First of all, let me introduce you to my professional background.





My training as a cook began in the kitchen of Schloß Salem, a very exclusive German boarding school near Lake Konstanz. Later, I moved to a restaurant in Freiburg. Here I became the apprentice of Herr H. Chef and proprietor of the place, a man with high professional qualifications and a short temper. I am very much indebted to him, not only for teaching me the basics of our craft but also for installing into my mind a deep RESPECT for food and an absolute distaste for unnecessary wastage of the same.



I then went about broadening my knowlege in various places in Germany and Switzerland. In a noble restaurant near Frankfurt I had the luck of working with Herr E. a outstanding German chef of the old tradition with an exquisite taste for presentation and show buffets developed during a lenghtly stay in Japan. He taught me the art of attractive arrangements and the use of food as an medium of artistic expression. This complemented my interest in drawing and art in general, and left a lasting impact on me and my outlook towards my work.

In Switzerland at Lake Geneva, I became the assistant of Monsieur P. a somewhat excentric chef who, with lots of passion and humor, passed on to me some of his stupendeous knowlege of classical French cuisine. After gaining valuable extra experience by spending some months in the kitchens of the first class sections of the German Passenger Liner Bremen, and the Greek passenger ship Arcadia,

I changed continents - I went to Africa

What was meant as a short stint as an "working tourist" to Namibia eventually lasted 35 years!

I wanted to be an distant spectator but...Africa absorbed me, and I became part of it.

For three years I worked as a head chef in Windhoek, Namibia, then followed seven years in the same position in hotels and a catering company in South Africa.


Turkey, classic style

Kenya became my next station, where I worked succsessively for three of the country's largest tourist hotels as an executive chef. I then went into business for myself, founding, with my wife, Taurus Catering Services Ltd. And this is also where my nickname Bwana Toras comes from.

For 16 years we operated two restaurants, an outside catering section, and a manufacturing business for mainly bamboo products.


The "Ham House"

During the time in Africa I also engaged in the arts, taking part in several exhibitions..A year long journey to the Far East gave me valuable insights in to the local cuisines and cultures. A stint as a cook on a luxury hunting safari and time spent in an eco tourism camp in Botswana's Okavango delta introduced me to the joys of camp cooking.

The turn of the century saw me return with my family to Stuttgart.