P: I’ve always loved food! And my love for it came from my Mum, who started her own catering business, The Crooked Fork, the first year she left high school. So we’ve always grown up around delicious food and it has always been important to us as a family. But food only really became part of my career journey when I took a ‘gap’ year after my studies. I got involved in the Cape Town Food Styling scene and worked as a Food Styling Assistant for some of the most incredible stylists. I was lucky enough to be a part of super cool jobs such as Woolworth’s Taste Magazine shoots, KFC TV ads, Checker’s in-store branding and PnP Fresh Living magazine photoshoots. This is when I started my Phill’s Food page, as I wanted to document my journey and all the exciting work I was involved in. COVID came around and like most, the industry took a big hit. I came back home to Ballito for lock-down and got a copywriting job which did not fulfil me creatively or fuel my passion for food. I resigned after a year and joined the Foodies of SA team as one of their Recipe Developers & Content Creators. This was definitely a highlight for me as the work was so much fun! It married my love of food and cooking, as well as my studies in marketing and copywriting. In 2022, my mum got sick and her chemo treatment affected her ability to continue catering events and running her home business, Maroupi Wedding Venue. So I left my corporate job and stepped in to help with catering at home. She is well now and we make a good team – even though we drive each other nuts sometimes!

P: We cater for all sorts of events and occasions, whether it is a 150-person wedding, a 12-person dinner party or some salads to accompany a Saturday braai. We also have different catering options, such as drop-offs where we simply deliver delicious food to your house on gorgeous platters, or more hands-on catering such as harvest tables and plated dinners that require on-site set-up and catering in your home. Apart from catering, we also offer Domestic Worker Cooking Training. I absolutely love decorating cakes and following trends. I don’t work with fondant, but buttercream and fresh flowers and edible toppings. We do loads of cakes for birthdays and other celebrations as well as wedding cakes for many brides at the venue. At the moment I love the vintage-style cake look. Next on my radar is getting into the corporate scene. We already do meals for a solar training place and have done a couple of corporate events, with some nice ones on the horizon. These are fun as we have to push the envelope and come up with innovative and creative ideas. I love offering a full service at dinner parties. I arrive with the entire table set up, down to the appropriate cutlery and crockery. I also source the flowers and other décor items needed to make it stunning. This is especially popular with busy women today, who want to entertain and impress their guests but are pressed for time. My mum has 2 double garages of décor items she uses for weddings so we can come up with some spectacular schemes.

P: I love Mediterranean food – but at the end of the day, it’s all about the freshest and finest quality ingredients. Simple food, using the freshest ingredients and plated beautifully cannot be beaten. And never forget garnish, garnish, garnish! This is just as important as using stunning serving ware.

P: So many places! From my mum, magazines, social media, trying new restaurants and travelling when I can. I also started my own veggie garden and this inspires me to try creative recipes. You’ve got to get creative when you’ve got 50 radishes you don’t want to go to waste!

P: I follow many international chefs and food content creators online. They always seem to be ahead of the food game and I love drawing inspiration from them. I also buy the Taste magazine each month. It is important to know your clients and customers well because sometimes keeping things simple but executed beautifully is what is loved the most. Classics never fall out of style, but it is imperative to reinvent their plating, styling and pairing with other flavours.