BECOMING a chef was not always in mind for Durban North’s Gugu Wanda even though she was already whipping up mouthwatering breakfasts for her family.

She first graduated with a law degree after completing matric, but nothing was cooking in the courtroom, so she finally gave in to her dream and became a chef.

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This International Chefs’ Day (October 20), she shares her deep love and passion for the kitchen with Northglen News.

“I completed a law degree, but I realised that my heart just wasn’t in it. I would much rather be in the kitchen so I enrolled at Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Durban campus for a three-year Food Safety and Culinary Arts Diploma.

My decision to pursue my passion for cooking really just came from wanting to do what I genuinely love,” she said.

Wanda then went on to work as a sous chef at Bloomsberry Café in Hillcrest and the luxurious 5-star Octavia Boutique Hotel in the heart of Inanda where she found herself cooking for some very prominent officials, including the Zulu royals.

One of her most distinct cooking memories is one of the events hosted by the restaurant called ‘A Night with the King’.

Here, she prepared a seven-course meal for the royals incorporated with South African staples which had to depict the story of where she grew up.

The year 2023 was an eventful one for Wanda who attended the Creole Food Festival.

She represented South Africa in the Miami leg, and featured only women. She also opened her own private catering company called ‘The Next Table’.

“We provide 5-star dining in the comfort of the client’s own home and make the occasion a really memorable one.”

It doesn’t stop there for the busy chef – she is also the head chef at St Mary’s DSG Kloof and executive chef at Little Havana.

“Both positions involve a lot of work, including staying up-to-date with culinary trends and kitchen processes; dealing with suppliers and ensuring that they deliver quality goods at affordable prices; managing the inventory; and leading a brigade that can put its best foot forward all the time,” she said.

When the workaholic isn’t in the kitchen, she takes walks with her family, goes for a massage or does a bit of online shopping. Wanda is also working on getting closer to her five-year goal plan which is to open a sustainable restaurant.

“I want to be able to open a sustainable restaurant with the resources all available on the premises: a farm restaurant that is also a community involvement project that teaches people how to grow their own crops, harvest them and turn them into amazing meals they can serve in the restaurant,” said Wanda.

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