MBOMBELA – Women from the province and beyond learned how to cook various low-budget recipes during the recently held 47th Bona Food for Fun and Fund at Bundu Lodge.
The event also aimed to empower women to become entrepreneurs. Internationally renowned chefs, Lesley Jacobs and Dorah Sitole, displayed their prowess by making different dishes from Enterprise, Albany and Fattis & Monis products.
“The audience of this province, coupled with the beautiful scenery makes our cooking more enjoyable,” said Jacobs, who has been a professional chef for
20 years and runs a cooking school in Bloemfontein and Johannesburg. He won the national Chaine des Rôtisseurs competition in 2003.
Sitole has been cooking professionally for over 36 years.
“For me cooking resonates with my being. Every morning when I wake up I want to cook as cooking is more of a calling to me. When I am down or bored I just go to the kitchen and start cooking,” explained Sitole.
Her recipes are also published in her book, Cooking from Cape to Cairo, as well as in her second edition of the book which covers traditional food from African countries.
Sitole has represented the country in a number of cooking competitions, including in Japan.
She is an award winner of the South African Presidential Association and has been featured among the 67 top chefs in the country.
Sitole’s five tips for a successful cooking business:
• Be focused and give it all your energy.
• Have a generous spirit with information. Help others to grow as well.
• Be confident in who you are. Know your worth and value.
• Remain humble.
• Respect your clients and put God at the centre of your business.
Also read:Cooling food ideas for those scorchers
