James Paltoglou is 21 and based in Cape Town. He is new to modelling and interested mainly in commercial, lifestyle and fashion work. Most of his background though comes from food, hospitality, sport and music rather than anything traditionally connected to modelling.

He trained at Silwood School of Cookery and went on to work in fine-dining kitchens before moving into more senior roles. He was Head Chef at Avontuur and is now the owner and operator of Elysium Eatery. Working in restaurants has made him comfortable around people and very used to long hours, pressure, last-minute changes and having to keep his head when things are busy.

Food is by far the thing he is most obsessive about. Bread and pastry are probably his biggest areas of interest, along with open-fire cooking. He also pulls a lot from Asian, French and American food, although he tends to jump around between styles depending on what he is working on.

A lot of his free time is spent watching chefs, restaurant videos and food content, often just to understand how somebody else approached a dish or technique. What he enjoys most is the development side of cooking. He likes making something, working out why it is not quite right, changing it and doing it again.

He is a perfectionist with food and has very little interest in making something simply because it is safe or familiar. There is little point in getting good at something only to make work that could have come from anyone.

Coffee is another interest that grew out of working in restaurants. He is comfortable using espresso equipment, dialling in coffee and adjusting variables to get a better result and would describe his level as intermediate rather than specialist.

He played rugby from Grade 1 to Grade 10, mainly at flank and is comfortable with contact, tackling, passing and kicking. He still trains regularly, now with more of a bodybuilding-style strength programme. He has no interest in competing; for him it is about physique, strength and keeping himself physically and mentally well.

Music has been part of his life for almost as long. He studied bass guitar from Grade 8 through Grade 12 and performed with the band at Paul Roos Gymnasium. His taste is broadbut leans heavily toward rock and its various subgenres, especially music with unusual rhythm or a bit more technical complexity. Tool and Consider the Source are good examples.

He is also very into psytrance and the local festival scene. For him that interest is not only about the music. He pays attention to the sound systems, lighting, projection mapping, visual art, costumes and the strange mix of people that make those spaces what they are. That whole side of festival culture is something he enjoys as much as the actual sets.

Outside of food and music, he has an interest in photography and a smaller interest in cars. Most of his attention still circles back to the restaurant though. He tends to become very involved in whatever he cares about and values people who are genuinely passionate about what they do.

James speaks English fluently and Afrikaans conversationally. For modelling, his background gives him a fairly broad base to work from: restaurant and kitchen experience, rugby, strength training, bass guitar, coffee, food preparation and a genuine comfort around people rather than a list of interests added for the sake of a profile.