Asithandile Mautla, a private chef fondly known as “Chef Tash”, is building immersive dining experiences that fuse African food, storytelling and community one dinner table conversation at a time.
The culinary creative and food educator has appeared on Afternoon Expresso and is the co-author of the Taste the Nation cookbook.
“I’ve taken it upon myself to make [the dining experience] a space where we can go back to our roots and be proud of who we are and the food we eat,” says Mautla.
With her magnetic personality and unapologetically local food philosophy, Mautla hosts “The Conversation Table”, an intimate private dining series where guests gather to connect over food, culture and conversations spanning local, African and global issues.
“We are lacking spaces where we can openly talk about anything and everything, and so the conversation table was born,” she says. “We have someone who’s called the conversation igniter who leads the conversation, but it is not only limited to what the igniter contributes.
“Whenever I introduce the food I’ve prepared, I always share with my guests that the food is sauced, cooked and served with intention.”
Mautla says her true love for cooking emerged during her university days when she would cook for her friends in her dorm room.
“I grew up in Mdantsane township, Eastern Cape, and I started cooking at a very tender age because I grew up in a classic African family where mom was at work and dad worked. So naturally, when you’re a young kid, you start cooking. Back then, I had a hate-love relationship with it,” she says.
“It wasn’t until varsity that I discovered my true love for cooking. I was doing financial accounting then. On any given day, my friends would come to my little room to have supper, especially on weekends.”
After working a short stint in financial management, Mautla launched her catering company, which began her unconventional culinary journey.
“I worked in different corporate spaces until 2010, when I registered my catering company, Black Cherry, and never looked back,” she says. “The transition to food has always been there in the background, but I never honoured it until I was told to go for it and started Black Cherry”
Mautla decided to pursue her dream to become a professional chef at the HTA School of Culinary Art in Randburg, evolving from being a caterer to become a food storyteller on her terms.
“The difference between being a caterer and a chef was my desire to be more personal with people and curate specific plates,” she says.
“When you are a caterer, you’d often get people who say, ‘I want a three-course meal,’ or ‘I want a seven-colour Sunday meal.’ However, being a private chef has given me that leeway where I can say to you, ‘I’d like to create something very similar to what you want, but put my special touch on it.’”
Here is Mautla’s recipe for a delicious warming soup:
Creamy, roasted butternut soup
Ingredients
For the butternut soup:
- 2 medium butternuts, halved with seeds
- 2-3 shallots, finely chopped
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 stick ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 500 ml vegetable or chicken stock
- 250 ml fresh cream
- 1 whole deseeded chilli
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- A dash of extra virgin olive oil − for finishing.
Method
- Preheat oven to 200°C
- Halve the butternut, keeping the seeds inside. Season the cut sides with salt and black pepper. Place in the oven and roast until soft, caramelised and golden (about 40 - 50 minutes). Take it out of the oven and allow it to rest
- Heat butter and vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until soft and lightly golden
- Then add garlic and sauté until fragrant, then add thyme and parsley and stir
- Add the cinnamon and nutmeg, and allow the spices to bloom briefly
- De-seed the butternut and scoop the roasted flesh directly into the pot. Stir the ingredients to combine with the aromatics
- Pour in the stock and simmer for 10–15 minutes to deepen flavour. Remove the pot from the stove, blend until smooth and velvety, then return to the heat
- Pour in fresh cream, gently stir, and allow to simmer for less than a minute
- Adjust seasoning if needed
- Serve the soup piping hot and finished with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of nutmeg.
