Name: Wesley Berghoff
Age: 27
Nationality: South African
Position: Chef de Cuisine, Atlantis the Palm

How long have you been a chef?
Ten exciting years.

What’s your favourite dish to cook?
Any form of pasta or gnocchi dish. There are so many combinations, flavours and textures to play with, so it’s fun to cook and great to eat.

What’s your favourite ingredient and why?
It has to be butter – it can be used to cook anything, from sauces to meat or fish. Butter is rich golden goodness from the heavens!

Do you do all the cooking at home?
I love to cook, but we all know food tastes far better if someone else cooks for you, so my wife does the cooking (I usually make the coffee).

What is Dubai’s food scene missing?
Dubai has a really strong food scene, which I believe is always evolving. With so many young chefs and new restaurants trying to leave their mark on the culinary scene, Dubai is a very exciting place right now.

What moment in your career are you most proud of?
There are plenty of highlights – cooking for presidents and celebrities, for example – but I feel proud every time I put on my chef whites, so I’d have to say my proudest moment was the day I walked into my
first kitchen.

Tell us a little about the menu you’ll be preparing for the competition.
My menu uses several concepts based on international-style cuisine, with both classic and modern cooking techniques.

For Wesley Berghoff's menu, click here.

To meet chef Edward Mair, click here.