By Joseph Akahome
A cookbook featuring some of the favourite meals of renowned South African leader, Nelson Mandela has been launched by his personal chef.
The book titled ‘Ukutya Kwasekhaya‘ which was written by Mandela’s personal chef of over 20 years, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, includes more than 62 recipes for the simple traditional dishes that Mr Mandela most enjoys.
Mr Mandela’s grandson who spoke at the book launch, praised the efforts of the author, affectionately called ‘Xoli’ by members of the Mandela family, and described her as the family’s ‘best kept secret’.
‘UMam’Xoli was more than someone who prepared meals… she was a parent‘, Luvuyo said.
Recipes from the cookbook include tastes from Nelson Mandela’s kitchen, ranging from chicken soup, umqusho (maize and beans) to umsila wenkomo (oxtail stew).
Ms Ndoyiya, 49, sees food as a way of strengthening bonds between families and also preserving special memories.
‘Tata Mandela has told me that every time I make umphokoqo [sour milk] for him, he remembers his mother cooking this dish for him with love‘, she writes in her book.
Her husband was killed in the clashes between Mr Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in the early 1990s. Shortly after that, she was introduced to Mr Mandela who was looking for a chef at the time. She began working for him in 1992, two years before he became South Africa’s first democratically elected president.
Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, 93, retired from public life and active politics in 2004. He recently lost his remaining sibling Nothusile Bhulehluthi who died at 81.
Today, he spends most of his time with his family in his home village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape and Johannesburg, South Africa.
1 comment