Growing up in the British countryside in the 1970’s Amanda had a reputation for being a tomboy  with a love of the great outdoors . It was here in Surrey that her passion for fresh, seasonal food began.

Summer’s as a little girl were spent in the garden with her dad picking & eating the soft fruits that grew in abundance there & in the autumn months if she couldn’t be found in the house, there was a good chance she was up a tree looking for ripe apples to pick.

By her early teens she was washing dishes in a local restaurant & decided work was much more fun than studying!

Loving the fast pace of the restaurant industry & thriving on the nervous energy that came hand in hand with it, she was recommended to enrol in a hotel management course upon leaving school at 16, but she quickly realised she would never make it as a chef. If you’ve ever been in a busy restaurant kitchen you will know that the heat is almost unbearable, and often made Amanda pass out (not great if you are the aspiring chef).  Hotels were just way too slow for her and so she decided instead to pursue a career in the corporate restaurant industry.

By her early 20’s she had worked her way up through the ranks of some familiar pizza chains & was busy running a group of PizzaExpress restaurants just outside of London.

South Africa called her in 2000 & for the next 6 months she travelled extensively & fell in love with the country, it’s people & the way of life.

Upon her return to UK and for the next 6 years she worked with DevCo; the development arm of a large pub company who were busy setting up award winning gastro pubs & cocktail bars in affluent parts of the country. She  eventually operated a group  of 30 sites for them across the UK, working alongside an incredible team of people.

South Africa called her again in 2006, but this time with her Durban born husband, 3 year old son Luc & the full intention of never working again! Maya was born a year later & she planned to be a full time mum to her 2 children for the rest of her life.

But when iconic British noodle chain wagamama called her 5 years later & offered to fly her to London once a month to help open a new concept for them, it was an offer she couldn’t refuse & she spent the next 12 months commuting between Durban & London to get the project open for them.  She loved every minute of it!

Of course, the thrill of the restaurant industry was ignited in her once again & at the end of the project she decided it was time to do something in SA.

Restaurants or bars were the obvious choice, but she had no desire to go into the corporate restaurant scene in South Africa & knew the investment of both time & money in her own restaurant would be both risky & impratical with a young family.

She had been making ice cream at home since working in the gastro pubs in 2000, & realised there was a gap in the market in Durban for a good quality ice cream company that celebrated the beautiful KZN produce.

She set to work on a business plan, model & branding & in early 2014 Scoop was born.

Amanda is married to Terence & they have 2 children, Luc & Maya. She has fully embraced life in Africa & feels more at peace here than anywhere else in the world.

She loves exploring the world  but also enjoys coming home to her little piece of heaven in Salt Rock.

She finds wine & running are the answer to all of life’s little stresses, although not usually at the same time!