Chef and quail whisperer who serves his community

The Citizen

2 days ago

Bekker's career spans luxury kitchens, local politics, and farming—proof that service delivery starts with heart and hands.
Cullinan Quails has a feeding programme that makes the eggs higher in nutrients than standard ones, says business owner Johannes Bekker. Pictures: Hein Kaiser
Chef, quail whisperer, community activist, politician.
Johannes Bekker, known to most as Bekker, is not your average small-town politician.
His idea of being in a pickle is when he bottles quail eggs in brine, he has had his own wine range before and has cooked for ambassadors, A-list celebrities and British royals.
Bekker farms quails while serving as ward councillor
Presently, Bekker farms quails on his Cullinan smallholding while serving a debut term as a ward councillor.
When he's not busy, which is rare, Bekker is judging cooking competitions, doing community work and helping people who need hope injected into their lives.
He is a can-do kind of guy and his positive energy is infectious.
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It's as if he inherited his entire family's collective enterprising spirit, he said.
'I grew up on a farm where you had to do everything yourself.
'My parents were involved in community service and politics. My uncle was a councillor in Joburg. We were taught that if you do not create your own income, you might not make it.'
Entrepreneurship started young
Entrepreneurship started young. 'In primary school, my sister and I started a candy business. We had a sponsored first batch we had to pay back. Soon we were stocking shops with our sweets. At one point, I think we made more money than my parents.'
After matric, Bekker received a bursary to study hospitality. Half was covered by the training institution, the other half by the resorts where he had to work to earn it. 'That is how I got my start in hospitality,' he said. 'I was at bush lodges and I got my first taste of five-star food.'
It was also where he was headhunted into the private circuit. 'I cooked for ambassadors, people on the Forbes list and royals from the UK,' he said. 'You get noticed at these lodges because the highend guests often ask for private chefs. That is how it happened.'
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Then, he opened four restaurants. The last shut just before the pandemic.
Bekker also developed a wine range, made for him by a winemaker for use in his signature food and wine pairings at his establishments. 'I always focused on South African cuisine with a twist from other cultures,' he said. 'Nothing too complicated, just elevated.'
After closing the last eatery, he went rural. And the quails came.
Quail whisperer
'We started Cullinan Quails with 15 birds,' he said. 'We built the cages. I have the blisters to prove it. We made sure everything was up to standard. Lighting, reservoirs, the works.'
For Bekker, this was important because he loves his birds. 'I wanted them to live in a humane, kind space and not like some other farms in a battery-like environment where they are stripped of their birdness.'
Many of his birds have names. There's Vlekkie, Fluffy, Lucky. 'They each have their quirks. Some jump onto your hand and are playful. Some ignore you. Some became family.'
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But quails only have a laying life of about 18 months before egg production slows down. So Bekker had to make a plan.
'I got a brooder box and started hatching my own chicks. We even made birth certificates for the first ones,' he said.
Bekker uses only quail eggs in his kitchen. 'I do not buy chicken eggs. Everything from baking to brushing pastries, I use quail eggs,' he said.
Only quail eggs in his kitchen
'I even make fruit cake with them. We developed a feeding programme that makes the eggs higher in nutrients than standard ones and they really make a difference in cooking.'
Commercially, demand soon outgrew supply. 'Now I also source eggs from small-scale farmers around Cullinan and Pretoria,' he said. Supporting local enterprises and competitors is part of his philosophy. A kind of quail farming Ubuntu.
'It is important to build business together. There is no point in one of us flourishing while nine others fall behind.'
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Some birds do end up in the pot, but that part of the business is not his thing. 'I do not get involved in the slaughtering,' Bekker said. 'I cook the meat, I package it, but I do not want to see their little personalities go.'
Politics entered the fray during Covid, when Bekker got involved with Chefs With Compassion and consequently chinwagged with local politicians.
'We ran 26 soup kitchens from Cullinan. The city councillors worked with me to distribute the food.
Bekker entered politics during Covid
'That is when they started nudging me into becoming a councillor. So, here we are.'
He said serving customers as a chef is on par with what voters expect from councillors and, because he's a handyman too, Bekker fixes stuff for his community.
'From peeling onions to fixing water leaks, it's the same process. It's all service delivery.'
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