Meet Robert Ting Chong

Robert Ting Chong is a great chef from from Cape Town and does catering for private parties and corporate functions and runs a Halaal Asian Cooking School, where he teaches Chinese, Thai, Japanese (including Sushi) cooking and will in the near future introduce Indian and Vietnamese courses.

"Educate yourself in Chinese Culture, practice filial piety, and be a person of integrity." ~ Robert Ting Chong

Read more about why Robert is proud to be Chinese and proud to be South African.

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Name: Robert Ting Chong

Occupation: Retired, Catering

1. Where were you born?

• Port Elizabeth

2. What school/college/university did you attend?

• PE Chinese Primary School

• PE Chinese High School

• University of Cape Town

3. What is your fondest childhood memory, growing up as a Chinese child?

• Celebrating Christmas, Chinese New Year and eating special Chinese delights

4. What is your favourite Chinese food?

• Sticky Pork Trotters, Hakka Red Pork, Chow Mein, Salty Pickled Choy and steak stir fry, Char Sieu Bao (Actually too much to mention!)

5. Where do you live?

• Cape Town

6. What work do you do?

• Retired, but do catering for private parties and corporate functions and run a Halaal Asian Cooking School, where I teach Chinese, Thai, Japanese ( including Sushi) and will in the near future introduce Indian and Vietnamese courses.

7. What do you love about your job?

• Meeting people from all walks of life and networking. Also, the cooking school empowers people.

8. What is your proudest achievement?

• Making my parents happy as a son.

Career-wise, I won a competition on Expresso the SABC3 morning show and appeared live doing a cooking demo

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9. Why are you proud to be South African?

• Born and bred in SA and grew up in an informal settlement. It taught me what it is to have not and in later life to have. It taught me about social inequality, the race laws which affected peoples’ lives including mine.

In the new SA, I feel that past experience in the townships has educated and equipped me to live in empathy and to be a “Bridge-Builder” between different ethnic groups.

10. Why are you proud to be Chinese?

• Our history as the Chinese people and all the inventions used in modern day science and physics as well as our culture and the values it holds, makes me proud to be Chinese.

11. Name one Chinese tradition that you’d like future generations to continue with?

• Filial piety

12. What advice would you give to the Chinese youth today in South Africa?

• Educate yourself in Chinese Culture, practice filial piety, and be a person of integrity.

13. Is there anything else that you’d like to share with the Chinese community?

• Be proud of being Chinese, be a person of integrity and treat everyone with respect . Most importantly, realise in the world out there, you are an ambassador for the Chinese people.