Reading about the death of Peter Veldsman, the focus is on his status as a South African food icon, arguably the greatest since Louis Leipoldt. This acclaim from those in the culinary know is justified, but for me he was simply a friend whose presence was taken for granted in an almost one-of-the-family kind of way.
Mentor and friend: Veteran food journalist Barbara Joubert, left, with Peter Veldsman at Leeuwenhof, Cape Town, in 2017.
He had the complete culinary skill set, honed by the formidable Leslie Faull at Silwood Kitchen. Taste, food and hospitality were in his blood, courtesy of a mother who cooked at the Royal Hotel in Ladismith, Klein Karoo, and was a disciple of Escoffier. Her kitchen was once rated second-best eatery in South Africa by the Royal Automobile Club – The Carlton in Johannesburg came top that year.
And so it was with art, literature, music and his impeccable sense of dress. He embodied the meaning of class and style, together with a terrific sense of humour and a tongue not shy of verging on the acerbic. A “doos” was not only for boxing cakes in.
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