CHEF SIPHOKAZI MDLANKOMO TALKS ‘HEARTY HOME FOOD WITH SIPHO’ She wants to make African food gourmet so that it can appeal to other people while retaining its authentic LUTHO PASIYA SOUTH Africa fell in love with Siphokazi Mdlankomo in season three of MasterChef South Africa. A domestic worker at the time, she proved her capability in the kitchen and made it to the top two stages of the competition. With a full range of cooking abilities and experience to make any home cook a little jealous, Mdlankomo is a fountain of knowledge and has a love for cooking that is an inspiration to all who watch or follow her. Mdlankomo’s love for cooking started at an early age under the guidance of her mother and grandmother, her fondest memories being helping and watching her mother bake scones on a three-legged pot on an open flame. Mdlankomo’s experience with MasterChef helped her skills, and she learnt about patience, creativity and respect for every ingredient. After the successful release of her first cookbook, My Little Black Recipe Book, published in 2016, she has brought out her second, Hearty Home Food with Sipho, which retails for around R375, and is available at all good bookstores. The new book offers easy, affordable recipes to suit all
HEARTY HOME FOOD WITH SIPHO Available at loot.co.za
palates. Mdlankomo keeps things simple with flavouring – herbs, marinades, sauces, dressings; hearty and wholesome – soups, bread, pasta, traditional feasts; light but flavoursome – fish, calamari, sides, salads, vegetarian dishes; finger foods and snacks – easy and tasty; and sweet treats – cakes, bakes,
puddings and sweets to spoil family and friends. She was approached by her publisher, Lindy Samery, in 2019 but because of the lockdown the release of the cookbook took longer than expected. “My book is inspired by the everyday lives of simple people who love simple things in life. This book is totally different as it teaches people who are home cooks simple ways of cooking and how to make meals using just pantry ingredients,” said Mdlankomo. With September being Heritage Month, we asked her to share some of her favourite cultural delights. In a recent interview on African cuisine, she bemoaned the fact that because African cuisine is interesting, people take it for granted. “We should start learning how to make our African food gourmet so it can appeal to other people but still keep that African taste. “We need to put African cuisine to an international standard so people can see it as one of the best cuisines the world has, and modernise it; people need to start believing in African food and the only way is to keep African food on trend,” said Mdlankomo.
