Benny Masekwameng started off selling vetkoek on the streets of Alex, but is now one of SA’s top chefs
ALEXANDRA – Benny Masekwameng has not allowed fame and fortune to get the better of him.
From selling vetkoek in the dusty streets of Alex to becoming one of the country’s top culinary chefs, Benny Masekwameng has come a long way.
And the great thing is, he is the same humble person he was as a youngster selling in the streets of Alex and has not allowed fame and fortune to get the better of him.
Born in Alex 42 years ago, Masekwameng, of Masterchef South Africa fame and now awarded the title of Ultimate Braai Master, may now be living in one of the posher suburbs of Johannesburg, has not lost touch with his beloved township of Alexandra.
Born to David and Dimakatso, Masekwameng was introduced to the art of cooking at the tender age of seven when he used to sell food prepared from home, which was the family’s primary source of income.
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“In 1982 together with my siblings, we used to sell amagwinya [vetkoek] and other food stuffs to factory workers in Wynberg, and this is where I picked up the art of cooking, which has become my profession and lifelong passion,” he said.
The Masekwameng family was forced to flee their home during the political upheavals of the 90s, and he sought shelter at the Sankopano Centre from 1991 to 1995. He was separated from his family which was housed at the Council Building in 1st Avenue. After matriculating from Northview High School, Masekwameng studied at Natal Technikon (now the Durban University of Technology) to pursue his passion for cooking with more emphasis in catering management.
After graduating from his three-year course, he immediately landed an in-service trainee position with the Hilton Hotel in Durban and a year later, in 1999, he was promoted to breakfast chef until he left in 2006, the same year that his dad died.
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Masekwameng then travelled the world – to London in the United Kingdom, Turkey, Jamaica, Dubai and then finally Madagascar, after which he joined Masterchef South Africa and spent a couple of seasons on that show before moving to Ultimate Braai Master.
“I am privileged to be part of the Ultimate Braai Master show, which is modelled around one of my other passions, travelling, as it moves from one venue to another countrywide.”
Masekwameng is no stranger to the braai environment as he also did that at an early age. “We sometimes cooked amagwinya on an open flame when we ran out of electricity,” said the 42-year-old who has been in the professional food industry for the past 18 years.
Masekwameng is already toying with a number of ideas as to where he would ultimately want to end his career.
“One of the ideas is opening up a catering school in Alex where I could conduct cooking lessons for the youth, both boys and girls and other interested older family members.
“I am also passionate about starting a food craft market in Alex, which will tell our own food stories and other elements outside this craft while hooking tourists into it. I am already engaging with stakeholders in the tourism industry in Johannesburg and the Gauteng province.”
He also has dreams of establishing a catering company, and signature clothing and catering utensils company to produce items such as a chef’s clothing line, signature plates and other cookery items.
Masekwameng now lives in Edleen, Kempton Park, and is married to Purity and they have a five-year-old daughter, Dimakatso named after his mother.
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