Marlaine Roberts started cooking at the tender age of six and her first culinary adventures took place in her mother’s kitchen. She also had several opportunities to advance her cooking skills in her grandmother’s guest house in Namibia. She recalls:

“During holidays when we went to visit, I would spend hours with my grandmother in her kitchen, watching her prepare giant fish, squid with their tentacles still intact, wonderful Sunday roasts with fresh vegetables, and the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries was always present.  Then there were the cakes.  She could make wedding cakes with flowers and ribbons that could easily be compared to the efforts of some of the best pastry Chefs in France.”

After completing her secondary education, Marlaine was accepted as a student at Alpine Heath hotel in the Drakensberg, where she spent three years learning the ropes. She was trained in all the different culinary disciplines, but pastry became one of her personal favourites.

After completing her three years of study at Alpine Heath, Marlaine relocated to the South African lowveld, where she became a chef at Casa Do Sol. This was her baptism by fire, where she shouldered the responsibilities of managing a kitchen and staff. This was followed by a spell at Cristy Hackle Country Hotel in Dullstroom as a sous-chef.

Since then, Marlaine has worked at The Hacienda and Rhino Walking Safaris, prior to commencing her ground-breaking work at Blue Mountain Lodge where she prepares mouth-watering dishes for the guests at the restaurant.

Marlaine admires the work of Gordon Ramsay and often uses his work as a yardstick for her own cooking standards.