Siba’s Va Va Voom
STAR chef Siba Mtongana isn’t just beating eggs. Her recipes are beating those of other celebrity chefs featured on the Food Network channel in the UK.
Half of the recipes downloaded from Food Network UK are from her show, Siba’s Table, although she is only one of some 20 chefs featured on its page.
In South Africa this rises to 60% and the 32-year-old sensation has a huge following in Russia.
Her flair was evident as Mtongana mixed spontaneity with script, while filming an episode of Siba’s Table titled Sibalicious!
She made a strawberry, avocado and salmon salad with the theme “opposites attract”, working at a home in Hout Bay, Cape Town.
For the fourth series, Mtongana will make the top 10 recipes submitted by fans and to which she has added her own element.
She said: “Everybody wanted to eat and be part of Siba’s Table.”
A# Make It Si balicio us Campaign on her Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts in March attracted 7.7 million people. Followers sent in 360 recipes.
The first series of Siba’s Table aired in 2013. When the US Cooking Channel picked up her show, she got into 60 million homes.
Mtongana studied food and consumer science at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She has a cookbook out and aims to open a restaurant this year.
Adela Smith, Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Nigel Slater are among the celebrity chefs whom the “va va voom” chef from Mdantsane, in the Eastern Cape, admires.
Her show has a strong family flavour and Mtongana still cooks for her husband and three young children.
“I plan my meals ahead of time and make some ahead in bulk. [Husband] Brian only cooks when I am sick, though I do sometimes get breakfast in bed. He makes good eggs,” she said.
“Cooking is my relaxation, not a chore. But sometimes when I am tired I don’t feel like it . . . I was brought up never to waste food and I was force-fed. With my children, I do not go overboard and give them time to try [dishes].”
She is mindful about using food in a way that does not harm the environment. “I try to use my influence to educate people, for example, about sustainable fish stocks. Did you know kingklip is on the orange list?”
Mtongana has also been an ambassador for the Stop Hunger campaign.
She focuses on recipes that are easily achievable, and look and taste amazing, so that people will feel like stars in their kitchens.
“I like to transform dishes with my ‘va va voom’,” said Mtongana, who is known for giving a new spin to old favourites.
The Food Network headhunted her soon after she had got married. She was pregnant twice while filming the show, and her babies have been on set.
In her time off, Mtongana likes watching cartoons with her two sons, Lonwabo and Lina, and her little girl, Buhle, who is turning one. “I love watching TV with a blanket when it’s cold outside, or to cuddle in bed.”
Siba’s Table producer Rachel Purnell praised Mtongana’s verve and professionalism.
“She transforms food — gives it that ‘Siba element’.”
Purnell enjoyed working in South Africa. “The natural light we get on food is amazing. Look at its blue beauty, a magic like butterflies in the air,” she said.
The third season of Siba’s Table will be aired in September this year.
When the US Cooking Channel picked up her show, she got into 60 million homes