Chef Ammaarah Petersen is a food extraordinaire, known to be the youngest chef in South Africa, to head a kitchen in a five-star hotel. She is one of the top 5 Halal chefs countrywide to serve as a board member on the Halaal Council of South Africa. At the age of 16, she studied at Capsicum Culinary Studio and worked at many top hotels and restaurants including The Test Kitchen. Later on, she realized that she wanted to start a small business, focusing on utilizing her own recipes. Goal-driven, she pursued Business studies at University of Cape Town whilst traveling extensively to learn the arts of cooking traditional cuisines. Hotchefs was then founded, on the basis of creating food that feeds the soul. On September 2019, Ammaarah received the Panache Women of Wonder award and is nominated for Roshgold Young Business Achiever in January 2020. Certainly, Ammaarah is paving a way for young women entrepreneurs to rise in a male-dominated industry, for generations to come.
Currently a PhD candidate in Kyoto University with interest in sociology, human behavior, and tourism. Plans to go back to the tourism industry after graduation. Speaks Indonesian, English, and Japanese, and has limited understanding in Malay and Javanese. Owned their own Halal restaurant business but left it to pursue higher education. Has a wide-range of working experience with various clients from different background and field of work. Presently works part time as halal tourism consultant and offers itinerary-making and tour guide service in Kansai Area.
Assalamualaikum, my name is Candra Hidayat. I am a lecturer in Trisakti School of Tourism, with one of my emphasis the area of hospitality management. And I am interested in halal tourism, with my research The Correlation of Lifestyle and Features on Motivation to Purchase Sharia Compliant Hotel in Jakarta.
Carel Stadler has extensive professional and management experience in destination marketing and management, as well as the events industry. He qualified with an honours degree in finance and started his working career as a Cost Accountant before being lured to pursuing a career in the MICE segment. He is currently employed by Cape Town Tourism as Trade & Partnership Manager where he is responsible for the business strategic objectives through the operational management of the various strategic partners, trade platforms and programmes. Besides developing and implementing a trade plan he is also responsible for tactical campaigns focussing on emerging and niche markets.
Chef Dion Vengatass’ passion for food was sparked at the tender age of 4 by his Ouma Violet, from whom he was taught basic cooking skills and the art of respecting ingredients. His food journey began in a Hotel Keeping and Catering class in high school, where he was the only male amongst a class of 14 girls. Despite the lack of financial support, it did not deter him from pursuing his passion for food. He subsequently received a sponsorship to study at Swiss Hotel School and graduated with a Diploma in Hotel Management. He landed a job as a Demi Chef de Partie at the Saxon hotel and worked alongside Chef Rudi Liebenberg for 2 years before being offered a position at Belmond Mount Nelson hotel in Cape Town. Previously a CDP in the breakfast restaurant, he is now running the hotel’s fine dining restaurant and main kitchen. During his time at the hotel, he has won all of Unilever’s top competitions and even completed a stager at Le Manoir aux Quatr’Saisons in England with Chef Raymond Blanc. Dion also writes recipes for online food magazine Crush and is a part of the National Culinary Team for South Africa. He hopes to do the country proud in the next Culinary Olympics in 2020.
Fathima Amra is employed at Trade & Investment KZN (TIKZN) as a Sector Specialist within the Knowledge Management Unit. Her responsibility is to conduct and manage economic research to enhance the Trade & Investment portfolio of TIKZN. Ms Amra has a post-graduate degree in Tourism and Strategic Management and is currently studying towards a National Diploma in International Trade through the Institute International Trade Relations SA. She has joined the organisation in 2010 as Sector Manager. She also serves on several committees pertaining to tourism development projects, Provincial government steering committees and manages the KZN Halaal Initiative for the province.
Fazal Bahardeen is an Entrepreneur in the Muslim Lifestyle & Halal Travel Space. He founded CrescentRating in 2008, along with the world’s first rating system to rate travel & tourism services for their Muslim friendliness. Currently, he overlooks two leading brands in the Halal travel segment; CrescentRating and Halal Trip. Prior to this, he held senior management roles at Alcatel-Lucent, based in Europe & Asia.
I am from India, a country well known for its diversity geographically, different peoples, cultures, languages, traditions, and therefore my love for travelling, interacting with people from different countries, exploring new.destinations, enjoying various cuisines and customs. Today travel has become so easily manageable and the World a smaller place due to travel networking, and travellers are able to travel a lot more widely and comfortably especially "Muslim Travellers" as more "Muslim Friendly" facilities are provided. This sector is very interesting to me, offers growth and oppurtunities,and a lucrative business venture as well. Also for "Muslim Friendly"/ Halal tours to India (which is rich in Islamic heritage, culture and tradition) is an area I would like to explore.
James Randall is a travel writer, content creator and event organiser. He currently works as a language tutor in English and Scottish Gaelic, and has experience in coordinating travel groups between Australia and Indonesia, destination marketing and tailored media solutions. In 2018, he was a participant in the Spirit of Leadership program organised by the Islamic Council of Victoria for young Muslim leaders. He was the event coordinator for the Muslim Film Festival in Melbourne, in September 2019.
