Cape Town born Executive Chef, Marlene Makinson, has returned home to captain the kitchen at Tsogo Sun’s newest hotels in the Mother City, SunSquare and StayEasy Cape Town City Bowl.

With over 20 years’ experience in the industry, Marlene has worked her way up from a waitress to kitchen attendant, to Senior Chef de Partie and now Executive Chef. Falling in love with the industry when she was a waitress, her passion grew as she immersed herself in all aspects of the cooking and preparing of food.

Marlene built her career through private catering for residents at Leopard Creek Estate, where after she joined a privately-owned hotel in Magaliesberg as Senior Sous Chef. From there she started her journey with Tsogo Sun, which lasted for 7 years before an opportunity in Zanzibar – at one of the top Island resorts as head chef of their exclusive villas – took Marlene abroad for just under a year. Having gained a wealth of experience during that time, Marlene then headed home to take up the position of Executive Chef with Tsogo Sun.

Full of passion and drive, with an infectious laugh, Marlene is fondly known to her team as “Mama”. What drives her is making a different that counts and developing team members to change their lives for the better not just at work but at home too. She believes that “if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life” and goes on to say that “not many people can say that they absolutely love what they do as their career, but I am truly fortunate in that I really do.”

Marlene’s goal over the next 5 years is to ensure she does everything possible to allow the dual-brand, 504-bedroom hotels, their restaurant, 14 Stories Rooftop Bar and banqueting offering to become first choice in their category for all South Africans and tourists alike when visiting the city.

One of the signature outlets at the SunSquare Cape Town City Bowl hotel is the Vigour & Verve restaurant. A first in Cape Town, Vigour & Verve is located on the ground floor of the hotel and just off buzzing Bree Street. Marlene says, “It’s a trendy, all-day dining experience with a gorgeous wood-fired pizza oven and South African favourites on the menu like braai broodjies; Cape Malay lamb bobotie with fragrant spices, yellow rice and sambles; fish and chips; a choice of meats from the Shisa Nyama grill options, and of course signature pizzas.” With a funky feel-good atmosphere, it’s the perfect spot to grab coffee, lunch or enjoy a casual dinner.

Tsogo Sun has a portfolio of over 100 hotels and 13 casino and entertainment destinations throughout South Africa, Africa and the Seychelles.

For more details, visit https://www.tsogosun.com, follow on Twitter and Instagram @TsogoSun or like on Facebook /TsogoSun.