Talented kitchen queen Zola Nene shares her fruitful journey and future plans with BONA food editor Ntwenhle Gcabashe.
My love for food inspired me to join the industry. My stay in the UK to see if I could be a chef also inspired me. While abroad, I worked in a brasserie for two years, honing my skills. I then moved back to South Africa to study at the culinary school for three years. After that, I moved to Joburg to work as a catering manager and then back to Cape Town where I started working on The Expresso Morning Show.
My cooking style is simple and relaxed. I make food that people can easily cook at home. I enjoy teaching them how to cook and showing them that things are often simpler than they seem.
One of the best recipes I’ve ever developed is my never-fail pastry. You can find it in my first cookbook, Simply Delicious. It is the simplest and most delicious pastry recipe ever!
My best achievement so far was winning Best in the World at the Gourmand Cookbook Awards for my book. To be awarded such an accolade on a world stage has been both a privilege and an honour.
In the future, I would love to have my own cooking show. I would also like to write more cookbooks because I still have many recipes and food stories to tell.
