A kick out of pastry and karate for agile Thato

At the age of 20, Thato Alex Keipidile hits hard not only when it comes to his favourite sport of karate, but he is also a passionate pastry chef where the finer skills of life are required.
Thato has been competing in karate for 14 years and it all started when he visited his cousin and they went to visit their neighbour who was actively involved in karate. “This was when I fell in love with karate and I ended up joining the BW Champion Karate Club,” he said. He currently has a blue belt and besides being dangerous on the karate mat he is also a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen.“My passion for cooking started when I visited my aunt who bakes. I always went to help her and then started watching Food Network on DStv in Gr 9.
After completing my matric in 2017 I worked at The Grand Palm Hotel to gain experience in the culinary world. I love being in the kitchen and getting creative with food,” Thato says.
He adds that cooking is a great career when you have a passion for it because spending almost the entire day in the kitchen remains satisfying.
“I am a pastry chef and usually tell people that creativity is sweet. When cooking you have to be creative and come up with your own recipes rather than always copying recipes from cookbooks and other sources. As for karate, it is a great sport that encourages you to focus either on school or work as it enhances discipline. I am sure many people may be more disciplined after participating in karate and should have the knowledge of self-defense, especially women should know how to stand up for themselves.”
He would love to be a sensei in order to give back to the sport. He dreams of being part of the national team and to teach young and old methods of self-defense. Besides this he dreams of being a chef artisan to share his experiences with chefs in South Africa after travelling the world to learn more about other countries’ cuisines.
“I have learnt that cooking is an art and science that needs a whole lot of focus and practice. And as for karate, it taught me that I have to be disciplined at all times. I would say that karate is not only a sport but a way of life. Both cooking and karate have also taught me and showed me that team members are my family,” Thato says.

Story: Riana Joubert