Beauty queen, award-winning baker and grill master are all extensions to her title, making Linkie Marais more than your average chef. With a love for exploring, cooking and the outdoors, her will to grill stems all the way back to her unique blend of South African and Southern roots.
 
Born in Evander, a town in northeastern South Africa, Linkie was raised in the kitchen, helping her mother prepare meals on a daily basis. With a lack of abundant fresh ingredients, she inherited her mother’s creativity, utilizing whatever they had available to create fresh and original meals. Described by Linkie as a melting pot, South African cuisine in-corporates influences from across the globe.
 
We love our meats – especially lamb – but South African cuisine is really a mix of northern African and European influences, says Linkie. We grew up eating everything from rustic curries to fine breads and cakes.
 
Immigrating to the U.S. in 1999, Linkie and her family settled in Tupelo, Mississippi where she began her culinary career piping cakes for a local catering company. Upon obtaining a degree in Culinary Arts and a minor in Food Arts from Mississippi University for Women, Linkie’s career took off as she held various pastry and executive chef positions in Oxford, Mississippi before making the move to Massachusetts’ acclaimed Montilio’s Bakery.
 
Years later, Linkie decided to venture out on her own and accepted the opportunity of a lifetime to compete on Food Network’s hit series, Next Food Network Star in 2012.
 
My experience on the show can only be described as crazy. Its like driving a fast car—fun but unpredictable. It forced me to push my limits and take my creativity to a new level.

After discovering her love for grilling during a Big Green Egg competition, Linkie’s pas-sion for grilling began to take her career in a new and exciting direction. It’s clear that her meat-filled and resourceful South African culinary upbringing has had a tremendous im-pact on her cooking flair, as Linkie is considered the best among the few females who have mastered the art of grilling.

• 662.801.3607 Phone
• marileenmarais@yahoo.com Email
• www.linkiemarais.com Website
• Grilling Guru and Lifestyle Expert

Some people know him as the chef who cooks up the most delicious conch fritters and conch salad in Miami from a mobile kitchen under a tent. Others know him as a bow tie wearing, Dapper Don; a regular on the red carpet around town supporting charitable causes. Johnson's customers come from far and wide to enjoy his chunks of sweet, tender conch imported from the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos or for his fritters, made from a batter that has bits of conch, green pepper, onion and secret seasonings. Darryl Johnson aka Chef DP, is also the man behind the global brand SabrosoSauce.™ Known in South Florida as the Roadside Chef, Johnson has cultivated a loyal fan base.
 

• 772-501-0515 Phone
• chefdpmiami@gmail.com Email
• www.sabrososauce.com Website
• SabrosoSauce