I am Jawad Kabeer, resident of Bangalore city, India. Been working with Online Travel agencies such as Booking.com / Makemytrip.com for past 11 years. My major work is dealing with the hotel mostly in South East Asian Countries. I am an avid traveler and a huge foodie, so researching on halal food destination has been my passion.
I am a director of a Scuba Diving (adventure sport) business called Pisces Divers in Cape Town, South Africa. We do packages for divers and none divers. A one stop shop for all travel requirements in Cape Town , South Africa (Airport pickups, accommodation, tours, group bookings, etc). One of our many offerings is a highlights of the year and a truly spectacular display of nature which happens annually along the South African east coast around June, The Sardine Run.
I am a certified Safety and HACCP Officer with a passion for implementing systems to promote the health and wellness of our staff and guests. As part of the team at GOLD Restaurant Cape Town, we are passionate about offering an authentic African experience. So much more than just an African restaurant, a night at GOLD is an immersive experience that will take you on a 14-dish taste-safari paired with traditional Mali puppets & entertainment.
Almost 3 decades worth of experience working in Hospitality Industry within various establishments and many positions, giving the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of how the business really works from top to bottom. Currently as A Chairman of SAS Hospitality, a professional hotel/hospitality management company maintaining and organizing 7 Hotel under Grand Tjokro Brands. Previously worked as Managing Director of KAGUM Hotels, and also enjoyed the opportunity in working under various Hotel brands either local or international (such as Accor , Melia, Shangri-La, etc), which confers the skills and experience that allows multi-faceted perspective (both local and international-style point of view) in handling various hotel challenges.
Hello! This is Mònica, a global citizen born in Barcelona. Postgraduate in Asian Studies and with a degree in Tourism and Hospitality. I love learning foreign languages and studying cultures and values. I define myself passionate, a keen learner and inquirer. I am inclusive and positive. Always happy to help people and build bridges between cultures.
My name is Muamer, born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, moved to Slovenia in 2008, recently I received a bachelor's degree after attendingthe University of Primorska, Faculty of Tourism Studies. Before moving to Germany I worked almost 5 years in tourism industry. Being a Muslims, often I had problems traveling and adhering to my religion thus my interest in Halal tourism started to grow. My plan is to gain as much knowledge as possible about Halal tourism and be able to implement it in career. I enjoy working with positive, talkative, friendly, visionary and open minded people. In my free time I like traveling, reading and watching documentaries.
Chef Nadin Pospech Demmler is the proud owner and head chef of her own Top Nosh Cooking School and Specialty Caterers in Cape Town. She completed her three-year chefs’ apprenticeship at the Hotel Intercontinental, Leipzig in 1996. After her apprenticeship, she gained extensive experience in a number of Europe’s top restaurants/hotels in the hot & cold kitchen and pastry and has worked for many top chefs in Europe like Gordon Ramsay and Anton Mosimann. Her career involved being a cook for private dinner and lunch functions for clients like the Ambassador of Germany and France. At the end of 2000, she decided to broaden her international horizons and started her South African career at the prestigious Grande Roche Hotel in Paarl as pastry chef. She was a part of the South African National Culinary Team for 5 years since 2009 and is till today judging international Chef competitions worldwide. She shares her passion for food, especially vegetarian cuisine, with enthusiastic food lovers by conducting numerous cookery classes. In 2017, she achieved the CrescentRating Chef Accreditation in Halal Gourmet Dining in Cape Town.
Nurhafihz Noor has a decade of experience targeting Muslim markets in different industries. Currently a council member of the International Islamic Marketing Association (IIMA) and reviewer for the International Journal of Islamic Marketing and Branding, he has published peer-reviewed journal papers and books on marketing to Halal markets. He received his BBA (marketing) from the National University of Singapore and MSc (marketing) from the University College Dublin. In 2018, he was awarded a scholarship to pursue a PhD in marketing at the University of Adelaide.
The appointment of Tamsyn Wells as Executive Chef at the 15 on Orange Hotel, Autograph Collection in Cape Town comes as no surprise – the recognition of her culinary skills goes back to over 15 years ago when, as a student at the Silwood School of Cookery, she obtained her Cordon Bleu Diploma, graduating with distinctions in all three years of her studies. In addition to a number of awards, she was named as Student of the Year. Tamsyn gained experience at several of Cape Town's leading hotels and restaurants, working with some of the city's top chefs. She joined the 15 on Orange Hotel, Autograph Collection in 2009, and soon moved up the ladder, taking on positions as Senior Sous Chef and Executive Sous Chef before her current appointment.
Trendsetter and entrepreneur with 10 years in IT and Tourism business leadership in local and international market. Experienced in all aspects of business formation, operation, finance, and management. Visionary product developer with deep business education in research and analytics.
Zeeshan is a Muslim friendly travel planner currently operations manager at Best Halal Trip. Responsible for training, destination audits and quality control of tour packages. I studied my graduation in UK and masters in Europe & China amongst cosmopolitan colleagues. Their different cultures, gastronomy and history amazed me. I also travelled a lot working for Emirates Airline. It is then that I learnt about my passion for the Travel Industry. I realized that so much more could be offered to Muslim travellers. The Halal Industry is growing rapidly but it also comes with a big responsibility. Crescent rating courses really broadened my knowledge. As the industry grows it will require more trained and certified professionals. Together we can better shape this new decade of Halal Travel.
