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Number 28 on the 2024 list
Coo Pillay is a president from South Africa, named to the AFN 100 in 2024 for being elected ninth president of the South African Chefs Association in its 50th year.
In October 2024, just after the South African Chefs Association marked 50 years since six chefs founded it in 1974, Coo Pillay was elected its ninth president. He is the second South African to lead it, after James Khoza. He pledged to make the association more accessible through digital tools, promote South African cuisine and put mentorship and education first. By 2024 its National Youth Chefs Training Programme had trained over 2,500 aspiring chefs.