Chef Gugu’s Wanda-ful Life

Durban North’s Chef Gugu Wanda has always had a passion for food and cooking and says that from around the age of seven she was already whipping up sumptuous breakfasts for her family. But she had not considered it as a career and, after matriculating from Holy Family College in Glenmore in 2009, she embarked on an LLB degree from the University of KwaZulu Natal, Maritzburg.

But after four years spent learning all about the principles of law, the Umlazi-born Wanda realised her heart just wasn’t in it and that she’d rather be running around a kitchen than a courtroom! So, she packed it all in and enrolled at Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Durban campus for a three-year Food Safety and Culinary Arts Diploma (now the Advanced Professional Chef Programme).

She takes up the story:

“My decision to pursue my passion for cooking really just came from wanting to do what I genuinely love. I began my culinary studies at Capsicum in 2013, graduated in 2016 and trained at Market Restaurant (Morningside) which was such an amazing experience learning about defining flavors from Chef Shaun Magee (a fellow Capsicum alumni) and how to run a tight ship from Chef Goodness (also a Capsicum graduate). From there I got my first job at Café La Plagè as a griller, and after six months I moved up the ranks to Sous Chef and eventually to Head Chef, led and mentored by David Hwangawa. They have all been such important mentors in my life.”

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.

“We hosted an event called ‘A Night with the King’ where we had the royals grace us with their presence and prepared for them a seven-course culinary experience, with dishes that incorporated many of those African staples that we grew up on, but in a reimagined way that represented the story of our journey.”

Last year Wanda was invited to take part in The Creole Food Festival by co-founder Fabrice Armand and Chef Stephen Berrouet.

“It’s an American food festival that showcases chefs from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, Asia, South America and the South of the United States. Fabrice and Stephen reached out to me to represent South Africa in their 2023 Miami leg which featured an all women line up from different part of Africa, where we had the opportunity to display our story on a plate.”

Last year also saw Wanda start her own private catering company called The Next Table, the aim of which, she says, “is to create a space where people, whose paths wouldn’t normally cross, come together and enjoy good food, good wine and good conversation.

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

As if that wouldn’t be enough to exhaust any hardworking chef, Wanda was also recently appointed Head Chef at St Mary’s DSG Kloof and Executive Chef at Little Havana. Both positions she says 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.”

So, what is a typical 24-hour day for this workaholic?

“My day starts at 4.30am with a cup of coffee and I’m usually at the office by 6am. I oversee kitchen duties, have breakfast around 11am – a bowl of chopped fruit – then go through emails and bookings and my first shift ends at around 2pm. I have a late lunch – a piece of chicken and some roasted veg followed by a slice of cake and maybe a couple of jelly babies – and then head over to start my second shift.

“That involves organising dinner bookings, taking stock inventory for the following day, making sure all the dishes are of a high calibre, squeezing in my dinner (grilled chicken or ribs) then heading over to my last shift of the day – the mommy and wife shift – which can sometimes be the toughest shift of the day!”

So, what does this ultra busy chef do when she finds a few minutes to relax?

“I love nature; I take walks with my family, go for a really good massage or do a bit of online shopping.”

And where does she see herself in five years’ time?

“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.”

While debating which colour jelly babies are the best (hers are green, ours are black), we also managed to ask Chef Wanda a few fun questions and got her to share a favorite recipe:

Name five things always in your fridge/pantry at home.

Pickled chilies, homemade mayo, biscuits, sweets, homemade jams 

What would be your last meal?

My grandmother’s steam bread and chicken curry

If you had to cook dinner for five famous people, who would they be and what would you make them?

I’d invite Siba Mtongana, Whitney Houston, Jackie Hill Perry, Vusi Thembekwayo and Oprah Winfrey and cook them a meal that tells my story; reimagined African cuisine with a touch of worldly different influences like my Tripe Chicken Roulade with Creamy African Mushroom Risotto (Samp) garnished with Crispy Beetroot Rice Paper. (See recipe below)

Do you have a favorite celebrity chef?

Michel Albert Roux. I love the fact that he not only wanted to sustain the Roux legacy but also because he made a remarkable contribution to the culinary world. His eagerness to always share his knowledge and experience is something I admire and respect.

Chef Gugu Wanda’s Chicken & Tripe Roulade on African Risotto (serves 2)

Ingredients

• 250g chicken breast
• 1 bunch spinach
• 100g Mozzarella cheese
• 300g tripe
• 1 litre of chicken stock
• 1 tbsp salt
• 350g shallots, chopped
• 1 cup samp
• 500g butter
• 20g thyme
• 20g rosemary
• 3 mixed peppers
• 300g carrots, chopped
• 500ml sunflower oil
• 1 cup cream
• 95g Parmesan cheese

Method

• Clean and salt the tripe. Roughly chop the carrots, onions, peppers and herbs and place them in a pot over a medium heat and allow them to sweat (Do not use any oil as this allows the ingredients to release all their natural flavours).
• Add the tripe, half the stock and 500ml of warm water.
• Add salt and pepper and boil until the tripe is cooked and very soft. In a separate pot add the butter and 250ml stock and heat over medium flame then add the samp.
• Keep stirring and slowly add the remaining stock as the samp softens and the liquid evaporates.
• Meanwhile, slice the chicken breast horizontally, but not all the way through, and flatten as much as possible without tearing.
• Steam the spinach until wilted, season and spread half of it out on top of the flattened chicken.
• Add thin slices of Mozzarella on top of the spinach, roll it up and wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate until ready to cook.
• While still in the cling film (to help keep its shape while cooking), place the rolled-up chicken in a pot of salted water and boil.
• Next, lay out the tripe, remove the cooked chicken from the pot, cut off the cling wrap and place the chicken on top of the tripe.
• Roll up the tripe so the chicken fits snugly inside and creates a roulade.
• Deep fry the roulade until the tripe is crispy. Reduce the stock that the tripe cooked in for use as a sauce.
• Add the rest of the wilted spinach to the samp, along with the cream and Parmesan cheese to make it more luxurious.
• To serve: Cut the roulade in half and plate each half on a bed of creamy African risotto and finish off with a drizzle of the sauce.

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