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Culinary stars in shock after sudden passing of Chef Lentswe
Chef Lentswe appeared on popular cooking shows such as 'Great South African Bake Off' and 'Cheeky Palate'.
Chef Lentswe Bhengu has died. Picture: Instagram @iam_lentswe
Chef Lentswe Bhengu-Mafoko, who appeared on several TV cooking shows, has died.
The chef’s publicity team made the shocking announcement on his social media pages on Wednesday.
Chef Lentswe, as he was known, passed away on Tuesday evening.
Chef Lentswe had appeared on shows such as Great South African Bake Off as one of the hosts, KFC Taste Kitchen, the head chef of Phat Joe’s sit-down dinners with celebrities, Cheeky Palate, Celeb Mystery Box with Chef Nti and as a food contributor on Expresso.
Cause of death
The statement issued by Chef Lentswe’s family said he passed away after succumbing to a short illness.
“Lentswe had the misfortune of suffering a short illness and succumbing last night, 28 February 2023 at Sandton Medi-Clinic.”
The families have welcomed thoughts and prayers during this difficult time and asked for privacy to “mourn our beloved son”.
The details of his memorial and funeral service will be released in due time. Fellow chefs, such as Chef Nti, Lazy Makoti and Chef Zanele van Zyl, commented on the news of his passing with shock and sadness.
Lazy Makoti shared in her Instagram stories that it was a “painful day” and sent her heartful condolences to his family and friends who are also mourning his death.
The news sent shockwaves across Twitter as condolences poured in.
Twitter reacts to Chef Lentswe’s sudden passing:
From finance to chef
The Citizen interviewed Chef Lentswe in February last year where he told the publication he studied his BCom in finance and lived a corporate life in investment marketing.
He spent time at big corporates such as Alan Gray in Cape Town and West Grow moving around retail, banking and then government investment on a larger scale. He admitted his financial well-being was better after he left.
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“I spent most of my time in corporate to help sort or help people’s finances, and honestly I didn’t take my finances that seriously.”
He only started using his business acumen when he became a chef and as a student, gaining knowledge on how to charge for his services and food costing.
