Our Culinary Story

Protea is led by our chef Shiara with over 20 years in the restaurant and catering industry, combining creativity with deep operational experience.

Earlier in her career, she identified a clear gap in the market as veganism began to rise, not for restrictive or novelty food, but for people who genuinely loved eating well. Leaning into that opportunity, she spent nearly five years as a vegan chef, founding a successful catering company and café built around whole, natural ingredients.

At a time when fake meats and processed substitutes barely existed, the food focused on real produce, texture, flavour, and imagination. It was inventive, nourishing and uncompromising and it worked. The business gained a strong following for being both healthy and genuinely exciting to eat and not just for vegans!

More recently, her four years as a sous chef at The Ivy has added a new layer of expertise. Large-scale service, high-pressure kitchens, and flawless execution at volume. Working within a major hospitality operation has brought extensive experience in sharpening the systems, structure and discipline behind the food.

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Protea Catering is the result of her journey. Creativity and innovation paired with professional catering knowledge, operational rigour, the ability to deliver exceptional food anywhere. Her roots in South Africa, where the love and passion for food and togetherness were born, shine through in her food.