was followed by a stint with Elle magazine in South Africa and Paris, before relocating to Nice to open JAN in 2013.
“The intimate eatery, housed in what used to be a motorcyle repair shop, is like my grandmother’s lounge, decorated in dark blue and gold with chandeliers and old paintings… it’s small and very cute,” explains Van der Westhuizen
He says lots of work and thought went into the restaurant.
“It was so complicated at first. The language barrier was a major problem as I didn’t speak French at the time.
“I would order duck breasts and just before service they would send me four live ducks or a kilogram of pork belly and I would get one pork chop.
“There were panic attacks and a lot of crying, but I survived by fighting my way through. There was no option for failing, it just had to work.
“It’s a matter of getting your hands dirty and working 18 hours a day without any holiday or salary because all your money just goes back into the business for years… it paid off eventually,” he says.
His latest cookery book is a collection of more than 90 recipes, ranging from locally baked bread to amuse-bouche (a small complimentary appetiser), main course meat and fish dishes and what the chefs eat before a service and after a long night in the kitchen.
Each chapter includes a brief story behind the recipes and guidelines on how to pronounce the dishes in French. All the dishes were styled and photographed by Van der Westhuizen.
“I have collected recipes ever since I can remember. My mother used to retype my grandmother’s recipe books. All my recipes start with a picture in my head; the visual element and the aesthetic come first.
“I draw inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest. I’m kind of a modern chef, I love visual inspiration.
“There is so much inspiration out there and these two platforms do a good job in capturing it all.
“A lot of people miss that, but if you follow the right people you learn so much,” he says.
But what drives Van der Westhuizen’s passion for cooking?
“The unknown and my love for trying new things. I get a kick from seeing someone eating well, I get this feeling which I can’t describe.
“It’s like when you buy a new outfit and you put it on for the first time, there is a kick you get out of it. That’s the same feeling I get when people enjoy my food.
“I love to give and I think that is a big part of my inspiration, to make people happy with food, which is not always possible. There are open platforms such as TripAdvisor where people can be harsh and cruel, but you learn how to cope with critics… it was not easy in the beginning, but I have learnt to deal with it,” he says.
“People ask me: what is the secret to your success?’ I love positive people and I love to surround myself with creatives and energetic people who believe in the unimaginable. I learn from people and from my mistakes.”
Van der Westhuizen says a JAN restaurant in his home country is something to think about, but for now he is focusing all his energies on his continued success in France.
“At the moment I believe the time and the place to be is in France. We are flying the flag for the home country (South Africa) and we will keep on doing that,” he adds.
* JAN – A Breath of French Air is published by Struik Lifestyle, an imprint of Penguin Random House South Africa. It will also be available in Afrikaans as JAN – My Franse Kosverhaal.