South African chef wins Michelin star in the UK

The UK’s latest Michelin-starred restaurants have been announced and on the list is Restaurant Interlude in Horsham, Sussex, headed up by South African chef, Jean Delport. 

The chef took to Instagram with the caption: “Wow! So this just happened… Thank you so much to @pennystreeterobe for the amazing opportunity and biggest thank you to my dream team!”

Jean is no stranger to South African diners, having spent time in the kitchens at Rust en Vrede, Terroir, Cassia, Equus Dine at Cavalli and most recently at Benguela on Main. He left the country at the beginning of 2018 to pursue a career abroad.

Restaurant Interlude has a unique location – it’s situated within the historic gardens of Leonardslee Estate in the South East of England.

“Jean Delport looks after this tiny, 10-table restaurant, which makes the most of the local ingredients in its Sussex surroundings,” cites the UK’s Evening Standard. He isn’t the only South African chef to win a Michelin star though. He joins Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, who received his first star in 2016. Both he and Jean are graduates of the Zevenwacht Chef School in the Western Cape’s Winelands. 

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