Read on to learn more about Kokopelli's Chef de Partie: Thagen Sigamoney.


Thagen Sigamoney is making ALGCC history –

he is Alto’s very first official green card recipient.
 
Thagen was born November 22, 1984, in the South African city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.  By the time he was 12 years old, he had already begun showing a piqued interest in cooking, inspired by the recipes he observed his mother whipping up in their kitchen. 
 
“I’ve always been interested in flavors, and how they work together the best,” Thagen explains.  His specialties include Indian curries and tandoori, as well as French cuisine.  Thagen goes on to say, “The other most important things to me aside from amazing flavors is putting out a consistent product, and keeping food ideas flowing

that will make our members say ‘wow.’”
 
Thagen’s first foray to the United States was with the J1 program in 2010-11, where he worked at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  He returned in 2018 as an H2B, and every year since, alternating his time among several different prestigious country clubs: Alto, and Hunter’s Run and Pine Creek Sporting Club in Florida. Incidentally, Pine Creek, a large club with an extensive wildlife habitat, is where Thagen received his recommendation after three seasons of work.  It was also at Pine Creek where he gained vital experience in further honing his chef skills, as well as management of an exclusive country club kitchen with an emphasis on members’ dining requirements. With his extensive experience in kitchen management, as well as culinary schooling under his belt, it was a short step for Alto to extend Thagen the invitation to become the Chef de Partie at Kokopelli.
 
When not in the kitchen, he enjoys watching football, soccer, and other sports.  He considers himself a very social person, and truly enjoys meeting people.  He also enjoys travelling and exploring cuisines from other countries.  He plans to begin working on gaining his citizenship, and is looking forward to digging into the Kokopelli kitchen.  “My goal is to be the best – I like to work hard, and I’m very excited to move forward.”