Chef Keanon Micheals looks like a cool dude. Artisanal wooden cuffs in the earlobes, custom-made wooden knife dangling from the neck, camouflage cap with his own logo and that lush, well-connecting beard that’s the trademark of all Cape Town hipsters. You might expect studied insouciance or some level of nonchalance. Instead, you find an enthusiastic storyteller who answers questions truthfully, even when the responses do not shower him in glory.

Michaels had many interests outside the kitchen but decided to start with the basics. He became interested in cooking at the age of 16 and studied at Protea College, now Northlink College in Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs.

“I did a National Diploma in catering and hospitality studies, then did another year in in-service training, all based on Classic French cuisine. The course was adequate but no frills. The extra knowledge that I would have liked, for example how to fillet a fish or butchery, was being offered by other institutions but my parents couldn’t afford to send me there.”

He says this was not an obstacle to success as the best way to learn is getting hands-on experience in the kitchen from people who are your senior.

There is a small but insistent voice in the South African food movement that is pushing for more representation. Some stalwarts and new chefs are vocal about this but judging from his social media posts he is not one of them, so I asked why.

“I try not to limit myself, I respect people who have paved the way. But I’m willing to learn from anybody in order to improve my techniques.”

Chef Keanon Michaels in his (other) element, when not in the kitchen.

What he does not mention which I already know is that on his obligatory stint overseas he ended up as an in-flight chef for Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi. He was responsible for wining and dining prestigious VIP guests in First Class, cooking for the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Coldplay and many of the royal family in Abu Dhabi. The only time this comes up is when he briefly mentions dancing at a beach party in the vicinity where the soulful house music reminded him of Cape Town.

Which naturally leads to his home town of Strandfontein where Michaels not only bases his restaurant, Keanon’s Kitchen, but is actively trying to uplift the community in a number of ways. This ranges from his monthly Taste The Passion dinners where locals get to experience gourmet cooking and wine pairing in their own neighbourhood, to adding videos on his Youtube channel, profiling local businesses and encouraging the community to support them.

“For me, it’s very important to always remember where you came from. Like most coloured communities it is problematic because there is drugs and gangsterism. There are a lot of good people making bad choices. So it’s about showing people that I’m from similar circumstances and I chose to rise above those circumstances and focus on what I wanted. I persevered, I put the time in and it got me to where I am. A lot of people are ashamed of where they come from, which is why you find them moving to different suburbs once they achieve success.”

Before we were on the record he was sharing an anecdote about a coloured couple he catered for the week before who lived in a six-storey mansion in Bantry Bay. But he says it’s not about aspiring to such supposed heights.

Cauliflower salad

“There’s a new generation of children being raised and we need to install the messaging to them that they can be proud of where they come from and at the same time have the tools to overcome their circumstances.”

And he truly walks the talk. One of the causes he is passionate about is the 9 Miles Project, an NGO formed by Sher’Neil and Nigel Savel to teach children living in informal settlements surfing as a catalyst for discipline, determination and life skills. It resonates with him because of his background.

“Growing up in Strandfontein, other coloured communities always made fun of us, claiming we were trying to be ‘white’ because we surfed and we were into skating.

Grilled salmon.

“There are a few top national soccer players and cricket players who have come out of Strandfontein and they are well-known but nobody really talks about what a rich surfing heritage Strandfontein has. During the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s pioneers like Cass Collier, who’s the son of the recently laid Ahmed Collier, and Uncle Rob and so many other people were surfing on non-white beaches during the apartheid era.

“I’m a third or fourth generation coloured surfer from the original Strandfontein 9 Miles Beach. I’ve been surfing since I was about 15. I went to Muizenburg High School and it was a choice between surfing and rugby because they were both winter sports. By the time I got to matric I was the first coloured boy captain of the school surf team in the 21 years of that school. I did complete for Western Province trials but because of my sickness and never having put in the time I didn’t get as far as I wanted to.

Yellow pear on chocolate crumbs

“Fitness was always my downfall. I used to smoke up to two packets of cigarettes a day and that impacted my chances. Since then I have given up smoking. Surfing is still a large part of who I am and every time I’m paddling out, no matter what else is going on in my life, I don’t think about my problems and the ocean is the one place I always feel at peace. It feels like an exercise in mindfulness because you constantly have to be aware of everything that’s going on around you at that moment in order to be safe. I don’t think I see myself ever stopping surfing.”

The 9 Miles Project initially started very informally with offering hot dogs and cold drinks to the kids who were curious about the men in wetsuits and surfboards walking through their neighbourhood on the way to the shore. After asking permission from their parents, they roped them on board and it is now a movement that reaches from a clubhouse in Strandfontein Pavilion to Elands Bay, and there’s a branch at Cape St Francis.

In addition to teaching kids how to surf, there is an after-school literacy programme; they get help with their reading, and there’s a computer lab if they need to use it. It’s about providing a safe place for kids so that they have an alternative to being on the streets. Michaels is one of the facility surf coaches and cooks for the entire crew on surfing trips.

We circle back to food. Like many men, Michaels asserts that his mother is the best cook in the world. What she lacks in formal training she makes up for with upskilling herself. She now knows how to make pasta from scratch and this winter they are making cheese together.

Michaels says he enjoys food but has to exercise a lot of self-restraint when eating in restaurants in the interest of “keeping the beard clean”. At home it’s a completely different story.

“I completely pig out. It gets messy, saucy and yolky. I love eggs in any form: poached, fried, scrambled, you name it. After I eat I have to wash and condition my beard to get rid of all the food.”

Which chef inspires him? I’m expecting to hear familiar names. But no.

“My heroes are people working in places where they can never afford to eat, the ones that work in hotels they can never afford to stay in. They let people use their ideas and skills, the company benefits, they don’t get any of the credit, they don’t get any write-ups in Eat Out. I look up to people who are stuck in situations that they cannot move out of because they are obligated because of the medical aid, because they’re putting their kids in school.”

Michales is not resting on his laurels and acknowledges that there are certain milestones he needs to achieve, such as getting a few permanent staff to do the basics such as product runs. In spite of how far he has come unassisted Michaels does not consider himself an exemplar and tries to duck the question of what his legacy will be.

“If anybody wants to follow in my footsteps they will be able to. I just want to show my community that if you want to start your own business you can and you can be very successful, because that’s what I’ve done.” DM