What Vuyiseka Ngcongolo remembers best about growing up in the Eastern Cape town of Tsomo, is her happy childhood. “When you are part of an extended royal household,” she says, “there are always siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents around.” To some, a robust family of 30 members may mean that discipline was impossible. Not so when it came to the children. “My grandmother was very strict and before we could go and play, we had to do chores and that meant the house and kitchen had to be spotless.”
The children benefitted from a healthy diet of umfino – maize meal cooked with cabbage and other leafy greens, such as imbuya, a nutritious leafy plant grown between crops – with beef or lamb dishes when available.
When Vuyiseka had reached as far as she could with her education, she came to Hermanus to try and find a niche for herself. She completed computer, life-skills and elder-care courses, but still had not found her passion. She would find it quite by chance.
When she heard of a position at Creation and was offered – and accepted – a place on the cleaning team in the kitchen, she had her first glimpse of top chefs at work. ‘Eating’ with her eyes, she watched delicious sauces being made, learnt to distinguish between the aromas of different spices and how elements were plated to create art for the guests. She began to long to be a chef although it seemed a big leap from cleaning to wielding a chef’s knife. “But at Creation they are always offering opportunities,” she says. “I was really interested to learn and was offered a year’s course at Warwick’s Chef School in Hermanus.” At the beginning of the course, Vuyiseka was drilled in the critical importance of personal hygiene for a chef and why surfaces and utensils had to be spotless before usage. “I soon understood that being a good chef required discipline and not just skill.
“What I have learnt,” she says, “is that you have to love the food you’re cooking.” When pressed for her favourite dish – expecting something exotic and complex – her face breaks into a wide grin. “Salad,” she says. “Those beautiful fresh ingredients, so healthy and simple. Oh, and the bread baked here. My special treat is a slice with a dash of Creation Olive Oil.
“Working here – not just in the kitchen – has changed my life,” she says. “When we do tai chi, for instance, you can clear your mind, feel free, and find peace and motivation. It really gives you space to think about what you want and how to do it best.
“I have a 13-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter. I want them to be better educated than I was. But the other day, my daughter turned to me and said ‘Mama, you are my role model.’ I felt so proud. I know they’ll both achieve their goals.”