From the Boland to The Bay, Shermone Smith has always been her happiest in the kitchen. We turn our spotlight to this fierce culinary female who was recently promoted to Executive Sous Chef at The Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town. 

The women in Shermone’s family have always played a big role in her love for cooking. The 33-year-old grew up making traditional South African and Cape Malay dishes with her grandmother, and baking cakes and flans with her mother. 

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“I was always interested in cooking, but I never thought I would be a chef until I had to decide what to do after school,” Shermone said.  

After qualifying in Professional Cookery Management at the Cape Town Hotel School, Shermone worked as a trainee chef at two local establishments before heading to Doha, where she was a commis chef at the St Regis Hotel. It was during her time abroad that she refined her pastry skills, working under an experienced Frenchman.  

Shermone returned to South Africa and worked as head chef at the ATKV Goudini Spa for two years, before joining Sun International at their Worcester property, Golden Valley as Sous Chef.   

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“When I moved to The Table Bay last year June as Sous Chef, I knew that there would be personal growth. Golden Valley was a three-star property and The Table Bay is one of Sun International’s flagship five-star properties, so we are all about continuously raising the bar to please our guests who have eaten at the world’s best restaurants,” she said. 

“I am passionate about food and hospitality and thrive in fast-paced environments while leading dynamic teams, and pride myself in developing creative menus to satisfy our customers.

“We have four sous chefs reporting to me who oversee breakfast, in-room dining, the lounge and our banqueting sections, and they each have their own teams, so I oversee 50 staff members,” she explains. 

Although she loves creating new dishes, Shermone’s new gig requires her to spend less time in the kitchen and more on budgeting, forecasts and managing her team and kitchen areas.   

In her spare time, you can find her in the kitchen or on the road with her daughter, Leah. They love cooking and baking and enjoy taking road trips together.    

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