A taste of home: Zululand-born Chef Nokx Majozi

Chef Nokx Majozi remains true to South African cuisine despite international travel

2 hours ago

Gugu Myeni 2 minutes read

Jack of all trades but master of Pie!

That’s Zululand-born master chef Nokuthula ‘Nokx’ Majozi, who is versed in global cuisines but has not forgotten the taste of home.

She remains true to South African cuisine despite having been based in London for the past 24 years.

“My style of cooking is very different, but still very true to home,” Chef Nokx told the ZO last week.

“Even though I have travelled around the world and have experienced different styles of cooking, I always want to teach the world about South African food, our spices and our unique dishes.

“I specialise in pastry and cook a lot of pies, but more elevated in flavours, creativity and design. I make South African-inspired pies like pepper steak, a flavour you find only in South Africa, nowhere else in the world!”

A culinary journey inspired by home

Nokx was born in eSikhaleni and grew up in KwaDlangezwa, where she completed high school.

She completed her Hospitality Management course at the Durban University of Technology, and later worked at Durban’s Riverside Hotel.

Although she received professional training, her culinary journey began in her mother’s kitchen and was inspired by her dad.

“Apart from the fact that I studied home economics at school, my dad was my main inspiration because he loved good food.”

She explained that he worked at the Richards Bay harbour, meeting people from around the world who came for training.

“They would share their delicacies, and he would share our traditional dishes,” she said.

“My dad was experimental, innovative with food and, through his experiences with the various delicacies from Yemen or Austria, he would come home and cook something different for my mom.”

However, her mom, Nokx says, was much more traditional in her style of cooking.

Journey abroad

From Durban, the Zululand chef was recruited to work at Disney World in Florida.

“The team had been travelling around the south of Africa recruiting chefs to work at their new resort.

“I was selected during the Durban leg. It was an opportunity of a lifetime which I obviously grabbed with both hands,” she said.

Following her time in the States, Chef Nokx returned to South Africa, later deciding to explore Europe. Her move to London was inspired by the cuisine and the wealth of knowledge she would receive from expert chefs.

The South African Cookbook

It’s her unique style of cooking that she shares in her recently released cookbook: The South African Cookbook: Authentic flavour-packed recipes from Cape Town to Durban.

“I travel a lot, from LA to New York, Hong Kong and Japan, but one thing I never see much of is South African cookbooks, which was disappointing to me because the world needs to know more about our food.

“People need to know about our culture and diversity.

“So I decided to publish my own cookbook, which I am promoting here in South Africa.”

The book – available in most book stores – details Nokx’s modern interpretation of true Mzansi favourites such as braais, bobotie, pies, and even the classic milk tart.

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