Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen on Laataand by Rian: ‘I want to come back to South Africa’
Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen was the first South African to receive a Michelin star in 2016 for his restaurant JAN in Nice, France. Since then, JAN has managed to retain its star every year. He was Rian van Heerden’s guest this week on Laataand by Rian.
The conversation started with Rian wanting to know what Jan was doing in South Africa, considering that he mostly lives in France. His answer completely surprised Rian:
“Summer in France and summer in South Africa are opposites. It makes sense if I spend six months here and six months there. But I want to come back to my people, my family, friends and my restaurants here.”
Jan also spoke about how his father always wanted him to drive the tractors on their farm, but he had no interest in it. His sister took over that role while he preferred selling mielies in the co-op parking area.
“It moved – I got R1 a bag. My father obviously took R14, and I got R1,” he said, laughing.
His inspiration for cooking comes from his grandmother Ouma Hessie. Jan honoured her by opening a restaurant called Maria, situated opposite JAN in Nice, when she was 92 years old.
“She had never left the country before, and then I flew her to Nice to open her restaurant. And she just sat there crying while looking at her portrait on the wall,” Jan said as he became visibly emotional.
The conversation later turned to JAN’s Michelin star, with Rian pointing out how difficult it must be to keep that star every year.
“Right after we got the star, I started taking sleeping pills because I couldn’t sleep. It’s like something is standing behind you – you’re scared of a shadow. Every year on 23 January you wait, and if that announcement comes through and your name isn’t listed, it’s like getting a report card every year while somebody constantly judges you every day of your life. And it’s not light judgement. It feels like your business could be over. I’ve made peace with it now. I think my team and I have already proven and done so much that – you know what? I don’t want to curse it now. I sleep well at night without any pills,” he answered.
Rian and Jan also spoke about the different dishes on his menus that are inspired by South African cooking.
Rian surprised Jan with Deona van Vuuren, the owner of Cape to Cuba in Kalk Bay, Cape Town, as his second guest. Deona shared how her restaurant made the first mojito in South Africa in 1999. She had visited Cuba and brought the recipe back with her. They also chatted about the last meal they would one day like to eat and their shared love for the hospitality industry.
Rian’s next guest is food entrepreneur Ina Paarman, whose products are available worldwide.
Laataand by Rian airs Tuesday evenings at 21:00 on kykNET (DStv Channel 144). The series is also available on DStv Stream and Catch Up.
