Edinburgh native, George Jardine was born into a family of chefs. His grandmother was a pastry chef at Holyrood Palace and throughout the generations various family members chose to hone their skills in kitchens across Scotland.

After sharpening his skills and craft in Scotland, Jardine moved to London, working under Michelin Star Chef, Jean Christophe Novelli at The Four Seasons Hotel and later Maison Novelli Restaurant. In 1997, Jardine moved to Cape Town, South Africa to open Novelli at The Cellars Hohenort Hotel in the Constantia Winelands. Under his leadership, the restaurant was named one of Condé Nast’s Top 50 Dining Destinations in the World, garnering many local and international awards and accolades during his three years at the helm.

Jardine then moved to Asia, holding Executive Chef roles at such iconic properties as the prestigious Dharmawangsa Hotel in Indonesia where the restaurant was named Asia’s Hottest New Restaurant in 2001 by East Asia Magazine. More travels led him to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he opened the Adam Tihany designed (Spago and Le Cirque 2000 fame) Lafite Restaurant for the newly renovated, flagship Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur Hotel. Lafite was an instant success and won many industry awards, notably, best restaurant at the Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards. Four years on, Jardine made the move to Australia to open the Altitude Restaurant at Shangri-La’s newes thotel in Sydney, Australia. The Australian Hospitality Association named Altitude Restaurant Australia’s "Restaurant of the Year" in 2005.

In 2006, Jardine returned to Cape Town to open his own restaurant & bakery, Restaurant Jardine, winning multiple awards over a three-year period. Having established both restaurants and a bakery with highly skilled staff complement to uphold the restaurant’s standards of consistency,J ardine expanded into the wine lands to open Jardine Restaurant at the magnificent Jordan Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. Over a 12-year period, including the opening of another small Jardine Restaurant in the town of Stellenbosch, Jardine at Jordan garnered significant accolades and awards, where it was widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in South Africa.

George retired Jardine’s after 12 incredible years and now joins Valor Hospitality as head of culinary for the Africa and Middle East regions with many projects awaiting his expertise, including a new, under construction luxury boutique hotel in Camps Bay, Cape Town.