PhD Tourism Management, M Sc Home Economics, B Hons Home Economics, B Ed Home Economics

Position:  Associate Professor

Fields of expertise: Culinary Innovation, Culinary Practices, Hospitality Management, Quantity Food Management

Telephone:  +27 (0)12 420 3547
E-mail:  [email protected]

Academic memberships:

• Member of the South African Association for Family Ecology and Consumer Science (SAAFECS)
• Member of the South African Association for Food Science and Technolgy (SAAFOST)
• Member of the World Food Tourism Association (WFTA)

Orchid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6689-7100

NRF rating: C2

Prof Du Rand is currently an associate professor in the Department of Consumer and Food Sciences, University of Pretoria.  She holds a C2 rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and part of the food safety research team at the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security.

She completed her B Home Economics degrees at Stellenbosch University and her MSc in Home Economics and PhD in Tourism Management at the University of Pretoria. She lectures in recipe development and standardisation, hospitality and restaurant management, and quantity food management. 

Her research focuses on consumer led food product design and development, South African culinary heritage and local foods and how it relates to food tourism. She enjoys national and international recognition as a researcher and expert in the field of consumer behaviour related to food and hospitality.  Her speciality area of interest is food tourism and the use of local foods in culinary mapping and innovation. Her extensive current supervision of eight master’s and two PhD students focuses on topics ranging from consumer food practices and behaviour and culinary practices to innovative culinary product development and food tourism. She is presently involved in various research projects, such as the Centre of Excellence project on consumer aspects of food safety of fresh produce, food waste management and food security of UP students. She has several publications in peer reviewed scientific journals, books, conference proceedings and non-refereed journals.  She has also attended and presented posters and papers at several local and international workshops and conferences.  She received the Dux Docens Award for the best lecturer at UP for 2009 and two best paper awards at international conferences in 2010 and 2015.