Past Presidents, Ladies and Gentlemen, my dear friends, family and colleagues,

May I take this opportunity to extend to you, Martin, my sincere gratitude and thanks to you for your leadership over the last six years and for having the confidence in me to be one of your Vice Presidents. Those six years have flown by so quickly, which, as we all know, time has a habit of doing.

In fact it is hard to believe that 35 years ago, almost to the day, the great Muhammad Ali and George Foreman were getting ready to rumble in the jungle in Zaire and the relatively unknown Swiss Chef Anton Mossimann was being groomed to take over the reins of the fabulous Dorchester Hotel as the youngest five-star Head Chef in the history of the West End of London.

We also know that around the same time a group of wise, young people met in the penthouse of the Landdrost Hotel in downtown Johannesburg to lay the foundation for the South African Chefs Association.

35 years later we ask ourselves what is this Chefs Association? What does it have that is so special that it creates this unbelievable energy to keep moving forward and achieving new goals?

Is it the pride that chefs feel for their profession?

Is it the vital role the association plays in a dynamic industry, in which it serves?

Is it the sense of satisfaction and energy that you get by belonging to an organisation that is clearly focused, determined and 99 percent of the time achieves what it says it will? Be it hosting a world cooks tour for hunger, raising R2 million for charity, winning gold medals for South Africa at the Culinary Olympics, assisting chef trainees with educational funding or opening a state-of-the-art training kitchen for all members to use?

Our Association is respected globally for its commitment to the World Association of Chefs Societies. The South African Chefs Association has been at the forefront of its leadership for over 20 years, representing not only chefs from Southern Africa but from all over the globe.

Our history, SACA’s history, is littered with achievers. Many of them are in this room tonight sharing, no doubt, lots of memories and milestones and looking back at critical events that changed the South African landscape for not only the Culinary Profession but for the entire Hospitality Industry.

From creating and introducing the first Chef Apprenticeship Schemes in the mid-1970’s, to opening the Centre for Culinary Excellence Skills Kitchen just a few short weeks ago. Massive legacies to look up to, but more importantly, to sustain and, where possible, improve upon.

Looking forward, which has to be the privilege of any incoming President, I see just as many opportunities and challenges for us, the new board, to tackle with vigour, enthusiasm and of course, careful planning.

At this point I would like to showcase my fellow board members: 
Allister Esau, Andrew Atkinson, Antonette Kennedy, Arnold Tanzer, Craig Elliott, Garth Shnier, James Khoza, Jeff Schueremans, Kabelo Segone and Trevor Boyd

These are your elected officers who have also given their commitment and personal sacrifice to achieving the aims and goals of our noble Association. It is not our style to sit back upon our laurels, but to engage and energise the new tasks which we want to successfully accomplish.
 
35 years in someone's life is probably the time to regroup and take stock and most importantly, to plan the next vital steps. These are all the things your new board will be doing, our priorities will be led by energising our efforts in transformation within the leadership, and ensuring a philosophy of progressive mentorship across the entire spectrum of the South African Chefs Association.
 
The shortage of craft skills has been highlighted by both our industry and government as one of the country's major needs and priorities. Who better to take up that challenge than the authority on food and all things culinary in South Africa than the South African Chefs Association?

We understand and are committed to people and enterprise development. These are the drivers of every economy, everyone needs to be fed. Surely our role is not only to feed but also to nourish, skill and educate? We can and will provide education and development for all South African Chefs.

So, ladies and gentlemen, we have a tremendous heritage and are privileged to have the support of you, the Industry. This we certainly do not take for granted and we realise that it comes together with a tremendous responsibility. I can assure you we understand the challenges ahead, are committed to dealing with them and look forward to the next 35 years in which we can continue to build and grow.

We were elected to serve you, our members and our industry. We will do so with transparency, with humbleness and with respect for the positions we have been given. We also respect the valuable mentorship from previous office bearers and Presidents: Your contribution can never ever be underestimated and we hope that your knowledge and passion for the South African Chefs Association will always be open for us to call upon.

In conclusion, thank you for giving me this great honour of being your President, tonight is the highlight of my professional career and as a chef. I have never felt so proud wearing my white jacket.

Getting to know your new President

Stephen Billingham began his career in the hospitality industry as a Commis Chef at the George Hotel Best Western in England before being attracted to South Africa. After moving here, Stephen worked in hotels such as the Cape Sun Hotel, Beverly Hills Hotel and Sandton Sun. He then decided to focus his passion for training and developing home-grown chefs with his training institute, the HTA School of Culinary Art. He is also a Director of the Capital Hotel School and Training Academy in Pretoria. Stephen has been an active member of the SACA board for 10 years and acted as former SACA President Martin Kobald’s Vice President for 2 years.