MasterChef SA runner-up, Siphokazi Mdlankomo, has been hailed a hero in her hometown of Tsolo for using her experience as a domestic worker to become one of the country’s best-known cooks.
Mdlankomo went back home this weekend to shoot the final episode of her Mzansi Magic show, Let’s Eat with Siphokazi.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch while busy preparing for the shoot in Noziyongwana village, where she grew up and learnt to make her first meal, Mdlankomo said she had to end the show where she started.
“I can honestly say that I have always enjoyed cooking. My earliest memories are of me in the kitchen cooking with my gran and mom, watching cooking shows and trying to recreate those dishes.
“Shooting here today is about showing my community the skills I have gained since then and to show viewers where Siphokazi comes from,” said Mdlankomo.
The show debuted last month and has featured inspirational and well-known women such as singer Yvonne Chaka-Chaka and actress Thembi Nyandeni.
Madlonkomo said because of the show’s growing popularity there were talks of a second season.
“The first show had over 30000 viewers and I haven’t checked since then but we do know it’s becoming very popular and some viewers have asked if we are returning, so let’s just keep watching,” she said.
She has published her own cookbook, My Little Black Recipe Book, which she says is ideal for domestic workers to learn from
“This is a recipe book that features simple hearty meals that teaches you how to use garlic and fresh herbs, for example, to make ordinary food extraordinary.
“Being on MasterChef SA opened my mind to so many new recipes and I just wanted to use this book to share those and in turn expose my counterparts to those recipes.”
When the Daily Dispatch joined the shoot on Saturday, Mdlankomo’s home was a hive of activity with a production crew, as well as invited villagers all clad in colourful traditional attire.
One elderly villager, Wilson Same, said he had seen Mdlankomo as another child in the village and never imagined she would become famous.
“We would never have thought that someone from this village would achieve such fame. We see now that she is a very important person and I am personally very proud to see her achieving so greatly,” he said.
Mdlankomo’s book is available at all major bookshops and can be ordered online. The latest episode of Let’s Eat with Siphokazi airs on Mzansi Magic channel 161 at 6pm on Thursday. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
Famous chef ends series in Tsolo home
Mdlankomo went back home this weekend to shoot the final episode of her Mzansi Magic show, Let’s Eat with Siphokazi.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch while busy preparing for the shoot in Noziyongwana village, where she grew up and learnt to make her first meal, Mdlankomo said she had to end the show where she started.
“I can honestly say that I have always enjoyed cooking. My earliest memories are of me in the kitchen cooking with my gran and mom, watching cooking shows and trying to recreate those dishes.
“Shooting here today is about showing my community the skills I have gained since then and to show viewers where Siphokazi comes from,” said Mdlankomo.
The show debuted last month and has featured inspirational and well-known women such as singer Yvonne Chaka-Chaka and actress Thembi Nyandeni.
Madlonkomo said because of the show’s growing popularity there were talks of a second season.
“The first show had over 30000 viewers and I haven’t checked since then but we do know it’s becoming very popular and some viewers have asked if we are returning, so let’s just keep watching,” she said.
She has published her own cookbook, My Little Black Recipe Book, which she says is ideal for domestic workers to learn from
“This is a recipe book that features simple hearty meals that teaches you how to use garlic and fresh herbs, for example, to make ordinary food extraordinary.
“Being on MasterChef SA opened my mind to so many new recipes and I just wanted to use this book to share those and in turn expose my counterparts to those recipes.”
When the Daily Dispatch joined the shoot on Saturday, Mdlankomo’s home was a hive of activity with a production crew, as well as invited villagers all clad in colourful traditional attire.
One elderly villager, Wilson Same, said he had seen Mdlankomo as another child in the village and never imagined she would become famous.
“We would never have thought that someone from this village would achieve such fame. We see now that she is a very important person and I am personally very proud to see her achieving so greatly,” he said.
Mdlankomo’s book is available at all major bookshops and can be ordered online. The latest episode of Let’s Eat with Siphokazi airs on Mzansi Magic channel 161 at 6pm on Thursday. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
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