It’s not every day that one is in a kitchen with Nelson Mandela’s former chef, a renowned football star and a World Cup-winning rugby player.
Luckily for me, I was at the right place at the right time.
Siphiwe "Shabba" Tshabalala and Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira went head to head for the AEG Cooking Challenge 2022 in Benoni on the East Rand.
The two sports stars were tasked to follow a fried fish with vegetables and rice with a creamy sauce recipe from global icon Mandela’s former chef Xoliswa Ndoyiya who also judged their efforts.
She chose the particular dish because she felt it was easy and wouldn’t take time, and she also let slip that it was a dish that Mandela loved to have when he wanted something light for dinner.
The winner was handed a sum of R80,000 to donate towards a charity of their choice.
It was a close match. Tshabalala was ahead for most of the challenge and ended with a very impressive looking plate. Mtawarira’s slow and steady approach earned him the crown as taste trumped plating.
He graciously handed over the prize to Tshabalala to aid in his foundation’s efforts to help the people of KwaZulu-Natal who were affected by recent floods.
“I know his foundation is going to do great work because it’s quite active in the community,” said Mtawarira.
Ndoyiya was Mandela’s chef for 22 years. She’s back working with the Mandelas now at Sanctuary Mandela Hotel in Houghton, Johannesburg, where she oversees the kitchen.
The menu offered at the hotel features foods that Mandela enjoyed, some of which is in her cookbook, which was released in 2010.
She mentions oxtail stew and oxtail ravioli, as well as samp and beans (which is now a samp risotto) as some of the dishes that you’ll find on the menu and which were also Mandela’s favourites.
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“The decision was not easy for me but I had to go with the taste, with the texture of the meal. The one that came out the way I normally make it... when I looked at the Beast’s [plate] it came out exactly the way I make it, from the colour, the taste... everything,” she explained her judging process.
Mtawarira, the winner of the challenge, says he cooks at home, though not a lot. His go-to meal is Wagyu steak with vegetables and rice, and for the children he makes flapjacks and mostly breakfast and smoothies.
SA cuisine is his favourite.
“Nothing beats South African food. I love, love South African food. You know, every time I travel I miss it dearly. And also the food that I ate when I was young at home in Zim, I also crave that a lot, which is sadza (pap) and moriwo. You probably might have heard of it: vegetables and meat. I love South African food, there’s nothing better out there.”
Mtawarira says he and his family are avid watchers of cooking show MasterChef, as they enjoy watching ordinary people make culinary magic.
He noted that the time limit often trips the contestants up on cooking shows and felt lucky he didn’t have to worry about that during the challenge.
“I was nervous in the beginning but I told myself to breathe and take my time. Because usually when you watch cooking shows on TV there’s a time limit but today there wasn’t, so I was able to take my time.
“I just kind of took a step back, took a look at the ingredients and tried to follow the process and then in the end I think I finished after Siphiwe but I think my food had a little bit more flavour. So that was my approach, playing the long game.”
While Mtawarira handed his winnings to Tshabalala, he also has a foundation called The Beast Foundation.
“My foundation focuses on three pillars: sports, education and life skills among the youth. We have a pan-African approach. We want to help youth from all over the continent.” The foundation is helping out in KZN in partnerships with Hands of Hope, the Sharks charity arm.”
Tshabalala whose plate looked restaurant worthy but lacked flavour, says he’s not a cook but considers himself a braai master.
“I enjoy a good braai. I have, however, been cooking since the national lockdown. I asked my wife to take a back seat and give the kitchen over to me, just cooking the basics – pap, beef stew and chicken curry.”
Tshabalala says the cooking challenge took him out of his comfort zone.
“I was having fun, though there were lessons to be learnt. It was my first time doing the dish and I’m definitely going to try it at home and it’ll come out tops,” he said.
He also informed us that he absolutely hates onions and is a picky eater when travelling.
“I think it’s a kind gesture from Beast to assist our foundation, the Siphiwe Tshabalala Foundation, where we focus on giving kids in disadvantaged areas an opportunity through football, through mentorship programmes and life skills.”
During lockdown, Tshabalala and his wife, former Miss SA Bokang, launched a relief programme to help families in distress with food parcels and blankets in collaboration with Aspen.
They have managed to help families in Mogale City and Soweto.
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