20 The interview

She’s cooked for South Africa’s favourite elderstatesman for 19 years and now Madiba’s personalchef has published a cookbook featuring hisfavourite recipes. LIESL PEYPER spoke to XoliswaNdoyiya (49) about the eating habits of a legend

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XOLISWA Ndoyiya was born in Queenstown in the EasternCape. She was a housekeeper in Johannesburg and worked atthe Jewish Old Age Home in Troyeville before being employedby former president Nelson Mandela as his personal chef, aposition she still holds.

Her cookbook, Ukutya Kwasekhaya (“home food” in isi­Xhosa), is a collection of recipes she prepared for the formerstatesman, his friends, family and visiting heads of state.

She has four children, to whom she dedicated the book.

The woman who cooks for Madiba

How did you become chef to oneof the most revered men in theworld?A friend, Gloria, was working forMadiba. She trusted my cookingand said she’d love to work withme. I think she had spoken toMadiba and I was called to workfor him.

I went for a security screeningthen I was taken to his house bythe bodyguards.

Are there any dishes you are notallowed to cook because theyremind him of prison?Not at all! He never mentionedthat.

Everyone wants to know whathis favourite dish is . . .To this day he still loves traditionalboiled meat – chicken and lamb.We call the chicken umleqwa(running chicken) because we runafter them to catch them.

He loves curry. Actually he en­joys all types of food as long as it’shealthy. The only thing he doesn’tlike to see in a dish is fat and oil.

You have cooked for some of the

world’s top leaders. What is atypical menu for them?Usually as a starter I make fish orsoup on colder days. What sur­prised me is everyone wanted toeat what he ate.

For example, if I cookedumngqusho (samp and beans) theyloved that. Other times I wouldmake oxtail or prawns. When Iserved the food on the table andhe dished up, they followed.

Does he ever complain aboutfood prepared by people otherthan you?No, he never said anything. He isthe type of person who, whateveryou put in front of him, he’ll eatand finish.

And there’s always a thank you.

Does he like second helpings?Yes, he frequently asks for secondservings. It makes me very happybecause then I know he really likesit. He calls on the kitchen staff tobring back certain dishes.

Working for Madiba meant youdidn’t have much time and yourkids were brought up by your

mother and sister. Any regrets?Not at all. You always ask yourselfhow the kids felt when mommywasn’t there. But there are no re­grets, not one, after all these yearsI’ve spent with him.

My children also told me they’rehappy I had a chance to contri­bute to his life.

Who wouldn’t like to serve thatman? I said to myself this is a goodopportunity.

Who taught you to cook?I watched my mother when shewas cooking and my granny whenI was a girl. I was a curious childwho liked to see how they did thesethings. When I eventually startedcooking for the family I workedwith I realised I loved it.

Does Madiba ask you sometimesto prepare a specific meal?No, I’m the one who chooses themenu and when I take the food tothe table I say, “This is what Icooked today”. But then there aredays when if I didn’t serve ulusu(tripe) or umngqusho or other tra­ditional food he grew up with he’llask me, “Why are you not cookingthis or that today?”

Does he enjoy eating leftoversthe next day?That’s the one thing I would ne­ver do to him. If he wants more ofwhat I served him the previousday I’ll just cook another one.

Before we go . . . What is it like tocook for a man as beloved asMadiba?I have only respect for Madiba.He kept me in his house, not as aworker but as one of his children.That’s how he’s always treated me.

He’s never shown signs he is myboss or anything. I’m so happy Ihave a leader and a parent like himin my life.

food fit for a president

Dishing for Madiba

Nelson Mandela with his personal chef, Xoliswa Ndoyiya, who has released a book of his favourite dishes.