Businesswoman and restaurateur Saskia Beer, the daughter of Maggie Beer, dies aged 46
The SA food legend revealed the tragic news that her daughter Saskia, also a chef and restaurateur, had died on Friday night.
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The daughter of South Australian cooking icon Maggie Beer has died unexpectedly.
In a statement published on social media on Sunday night, Mrs Beer and her husband Colin broke the news of the death of their daughter, Saskia, 46.
“It is with broken hearts we need to let you all know that our beautiful, extraordinary daughter Saskia died unexpectedly yet peacefully in her sleep on Friday night,” Mrs Beer said.
“We ask for time and space as we grapple to come to terms with our loss and appreciate all the support we have been given.”
Africola head chef Duncan Welgemoed took to social media to farewell his friend.
“Biggest love and hugs to the Beers, especially Maggie Beer, during this tragic time,” he wrote.
Last Monday, Saskia attended Porkstar, an annual fine food industry event at Sparkke at the Whitmore.
The businesswoman, restaurateur and caterer was born and bred in the Barossa Valley just after the family moved from Sydney in 1973.
The older sister of Elli, Saskia initially resisted a career as a chef, saying she’d seen the sacrifices required but she had the perfect background to appreciate food and the way it is grown and cultivated.
In 1979, her parents established the Farm Shop just outside Nuriootpa, which became the famous Barossa Pheasant Farm Restaurant later that year.
“I could see how mum would control her ingredients by telling dad what she wanted her pheasant to be like – that’s how I learned,” Ms Beer said in an interview in 2013.
“Growing the food and cooking it in our restaurant was fantastic – we were living it well before it became something sexy to do.”
She launched Saskia Beer Farm Produce at Nuriootpa in 1997 when in her mid 20s, soon after the birth of her first child, with an emphasis on free range and chemical-free food.
Saskia listed her mother among her cooking heroes, alongside the likes of Heston Blumenthal and Kylie Kwong, who posted a tribute on Facebook: “Your beautiful, special, darling Sassy-girl ... I am just so, so sad for all of you, I loved Sassy so much and hold you all very, very closely in my heart.”
Saskia’s iconic mother Maggie, who has had her own TV shows and been a regular guest on MasterChef and judge on The Great Australian Bake Off, has regularly described her eldest child as being a “brilliant cook”.