Chef!

By Chef Thobeka Shangase

The life of a chef is unnerving at times. To be the iconic ideal of a chef you have to work late into the evenings, in sometimes seriously hostile anti-female kitchens while beyond the kitchen doors customers indulge in a variety of substances barked obscenities on the restaurant floor, and all of this with a middle aged head chef screaming in your face for every order.

Being a working  female chef is definitely not for sissies, I, like many others are nevertheless inspired by the jobs dual nature, the gritty and rawness of life in the kitchen makes a good dose of old school glamour and swank delivered on artistically crafted plates seem all the more necessary.
But I think as chefs we need to get our heads out of this pre-prescribed ideal of a chef, we all aspire one day to be a head chef, own our own restaurants, write about food or talk about food on some platform.

I want to be more than just a chef; I want to be an icon, a brazen, in your face figure of excellence and creativity but not just in the food world. I no longer want to be called a chef; I want to surpass all laws of gravity blur all industry lines and smash all boundaries, I want to be regarded as an artist.
Fashion designers create wearable art for the masses and I create edible art. For the masses But being in a world where the word artist is thrown around more than a free prostitute, the word artist doesn’t quiet carry the weight it used too. Now days a pop star who doesn’t write, compose or produce their songs is still called an artist where as I who takes a bunch of fruits, vegetables and pieces of meat and creates an entire dish which is  well thought out, perfectly balanced, composed in color and texture, well rounded and tastes great ,I am not called an artist.

Creating great food requires a certain level of science, craftsmanship and skill. This is the amount of focus and dedication I apply to every dish I produce, so why am I not called an artist?
This job is all about being daring, grime, glamour and very unattractive uniforms… living the dream!





As a chef, I believe that you must always have one recipe that you can make in your sleep, one recipe that you have mastered, your signature recipe. A recipe that defines who you are and for me it’s my Chocolate Pots. I first made this recipe when I was 12 years old for my sisters birthday dinner, I stole it from Jamie Oliver when he was still the Naked Chef, I made it all from memory and I didn’t split the chocolate or curdle the eggs, not bad for a 12 year old.

I’ve since added my own personal touches to the recipe and modified it to my pallet.

Hidden Chocolate Pots

285ml fresh cream
200g dark chocolate 70% cocoa
2 large egg yolks
20g unsalted butter
45ml brandy
10ml good instant coffee powder
1 punnet fresh blueberries

Chop up the chocolate as fine as possible.

In a heavy bottom pot add in the cream and heat it until it is nearly boiling with bubbles forming on the rim of the pot. Remove from heat, add in the coffee and stir to dissolve.

Leave it to cool for 1 minute then add in the chocolate, stir until smooth and melted.
Whisk the egg whites and temper with the hot cream mixture, then add the egg mixture to the cream and stir until smooth. Add in the brandy at this point.

 Allow chocolate to cool slightly before adding in the butter.

 If you add in the butter while the chocolate is too hot, it will split. If this happens add a little milk and whisk quickly until it comes together again. Whisk in the butter until smooth.

Use heat resistant shot glass or espresso glasses, drop a few blueberries into the bottom of the glasses and top of with the chocolate mixture. Place in the fridge to cool and set and then serve.