Brian McCune, consultant chef
Cape Town-based consultant chef and food and beverage consultant, and founder of The Food Biz.
Brian advises hotel groups, restaurants, wine estates and independent operators across Southern Africa on concepts, menus, food costs and kitchen design.
Career
Southern Sun, ten years
Opening teams of the Cape Sun, Sandton Sun and Johannesburg Sun as executive sous chef and executive chef, running major corporate and government functions alongside daily dining.
1989: Group Executive Chef
Appointed Group Executive Chef of Southern Sun and Holiday Inn Hotels, responsible for more than 56 hotels nationally.
Food Operations Director, Airchefs
A long period running food operations for the airline caterer.
Ratanga Junction, Cape Town
Moved to Cape Town to open South Africa's first theme park, developing more than 37 outlets from street food and fast food through casual and upmarket dining to function catering.
The Food Biz
Independent consultancy for hotels, restaurants and estates across Southern Africa, with its own costing and recipe software.
Fast food to five star. Literally.
Few consultants have run a burger counter, a banqueting hall and a five-star dining room. Brian has run all three, which is why The Food Biz works across every format, from a single café to an international hotel group.
Competition and judging
- South African National Culinary TeamTeam captain, and later team manager, winning gold medals and culinary awards internationally.
- World Association of Chefs SocietiesHonorary member.
- Accredited culinary judgeAdjudicating professional culinary competition.
Selected projects
Recent work Brian has led or worked on includes:
- Concept creation for an international hotel group, NamibiaMarket research, gap analysis, tourism market profiling and competitor benchmarking, turned into a new F&B concept for a newly acquired city hotel.
- Full F&B repositioning, five-star Cape Town hotelSix outlets addressed in twelve months, covering menus, cocktails, atmosphere, uniforms, music and marketing input.
- Restaurant turnaround, Cape Town wine estateTwo underperforming restaurants; food cost of sales cut from 54% to 38% in two months through menu and price review, rebuilt standard recipes and daily cost controls.
- F&B audit and menu concept, Winelands boutique estateA farm-to-table menu with standard recipes, pricing, senior staff recruitment and team training.
- Kitchen design for a new-build hotel, Cape TownFull kitchen, bar, events and back-of-house design, with equipment specifications and costings in CAD.
- Two restaurants rebuilt from scratch, Winelands wine estateOne fine dining, one family style: concepts, menus, key appointments and training.
- Festival pop-up restaurant, Cape TownThree sittings of 100 VIP guests at a major food and music festival, with production off site.
Full project details and references are in our projects brochure, available on request.
No juniors. No hand-offs.
The person who pitches the work is the person who does it. Brian works on site, alongside your team, and brings in trusted culinary and professional associates when a project needs them.
Every engagement ends with working tools your team keeps: costed recipes, menu engineering and cost reporting built on The Food Biz's own kitchen software.
Straight answers
What does The Food Biz do?
The Food Biz is a Cape Town hospitality consultancy led by consultant chef Brian McCune. It helps hotels, restaurants, wine estates and caterers with concepts, menus, food costing, kitchen design and turnarounds.
Where is The Food Biz based?
The Food Biz is based in Cape Town, South Africa. Brian works across South Africa and Southern Africa, including commissions in Namibia.
What is a consultant chef?
A consultant chef is an experienced chef hired for a set project rather than as permanent staff. Typical work includes new menus, standard recipes, food cost reviews, kitchen setup and staff training.
Do you work with small restaurants or only hotels?
Both. Brian's experience runs from fast food and theme park outlets to five-star hotels, so he works with independent cafés and restaurants as well as hotel groups.
Can you help reduce food costs?
Yes. On a recent wine estate turnaround, food cost of sales came down from 54% to 38% in two months through menu and price review, rebuilt recipes and daily cost controls.
How do I get started?
Call or WhatsApp Brian on 082 492 9239. The first conversation is free.