A thank you to Tata

Xoliswa's Ndoyiya was Nelson Mandela's personal chef for 22 years, until his death in 2013. She has not strayed far from where she started — Ndoyiya is now chef de tournant at the Sanctuary Mandela Boutique Hotel on the site of the former president's Houghton residence. Today, anyone visiting the hotel can savour some of the icon's favourite dishes, made by Sis'Xoli, as she is affectionately known, and her team.

I first met Ndoyiya when assisting with her first cookbook, Ukutya Kwasekhaya, Tastes from Nelson Mandela's Kitchen, published in 2011. I will always remember her utter devotion to and love for Madiba — she would frequently drop everything in the middle of a photo shoot to rush to his home when called — Madiba would be missing the simple dishes he loved cooked Ndoyiya's way.

The following is an extract from her new book, Made With Love: Recipes and Memories from Nelson Mandela’s Personal Chef.

“My love of food began early on, as a young woman growing up in SA's Eastern Cape. As the eldest daughter, it was my responsibility to prepare meals while my mother worked. I learnt the basics of cooking and became curious about experimenting with food and creating recipes of my own. My grandmother would also bring us delicious home-cooked meals and I think these experiences helped me discover the powerful connection between food, love and comfort.

“I was working as a chef at an aged-care facility after I moved to Johannesburg in my Twenties when my life changed overnight. It was 1992 and a friend arranged for a job interview for me to “cook for an icon”. I wasn’t looking for a job at the time, but I passed the interview and was offered the role. So I said “yes” and was taken to meet Tata Madiba. He smiled, invited me to sit, then asked me what my clan name was. “Mamqadai,” I replied. He said: “I believe you are a great cook, but do you think you can cook our own [isiXhosa] food?” Without hesitation I said “Yes, Tata”. I had the job.

“At first it was only me and one other staff member who lived in the house with Tata. The other household staff would come and go during the day. Our days began early, with Tata taking his first cup of coffee at 3.30am. I would bring it to his door, where he would greet me warmly, then have me follow him out to the garden for his morning exercise. Breakfast was prepared by 6.30am and was the same every day — fresh fruit, porridge with nuts and raisins, and sometimes bacon, eggs, green salad and a slice of home-baked break toast with marmalade. I quickly learnt that Tata liked consistency and punctuality.

“Yet one morning, after 18 years, he decided he would have Frosties with his grandchildren instead of porridge. Tata never ate sugar, chocolates or sweets until that day. The next morning he wanted Frosties again. When I asked him why, he told me he had only eaten porridge all those years to honour his mother, who made it for him when he was growing up. Now he felt ready to eat whatever he wanted, and at that moment it meant sharing a common food with his grandchildren. The same thing happened when Tata saw his grandchildren and Mama Graça [Machel] enjoying double-toffee ice cream. He asked for a taste only, then there he was asking for double-toffee ice cream for dessert again and again. For him, family and food went hand-in-hand.

“For 22 years I had the privilege of being Tata’s personal chef and I cooked many meals for Tata, his colleagues, his friends and his family. His grandchildren stayed often and my live-in colleague and I spent so much time looking after them that they took to calling us “Mama”. Tata also had a habit of inviting other children to the house, feeding them and asking them about their schoolwork — he would read about them in the paper or somehow hear about them, and the next thing there they were, sitting at the table. He simply loved children and wanted to look after them all.

“It was Tata’s nature to be warm and hospitable to all and by default, my mission was to welcome people visiting the house with comforting, home-cooked dishes. And Tata, in his generous nature, never failed to acknowledge my efforts. One evening when I was serving food to a group of visiting dignitaries, he called me over to the table and said: “Xoli, you know me, I don’t take credit for anybody. These people keep saying thank you to me. I didn’t go to the kitchen to cook for them, so they must say thank you to you.” That was Tata’s way of telling us, “When you respect people, they will respect you back”. And that was the Tata I grew to know: always generous, always compassionate and always perceptive. Tata used to look me straight in the eye and say: “Xoli, when I ask people to come to the house, please do exactly what you do every day, don’t stop doing it ... giving us food made with love.”

So Made With Love isn’t just another cookbook, it is a thank you to Tata, a way of passing the baton so we can all share the things he valued most with the ones we love. Because at his table, you wouldn’t see just one person — a black person, a white person — you’d see all people coming together, sharing together and giving to others through food made with love.” — Xoliswa Ndoyiya

Made With Love: Recipes and Memories from Nelson Mandela’s Personal Chef (R420) features photography by Cameron Gibb. It is published by Blackwell & Ruth and distributed locally by Bookstorm.

We share two of Madiba's favourites that are featured in the book.

UMPHOKOQO (Porridge)

Serves 6-10

“Tata loved this dish so much I once had to arrange for it to be smuggled into England. Tata was visiting London and I got a call to say that Tata was not himself — he was missing his umphokoqo. So I cooked some up and we wrapped it up nicely and wrote on the outside 'The President's Medication', which is how it was able to be smuggled into Tata's hotel.” — Xoliswa Ndoyiya

500ml (2 cups) water

5ml (1 tsp) salt

750ml (3 cups) maize meal

Dried fruit and nuts to garnish

1. Put the water and salt in a medium-sized lidded saucepan over a medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Add the maize meal, cover and bring back to the boil.

2. Once the maize meal is boiling, stir it with a fork until the water is absorbed and the maize meal is crumbly and not sticking together.

3. Cook again, reduce the heat, and cook until soft and fluffy, about 25 minutes.

4. Sprinkle with dried fruit and nuts, and serve.

Tata always liked his umphokoqo served with warm milk, but you can serve it with cold milk or amasi.

HOT PRAWN CURRY

Serves 6-8

“Tata loved genuine Indian cuisine so much that one day he took me to the Indian Consulate so their chef could show me how to make this hot prawn curry, just like they do in India.” — Xoliswa Ndoyiya

5 medium-sized tomatoes

60ml (¼ cup) olive oil

2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped

15ml (1 tbsp) crushed garlic 

15ml (1 tbsp) hot curry powder

15ml (1 tbsp) masala curry powder

15ml (1 tbsp) paprika

15ml (1 tbsp) dried chilli flakes

2kg prawns, deveined and cleaned

250ml (1 cup) water

60ml (¼ cup) fresh chopped coriander leaves, plus extra to serve

Basmati rice with toasted coconut, tomato and red onion salsa in poppadom basket

1. Bring a small pot of water to the boil, add the tomatoes and cook until the skin is burst, about 20 to 30 seconds. Once cool, deseed and grate the tomatoes.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the onions until soft and golden, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the garlic, curry powder, masala curry powder, paprika and chilli flakes and stir. Cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook over a low heat until a thick sauce forms, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the prawns and water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for about 20 minutes. Season and stir in half the coriander.

5. Garnish with extra coriander and serve with basmati rice with toasted coconut, tomato and red onion salsa in poppadom baskets if desired.