Eugene Britou On His Inspirational Journey As A Professional Chef, Content Creator And Winning Big at Dentsu School of Influence 2026
Eugene Britou On His Inspirational Journey As A Professional Chef, Content Creator And Winning Big at Dentsu School of Influence 2026. As a chef Eugene Britou has traveled the world and worked in big kitchens. He has used the skill and passion to become a content creator, and is now bagging awards. We sat down with the inspirational creative for guided conversation exploring his culinary journey, creative identity, storytelling, community, and future ambitions.
1. Can you take us through your journey from studying at HTA School of Culinary Arts to becoming a professional chef and content creator?
When I look back, I realize that the journey itself is what made me who I am today. As a kid, I always craved food that I couldn’t afford, and I remember thinking, “Why can’t I just make it myself?” That mindset stayed with me. HTA School of Culinary Arts opened doors that I couldn’t even see because I was carrying so much self-doubt. People often tell me that I’m a role model, but for a long time, I couldn’t see the value in myself. I was always looking at what I hadn’t achieved instead of recognising how far I’d already come. Content creation is actually something I started in high school, but I stopped because my mom thought I was wasting my time. Funny enough, she’s in IT. Over the years, though, she started seeing the impact I was having on my community and the people around me. Then Dentsu re-lit a fire in me that had been there for years and opened the door to opportunities I never expected. There’s a saying: believe in yourself until you actually believe in yourself. That’s what I’ve done, and I’m still doing it. I’m still becoming Eugene.
2. How did your experience working in professional kitchens in South Africa shape you as a chef? My first day in the industry, I genuinely thought I’d made a huge mistake becoming a chef. Some professional kitchens can feel like hell on earth, and those experiences pushed my confidence even lower than it already was. But eventually, I realized something: I’d spent so much time listening to everybody else that I had forgotten to listen to Eugene. And Eugene is hungry. That hunger pushed me to grow, become more disciplined and prove to myself that I belonged in this industry. I worked my way up, competed in major competitions and found myself taking part in opportunities like Color Your Plate With KOO and Ultimate Braai Master Live, among others. I’ve always related to Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. Not because he’s perfect, but because he’s obsessed with training, discipline and becoming stronger than he was yesterday. That’s how I look at my career. There is always another level to reach.
3. You had the opportunity to intern in France. What was the most valuable lesson you took away from that experience, both professionally and personally?
Professionally, France taught me that working yourself into the ground isn’t something to be proud of. Passion is important, discipline is important, but we’re still human beings. We need to breathe, rest and live. Personally, the experience went much deeper. I was in a foreign country, away from everything familiar, surrounded by people who couldn’t always communicate with me properly. For the first time in my life, I couldn’t run away from myself. I had an emotional breakdown one day while I was completely alone, and I had to confront a lot of fears and things I’d been carrying. I eventually realized that what I thought were my “demons” were actually parts of me crying out for help. That experience changed me. France taught me to put myself first not selfishly, but intentionally. To stand by my morals, my beliefs and who I am, instead of constantly trying to fit into what society expects me to be.
4. You describe food as more than something we eat. What does food mean to you, and how do you use it to connect with and inspire people?
Food is life. Food will always be with us, and I see it as one of the simplest ways we connect as human beings. It doesn’t have to be fine dining. Even something as simple as pap and gravy can bring friends and family together. Food is present when we celebrate, when we mourn, when we gather and when we simply sit around a table and talk. What fascinates me is that, from the beginning of human civilization until today, food has remained part of our traditions and our stories. For me, cooking isn’t just about feeding someone. It’s about creating a moment that they remember.
5. What inspired you to step beyond the chef’s jacket and venture into content creation?
At a young age, I chased trophies, achievements and success so hard that food became the only thing I knew. As a chef, that’s an incredible thing to have. But as a human being, Eugene, the person behind The Pirate Chef I realized I needed to reconnect with the parts of myself that existed outside the kitchen. Content creation was one of those things. I’ve always naturally been a funny person without trying too hard, and I realized I could use that personality to make people laugh, connect with people and tell stories. Why take life so seriously all the time? Sometimes you need to put the chef’s jacket down, enjoy the people you love and simply be a human being.
6. How do you balance your identity as a chef with your work as a content creator and storyteller?
For me, it’s about knowing when to switch between the two. I’m currently an assistant lecturer at HTA, which is especially meaningful because that’s where my journey started. Now I get to stand on the other side and help shape students who remind me of where I came from. My students often see that I know when to lock in and when to relax and I think that’s a skill I’ve developed throughout my journey. In the kitchen, I sail the crew towards success through professionalism, discipline and teamwork. Outside the kitchen, I’m Eugene. I’m the storyteller, the creator and the person who doesn’t take himself too seriously. I actually enjoy that balance. I can lock in when it’s time to work, and I can switch off when it’s time to live.
7. Your content combines food, lifestyle, and authentic storytelling. How important is authenticity to you when creating content for your audience?
Authenticity is everything to me because I’m not trying to be different for people. I’m simply being myself. Raw. Real. Unfiltered. I was bullied growing up for being “different”, which actually became part of my identity. That’s where the name SimplyWeird came from. Now I embrace that difference. I don’t want to be a copy of someone else. I’d rather be an original than a fake version of something people already recognize. France reinforced that for me. It showed me that I didn’t have an identity to hide. So when people watch my content, I want them to see Eugene, not a character I’ve created to impress them. The question I keep coming back to is: Why spend your life trying to impress everyone else instead of becoming someone you’re proud of yourself?
8. You recently won the People’s Choice Award. What did that moment mean to you, especially considering the people who supported and voted for you?
Honestly, I didn’t expect it. What amazed me most wasn’t just winning the award, it was seeing people actively choose me and support me. It felt like confirmation that I was on the right path. All the times I’d doubted myself, all the times I’d wondered whether doing things differently was the right decision, that moment made me realize that maybe trusting myself was exactly what I needed to do. It represented growth for me. My mother gave me the second name Katlego, which means success, and in that moment I thought, “Maybe Mom was right after all.”
9. You mentioned experiencing moments of self-doubt. How have you managed to stay consistent and continue creating during challenging periods?
I still experience self-doubt. Sometimes it’s in the kitchen when I’m testing a recipe and wondering whether I’m doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s in life when I question whether I’m making the right decisions. I’ve just learned not to let that feeling make the decision for me. The trick is to do it anyway. Maybe it works. Maybe it doesn’t. Either way, you’ve learned something. Consistency is something HTA really taught me. In a professional kitchen, you can’t decide to give your best only when you’re feeling confident. Service still has to happen. The standard still has to be there. You can fry an egg a hundred times and still aim to make the hundred-and-first one better. I think life works the same way. You keep showing up. You keep learning. You keep adjusting.
10. Looking ahead, what are your ambitions for Eugene Britou as a chef, content creator, and storyteller, and what would you like your growing community to experience from you next?
Honestly, one of my biggest ambitions is to figure this life thing out while still remaining the person I am today. I smell success beyond the horizon, but I also know there are parts of me that still need work. And I’m excited about that because becoming better doesn’t mean becoming somebody else. I want Eugene Britou to leave a mark — not just in South Africa, but internationally. I want to create food, stories and experiences that stay with people long after they’ve seen them. I want to inspire people to believe in themselves, especially those who feel like they don’t fit the mold. Maybe one day I’ll see my name in history books. Maybe I’ll become a chef people recognize around the world. But right now, I’m focused on the person I can become tomorrow. I want my community to experience that journey with me — the wins, the failures, the laughs, the food and everything in between. Because ultimately, it’s one plate at a time.
