โDuring the past two years, including the challenging Covid-19 period, we have immersed ourselves in listening and reacting to the evolving wants and needs of our guests. In order to embrace the changing traveller and hone our competitive edge, we have taken the strategic move towards creatively and cleverly enhancing our food and beverage offerings across all brands of the group,โ says Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo, chief operating officer at City Lodge Hotel Group.
Part of this strategy has seen the creation of a new position at the group, of general manager: food and beverage, which has been assumed by one of South Africaโs top chefs, Trevor Boyd.
Trevor has an impressive portfolio of culinary experience, which started as a chef on Rovos Rail, followed by a brigade at the Rand Aid Association where he prepared meals for 3 000 people a day.
Trevor has an impressive portfolio of culinary experience, which started as a chef on Rovos Rail, followed by a brigade at the Rand Aid Association where he prepared meals for 3 000 people a day. From there he worked at Fedics at Country Club Johannesburg, the Country Clubโs Woodmead clubhouse, Carnival City (as executive chef and in charge of all of the food and beverage outlets and catering for the entire complex), Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Colony Restaurant, Mount Grace Country Hotel, Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa (which, as executive chef, he opened), Sheraton Hotel Pretoria, InterContinental OR Tambo Airport, and, most recently, Michelangelo Hotel and its restaurant Piccolo Mondo, renowned for its gourmet food and wine dinners.
As well as holding executive posts at these top establishments, Trevor launched two of his own enterprises: Salon de Culinaire and Schweet Emporium.
At the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt in 2008, Team South Africa was awarded a gold medal in the Restaurant of Nations, and two silver medals and one bronze in the Culinary Arts display.
He has also won various accolades as part of Team South Africa, which the South African Chefs Association assembles and helps compete in various international competitions. These have included the American Culinary Classic in Chicago in 2003 (where the team won two silver and two bronze medals), the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany in 2004 (scooping up three silver medals and one bronze), Food & Hotel Asia 2006 Culinary Challenge in Singapore (Team South Africa achieved two silver medals), the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt in 2008 (the team was awarded a gold medal in the Restaurant of Nations, and two silver medals and one bronze in the Culinary Arts display), and the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt in 2016 (winning a bronze medal).
Based on his impressive Olympic experience, Trevor was appointed team manager for Team South Africa for the IKA Culinary Olympics 2020 in Stuttgart, Germany. He helped train up-and-coming chefs who went on to win three bronze medals at this event. This wasnโt his first stint helping train students, as he had previously held the position of Culinary Quality Assurance Manager at HTA School of Culinary Art.
“We look forward to embarking on our new food and beverage journey with him at the helm.”
Trevor has also been inducted into the Academy of Chefs, an elite fellowship within the SA Chefs Association.
โTrevor is an enthusiastic, experienced and talented chef with immense energy and a contagious smile and we look forward to embarking on our new food and beverage journey with him at the helm,โ adds Lindiwe.
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