STAFF REPORTER
A CULINARY icon, a mentor and a friend to many. This is how close friends of Walter Ulz, head chef of one of Joburg’s oldest and most revered restaurants, Linger Longer, paid their respects to a man they said “made everyone feel special”.
“Walter was a remarkable man. He spent his life in the restaurant, building relationships with people. He has been here for close to 40 years, even the premier of Gauteng (Nomvula Mokonyane) was a regular. He was very passionate about his job, but the economic circumstances and the pain of possibly losing the business was too much for him to bear,” said Ben Filmalter, a close friend and former business partner.
Ulz committed suicide at his Illovo home on Sunday evening. He was 58.
Filmalter added: “I heard this morning at about nine o’clock. It’s a great shock and loss to the City of Joburg. Some of the greatest memories I have of him are when he was in the kitchen – shouting orders, attaching his personal touch to every dish. The most important thing (to him) was making everyone feel so special.”
The Sandton restaurant recently celebrated its 50th birthday and during his 35-year tenure there Ulz served Hollywood royalties such as Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and Nelson Mandela.
“Walter was as much of an institution as his establishment, Linger Longer. He was a mentor and a friend to so many, sharing valuable knowledge, kind words and, most important, love.
“He truly knew how to make people feel special, not only through his well established food, but through his joy.
“There are so many stories to share and so many tales to tell, but the bottom line of each and every one is the fact that they end with a little smile creeping onto one’s face as they are relayed. That is how I am going to remember my friend chef Walter Ulz,” said multi- award-winning chef Jodi-Ann Pearton on a blog post.
Eyewitness News quoted Mokonyane as saying “Linger Longer is one of the restaurants where you can have your quiet moment and be treated by somebody who has the passion to serve and make you come back the following day… I wish the family strength through these very trying moments. I’ve gone through it and I know it.”
A hotelandrestaurant.co.za post quotes South African Chefs Association president Stephen Billingham as saying: “With the passing of chef Walter Ulz, we have probably closed the chapter on the flamboyant yet classical restaurant patron-chef. He treated every customer as a friend and with great warmth … The greatest compliment to Walter was that his restaurant was the first choice for family and business celebrations.”
Funeral arrangements are yet to be made as his family are still en route from Austria.