The man who became the first South African chef to earn a Michelin star and launched five restaurants and new food and lifestyle products
Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen became the first South African chef to earn a Michelin star when his restaurant JAN in Nice, France, received the award in 2016.
Since then, he has expanded beyond fine dining to build an international food and lifestyle business.
His ventures include restaurants in France and South Africa, bestselling cookbooks, a food and lifestyle journal, television programmes, branded products and an educational platform.
Born in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, in 1982, van der Westhuizen grew up on his family’s dairy farm.
His interest in food developed at an early age, influenced by his mother and grandmothers. He was drawn to the kitchen rather than following the expected path of becoming a farmer.
His first restaurant opened in 1991, when he was just nine years old. He set up JAN in the woods on his family’s farm and even decorated the area with paintings in the trees and a Persian rug across the forest floor.
The opening night attracted three guests – his mother, father and sister.
A few years later, he started a food society at high school called the Green Peppers. During weekends and school holidays, he also worked at more than 200 functions for a Johannesburg catering company.
His experience ranged from preparing potato salads and jaffles to catering fine-dining events in Sandton boardrooms.
He later completed a Diploma in Culinary Arts and Pastry in Stellenbosch, followed by work at hotels and restaurants around Cape Town.
Van der Westhuizen went on to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Design and Photography. In 2004, he established the Jan Hendrik Group, which initially operated as a creative and photography studio.
He also completed a food photography internship at Elle magazine, where he developed recipes and styled food.
From private yacht chef to Michelin star
After spending a year in Paris, van der Westhuizen moved to Monaco in 2009 to work as a private yacht chef.
During this period, he wrote, photographed and styled his first cookbook, The French Affair. The book became a bestseller and won recognition at the International Gourmand Book Awards.
In 2012, he rebranded his business as JAN and launched a lifestyle newsletter to 5,500 subscribers. Its first recipe was his mother’s chocolate mousse.
The following year, he opened Restaurant JAN in a renovated garage on Rue Lascaris in Nice’s Old Port.
The restaurant started with only two front-of-house employees and two chefs. Within 36 hours of opening, The New York Times identified it as a must-visit restaurant on the French Riviera.
Its food combined South African heritage ingredients and traditional dishes with French and Italian influences.
Van der Westhuizen also introduced South African wines to the restaurant, which helped promote local producers to an international audience.
In 2015, he published his second cookbook, JAN – A Breath of French Air, which documented the inspiration behind the restaurant’s dishes.
In 2016, less than three years after opening, Restaurant JAN received its first Michelin star.
This made van der Westhuizen the first South African chef to receive the distinction for a restaurant in France. Restaurant JAN has retained its Michelin star for 10 consecutive years, through 2025.
Growing the restaurant business
Though Restaurant JAN in Nice remains the foundation of his international restaurant business, van der Westhuizen has also grown its footprint.
He later introduced MARIA, a private dining concept named after his grandmother, who played an important role in shaping his cooking.
In 2024, he opened Le Bistrot de JAN next to Restaurant JAN in Nice. The concept offers a more accessible interpretation of the traditional French bistro. Within six weeks of opening, it was included in Le Figaro’s list of 35 tables to watch.
His South African restaurant expansion began in 2021 with Klein JAN at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in the Northern Cape.
The restaurant celebrates South African ingredients and cooking, and draws inspiration from the surrounding Kalahari landscape.
Klein JAN received several awards, including a La Liste Hidden Gem award, two-star recognition from La Liste, and three-plate ratings from the JHP Gourmet Guide.
It also received the Lexus Style Award and the Gourmet Guide Haute Performance Award.
In 2022, the group opened JAN Franschhoek, a seasonal dining experience at La Motte in the Cape Winelands.
The restaurant received two Luxe stars at the 2025 and 2026 Luxe Restaurant Awards and appeared on Condé Nast’s 2025 Hot List of Best New Restaurants.
In 2025, van der Westhuizen also launched a culinary partnership with the Palace of the Lost City at Sun City Resort. The partnership introduced a breakfast offering featuring South Africa’s heritage ingredients.
After four years of operation and numerous awards, van der Westhuizen and the Tswalu team decided to end the Klein JAN experience.
The group also expanded its bistro concept to South Africa, opening Le Bistrot de JAN at the V&A Waterfront’s InterContinental Table Bay in Cape Town in December 2025.
The Cape Town restaurant was named Bistro of the Year at the 2026 Luxe Restaurant Awards.
Cookbooks, journals and television
Van der Westhuizen’s business has grown beyond Restaurant JAN. His ventures now cover publishing, television, homeware, fashion and food education.
Van der Westhuizen’s books include The French Affair, JAN – A Breath of French Air and the Klein JAN Cookbook, which celebrates South African food and the Kalahari.
His JAN Voyage Cookbook was published in October 2025. In 2018, he launched JAN the Journal, a collectable biannual food and lifestyle publication.
The journal explores recipes, ingredients, destinations and the people behind the food. It also documents the group’s culinary travels and experiences.
He also launched his first television series, JAN, in 2017, which helped introduce the brand to a wider audience.
His television work has helped take the JAN brand to a wider audience. He launched his first television series, JAN, in 2017.
The culinary travel programme follows his work and travels through France and Italy, exploring the food and places that influence his cooking.
The series has won a South African Film and Television Award and has been made available to international audiences.
The JAN business has also expanded into branded lifestyle products. JAN Online launched a homeware range and other boutique products, extending the brand into home goods.
In 2025, van der Westhuizen launched the inaugural JAN Collection, a fashion range inspired by chefwear and developed with local artists Superella, Michael Taylor and Studio JANA + KOOS.
His collaborations have also included a JAN wine range developed with Org de Rac winemaker Frank Meaker.
He has also established JAN Innovation Studio in Cape Town. The studio houses what the group describes as South Africa’s largest cookbook collection, sourced from across the country.
The studio forms part of the group’s broader creative and educational work, although the supplied information does not detail the full structure or courses offered through its educational platform.
Photos of JAN
