WATCH: Lorna Maseko’s culinary expedition to air on BBC Lifestyle

The country’s local chef space is making big strides with multiple cookbooks from diverse faces, something consumers were not familiar with five years ago.

Lorna Maseko, who is no stranger on our screens, has always had a passion for food, even during her days as a Top Billing presenter, when she participated in Celebrity Masterchef South Africa in 2015 and was a judge on Top Chef SA.

Having her own cooking show on SABC 3 The Hostess with Lorna Maseko, the TV personality always felt she needed an international audience and was going to do anything possible to reach this goal. 

Speaking to The Citizen during the launch of her new show on BBC Lifestyle called Homegrown Tastes South Africa, at the Fourseasons Hotel in Westcliff, Johannesburg, Lorna said she always wanted to put local food on the map. 

They approached BBC and conceptualised a show a few months later. Lorna says she wanted to celebrate local favourite meals such as kotas, gatsby, atchar, indigenous foods and ingredients, spotlight local farmers, their produce and South African chefs. 

“When I travel that’s all I am trying to do, is putting South African food on the map. To have a show that does that, that will have ‘international legs’ why not. I am South African, that is the core of who I am,” the award-winning chef adds.  

WATCH: Lorna Maseko hosts new local cooking show Homegrown Tastes SA

Homegrown Tastes SA will follow Lorna’s culinary expedition across the country. Lorna will try all the mouthwatering and detectable delights and then make her own versions of these after.

Cuisines held in the highest regard in the world include Italian, French, Spanish and Asian and which are also considered to have ‘food bibles’ dating back centuries. South Africa is still finding its feet to get on that same map. 

Because of its diversity, there is a new wave of chefs showcasing and celebrating traditional local foods like never before. 

Lorna agrees and says the research team on the show really had to dig deep to find farmers-farming South African cuisine, the plants and ingredients that you may not find anywhere else in the world. 

“We wanted those boutique-style organic farmers that still supply to market but in a different way and have a voice in what they are doing.”

She describes how a farmer they met in KwaZulu Natal took two years to mend the soil and by the time you taste his radish, it tastes sweet, produce you won’t see in retail stores. 

The ingredients are at the centre of the show as well, with less popular ones such as mebos, spekboom and organic meats, which are becoming more accessible to shoppers.

The show will spotlight entertaining and loveable appearances of the local business owners such as Linden Loaves and Jabu’s atchar.

Homegrown Taste SA will include appearances from media personalities such as Pearl Modiadie, Karabo Poppy and chef Jason Fortuin.

Lorna’s must-have pantry ingredients include stock, Worcestershire sauce, chutney and bokkoms- dried fish.

As a cookbook author, there are plans to add another book to her growing catalogue from her experience on Homegrown Tastes SA.

Having seen the first episode, Homegrown Tastes SA is a gem and premieres on BBC Lifestyle, DStv channel 174 on 23 March at 8pm.