PERFECT WEEKEND

Kamini Pather, TV host, entrepreneur and winner of Master Chef South Africa Season One

Chef Kamini Pather can’t sleep in on hers

I find it difficult to sleep in. It started when I was young and my parents convinced me that I was a morning person. As a child, my Saturday mornings were not filled with KTV. That’s because my weekends started at the ice rink. I’ve continued this tradition because starting my weekend with some exercise sets a tone that invigorates me.

As a creature of habit, I have grown to find peace in knowing that my Saturday will start with an hour of power yoga at Yogalife, or with a run down the promenade with my team, The Nine Four. I love the potential energy of a Saturday morning.

My burst of energy is followed by a trip to Granger Bay Market. I blame Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef for this fixation — where he goes to each vendor who knows him by name to purchase his ingredients. This is the experience that every cell in my being has wanted and now I have it.

Tuxedo, my miniature schnauzer, and I stroll through Green Point in Cape Town to the market, where we peruse the vegetables of the season and the cooked food on offer. Again, my creature-of-habit-ness comes through and I always start with a bagel from Kleinsky’s, followed by a Pastis De Nasa from The Hog House. Tux and I mill about the waterfront market on the way home and pick up some ice cream at The Creamery or Unframed. Or I’ll enjoy a glass of MCC while watching the Zeitz MOCAA shimmer in the reflection of the water.

Saturday afternoons include some recipe testing and tasting in the kitchen as I lead up to the launch of my food delivery service, FüDY.

Imagine compostable bowls filled with zoodles (noodles made out of flash-fried zucchini), topped with baked aubergine and charred snap peas with black bean and quinoa falafels and a plant-based satay sauce so flavourful that you’d be happy to devour an old Dr Martin — but only if it was drenched in this sauce.

Saturday afternoon is also when Tux and I get some alone

time at the Western Province Dog Club. He is a miniature with massive personality and major smarts, so the idea is for him to do the agility courses with the big dogs.

Saturday nights are for friends — drinks on someone’s porch or a trip to Artscape to watch some ballet. Yes, my days of loud music and tequila are behind me. About time.

Sunday mornings start with brunch, either at Jason Bakery in Green Point or The Loading Bay for their mushroom ragout and gold juice. But Sundays are also for cooking and I can think of nothing more gratifying than spending the day playing in the kitchen. Making pasta has always intrigued me and I still get a kick out of turning eggs and flour into pasta — it’s magical!

This is my happiest place in the world — the place that I feel truly creative, free and in control.

Sunday afternoons and evenings are about summer sunsets. They are about getting out of the apartment and feeling the sand between the toes or the grass underfoot.

Pather and her business partners have launched FÜDY, a plant-based food delivery service that encourages a healthy, macro-nutrient diet. Visit www.fudydelivery.co.za