The Chef Phil Dooris!

Michael Alexander · July 18, 2007, 02:39:40 PM

Anyone remember the Irish Chef at the Hexen Kessel called Phil Dooris?

He had 3 sons and the lived in 3 rd avenue, Karl, Lennon and ?

anyone?

???

oh and a great dane!

Paul Alexander · July 19, 2007, 10:27:33 AM

The little kids name was Gilly (dont ask me what it was short for)... I remember we used to con him out of his money by swapping our 1 and 2 cent "gold" coints for his cheaper R1 "silver coins" ...

Do you remember when Karl and Lennon (frikken commies) stole the keys to their dads car and drove it throught the garage was... I mean geez, they were only about 6 years old !!!!

I once set a mean fire in the bush with them, we nearly burned poor wee Gilly to death cos he got trapped behind it... I shat mysef so much that I told Phil that his lads had started the fire just so's he would call the fire brigade before things really got out of control... they got the beating of their lives!!!!

If you chaps ever read this... terribly sorry...

Oh yes, they also pinched the McManus'baby tortoise and hid them in a sealed cool box to hide them from their dad... I found the poor things a couple of days later... They wir á died !!!

SandyB · July 27, 2007, 01:33:08 PM

Phil Dooris .yes .. lots of bells clanging ... but remember the story of one of the first chefs at Hexenkessel ?? I think he was belgian .. a perfectionist with his food .. he would sometimes bring out a dish and look at it sadly as it was about to be destroyed ( devoured in our terms ) ... anyhow he flipped the one day .. was a weekend ... he stayed in the staff single quarters ... ended up on the roof in a state of undress babbling and would not come down .. well he was eventually taken off the roof .. taken away and never seen again ...

Andrew Darné · July 29, 2007, 09:34:44 PM

Talking of chefs. Anyone remember the comical Bernie Hill and the Little Theatre???

Michael Alexander · July 30, 2007, 07:04:37 PM

There's a name we should try and find, The Hills, both family's , Paul Hill and then Jason Hill, anyone?

???

Paul Alexander · July 31, 2007, 10:35:48 AM

Wendy !!!! where are you, you had a visit from the Hills a short while ago...

The Hills are alive with the soiund of music !!!!!

barb (Fry) · August 01, 2007, 06:05:39 PM

I remember the chef being removed from the roof to never be seen again, this was refferred to as another sand happy chap.

I have memories of the sand stinging my legs and the warm east wind which always blow on the days my mom made stick to your ribs pea soup.

Anne Clarke · December 31, 2007, 10:12:29 AM

Remember Phil well. Was the other chef you're thinking of a foreigner called Cees (pronounced Case) van Baaren? There was also a Tjaart van der Heijde and his wife Jackie who were something to do with the rec club. By the time we left, the chefs all knew that when Jeremy asked for Chicken Peri Peri he meant HOT, not spicy. I think a couple of the chefs tried to burn his mouth but never managed.

Michael Alexander · September 10, 2008, 09:19:01 AM

A question on CHefs at Oranjemund from a Non typing member of the forum

"Who was the chef at Local mess who used to roast the most divine suckling pig, parley in the ears, carrots you know where and apple in the mouth? "

Michael Alexander · September 14, 2009, 05:52:59 PM

I feel bad, as I have only gotten to reply to this topic today, (after having my memory jolted)...the chef , Phil Dooris..... passed away last year..... His brother, who had visited Oranjemund in the 70's only just found the site a few weeks back...... I have his email on my work PC, will post it here 2morrow....

Richard Opperman · September 15, 2009, 03:33:21 PM

Hi Michael,

Long time no visit, yes I remember Phil, my sister Liz was a very good friend of his wife in the 70s.

I remember the Hexen Kessel went through quite a few chefs, seems there must have been a lot of stress...due to poor management of their superiors.

Albert Lisser a good friend of my brother Gary and I, also worked in the Hexen Kessel. I know of one incident, where one of the so called big shots of Oranjemund of the 70s, thought it a clever idea to send his steak back to the kitchen. Albert had the waiter point out the so called "sender backer" and then proceeded to dropkick the steak around the kitchen and jump on it once or twice, dropped it back into the pan, re-arranged the plate and had the waiter take it back to the client. When Albert went out later, the client complimented Albert on the good steak.

Albert went on to work in some of the top restuarants in Cape Town and at one time also ran his owen in Durbanville in the 80s. People used to drive for miles from all over the Cape Peninsula to have one of Alberts' steaks. Sadly he died in a car accident in the early 90s.

Keep well.

Galy Dooris · September 17, 2009, 01:16:45 PM

Hi all

This is my first post on here, as this thread was sent to me by my cousin. Phil was my dad, and as noted he sadly passed away in July this year.

Paul - Thanks for not letting me burn to death - Very honourable of you! It was great to see you remembering the stories- The one of Karl and Lenin (The commies) driving into the garage still gets a mention.
Not sure it's ethical ripping off a 4 year old, but hey, why not!!

The great dane was Shammy (Shamoon) - We are going to dig a few pictures out and post them on your website.

For anyone who knows my mum (Maura Dooris), I have sent this to her too, as she recognises some of the people on this thread alone.

She will no doubt register on the site and get some pictures and stories uploaded.

So long for now...

Galy Dooris · September 17, 2009, 01:38:45 PM

Paul/Michael - Just to add, I have attached a couple of photos - One is Lenin, myself and Karl from left to right, and the other is my mum and dad who I hope you recognise...

Michael Alexander · September 17, 2009, 03:05:37 PM

Hey Galy, Welcome onboard, that bloody Great Dane, always knocking things off the lounge table.....

Thanks for the snaps........ It;'s great to hear that you guys are still around..... there is another snap of your dad somewhere on this site, I will find the link....

Keep posting......

Michael Alexander · September 17, 2009, 03:11:33 PM

Hey Galy, here's tow links.... the first link is on the forum, that has people in the Hexen kessel that your mom might remember......

LINK: http://www.oranjemundonline.com/Forum/index.php?topic=2483.0

and the second one id to a photo album on the main site and is a pic of your dad...

LINK: http://www.oranjemundonline.com/the%20people/pages/Phil%20Dooris_jpg.htm