ABOUT US

OUR MISSION

THE VISION, THE PERSON, THE PASSION, THE DRIVE AND THE PERSERVERENCE TO ESTABLISH THE TRUE FLAVORS OF SOUTH AFRICA CREATING A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND HIGHLY NUTRITIONAL FOOD SYSTEM THROUGH BETTER EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.

Gregory henderson

International Award Winning Professional Chef, Author, Foraging and Indigenous Foods Specialist, Certified Facilitator, Accessor and Moderator (ETDP)

OUR JOURNEY AND ACCOLADES

Meet Gregory Henderson, also known as The Forage Chef, a highly acclaimed and accomplished chef from South Africa. With over two decades of experience in running fast-paced, high volume, professional kitchens, Henderson has held the title of Group Executive Chef for two leading Hotel Management Companies.

Henderson's passion for sustainable living and resources is evident in all his projects, which have included various sustainable initiatives implemented at the hotels and lodges where he has worked. A purist in his cooking, Henderson believes in preserving the heritage of indigenous ingredients and promoting biodiversity in our ecosystems.

Henderson's expertise in wild foods and indigenous ingredients has earned him numerous awards and recognitions. He was awarded Best Head Chef Africa 2018 by the WLRA and was a Global Winner of "Most Sustainable Dining Experience" at the LUX Awards in the same year. In addition, Henderson received a Silver Medal for his Salon Culinaire presentation at the Hostex Salon Culinaire Competition in 2006 and was a Chef of the Year Regional Finalist in 2007.

Henderson's biggest passion lies in wild foods. He believes that South Africa is bountiful with wild foods and indigenous ingredients that our ancestors survived on for generations. Henderson considers himself a custodian of wild foods and is committed to preserving the wild foods and the heritage of indigenous ingredients. He has been fortunate to have traveled throughout Africa, where he has had the opportunity to understand and learn various African culinary cultures and heritage foods, which has inspired him to showcase a proudly South African product.

Henderson also believes in employing local community staff to develop and transfer skills to elevate the competency level of mostly unskilled labor. He enjoys going on this journey with them and has developed a training course to promote a Biodiversity Academy for Food and Wine.

Currently residing in the Western Cape, within the largest and most diverse floral kingdoms in the world, Henderson continues to forage and scout for indigenous and wild ingredients. He is a regenerative culinary-minded professional, looking back to look forward sustainably. With his impressive background, deep knowledge of indigenous ingredients and sustainable food practices.

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Global Winner "Most Sustainable Dining Experience" - LUX Awards 2018

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Best Head Chef Africa 2018 - WLRA

 

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Chaine de Rottiseurs Regional Finalist 2005

 

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Salon Culinaire Silver Medalist - Hostex Competion 2006

 

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Unilever Chef of the Year Regional Finalist 2007

 

who we work with

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Testimonials

Sebastian Nico - Can't explain how special this tribute is, the episode was amazing - it had every aspect of foraging that my father was about, beach life, food uses and medicinal uses. He wanted to put a very similar series of videos together, I'm so glad Gregory is doing it - his knowledge on each thing he forages is incredible. Thank you Gregory, my father would've loved this.

Mmoloki Sebogodi -This was a really educational video, it was really interesting to learn so much about the plants and mushrooms in the Fynbos biome.

Travis Elske -This video, well in actual fact all of your videos are absolutely astonishing. Your video just represent how amazing and how unique our land is. You've shown all the people of South Arica and the rest of the world how import it is to protect and care for all our flora and fauna that are indigenous to our beautiful land. You've created a new way to educating and informing everyone. You are an inspiration, I am excited to see what's next to come!

A. Viljoen -It is amazing how nature provides us with such extraordinaire ingredients, i have learned a lot from this video and the different ways of cooking and the different names and we have to take care of the nature as well.

Jordy Minnaar -Amazing video, thank you so much for informing us about all the indigenous ingredients that we can incorporate into food made in our day to day lives. Can’t wait to explore my taste buds!😍

Esther Muna - Chef Gregory, I think the best thing that has happened to me this year is learning about your YouTube Channel #wildfoodrevolution, thanks to my lecturer. I am very interested in gastronomy and the science of food (on an indigenous level). I believe a dish should be served from ingredients around us. Your knowledge about our ecosystem and its sustainability is spectacular. This specific video has been so educational yet so interesting. I am truly planning for a trip to your Kitchen Workshop, you are an inspirational. I cannot wait to learn from your other videos.

Daron Riback-what a incredible video , I did know we had such a vast amount of mushrooms growing in South Africa , truly incredible and super educational thank you for that chef. You are a inspiration for people like me who want to become chefs.

Alex Wentzel-An absolutely amazing video, Chef Henderson shows the perfect combination of entertaining and informative. Showing the natural beauty of South Africa and its eco-systems but still educating viewers on the importance of sustainability is truly a skill to be admired. Thank you Chef for sharing your knowledge.

Short_Stack-This video has taught me so much about the indigenous plants South Africa has to offer. I never knew how beautiful and indigenous our ecosystem is. Chef Gregory's knowledge about the wild life or ecosystem, inspires me to know more about the different plants one can use in food, specifically plants that are not mainly used in our restaurants. I honestly cannot wait for the next video he has to upload.