Jordans – George Jardine

George Jardine was born in Edinburg, Scotland into a family of chefs. His grandmother was a pastry chef at Hollyrood Palace and throughout the generations various uncles and cousins all chose to hone their skills in kitchens across Scotland.

After completing his studies, George worked in various establishments in Scotland before moving to London and working under Michelin Star chef, Jean Christophe Novelli at The Four Seasons Hotel and later Maison Novelli Restaurant.

In 1997 George moved to Cape Town to open Novelli at the Cellars at The Cellars Hohenort Hotel in Constantia. The hotel was named one of Conde Nast’s Top 50 Dining Destinations in the World during his time there. Here he also met his wife Louise le Riche and forged many good relationships with suppliers and winemakers – many of whom are still involved in George’s current Jordan restaurant and Jardine bakery.

An offer to become Chef de Cuisine at The Siriwijaya Restaurant in the prestigious Dharmawangsa Hotel in Indonesia, lead the couple to Jakarta, Indonesia. The restaurant was named Asia’s Hottest New Restaurant in 2001. From there, the journey continued to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where George opened Lafite Restaurant for the newly renovated, flagship Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur Hotel. Lafite was a massive success and won many industry awards. After three years in Malaysia, George was invited to open Altitude restaurant at Shangri-La’s newest hotel in Sydney, Australia. Altitude was awarded Restaurant of the Year by the Australian Chef’s Association in 2005.

In 2006, George returned to open restaurant Jardine in Cape Town’s CBD. George was Eat Out’s Chef of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and Restaurant Jardine is the only restaurant in South Africa to be selected in Eat Out’s Top Ten 3 years in a row. Restaurant Jardine has also been voted on San Pellegrino’s Top 100 restaurants in the world for 2008 and 2009.

Jardine Bakery, situated next door to the restaurant, opened in August 2007. Fondly called “The hole in the wall”, the bakery has a loyal following of office workers from surrounding office blocks and foodies who pick up hand rolled croissants, rye bread and artisan pastries.

November 2009 saw the opening of Jordan Restaurant, a winelands restaurant situated outside Stellenbosch on the highly acclaimed Jordan Winery. After only one year Jordan Restaurant was awarded the Number Three position in Eat Out Magazine’s Top Ten Restaurants in South Africa.