Unsung hero’s devotion a recipe for success
XOLISWA Ndoyiya, Nelson Mandela’s personal cook for 21 years, was one of those keeping vigil when he died on Thursday night.
As the world began to grieve and messages of condolence rained down on Houghton from high places, no public mention was made of her — nor would she expect it.
She is not a Mandela by blood, marriage, or extended geometry of any kind, but this twice-widowed Queenstown mother of four has devoted her life to the man she calls Tata.
Ndoyiya has cooked for Nelson Mandela since 1992. She looked after his grandchildren while her own children were raised by relatives in the Eastern Cape.
In her recipe book, Ukutya Kwasekhaya: Tastes from Nelson Mandela’s Kitchen (Real African Publishers, 2011), she tells of catering for “everything from family reunions to late-night political strategy sessions” and Madiba’s taste for traditional food.
“Tata used to come back from work,” she wrote, “sometimes with Tata [Walter] Sisulu or sometimes Uncle Raymond Mhlaba, and they would smell that I was cooking isophu or umfino [spinach and mealie meal porridge] and
Often when Nelson is alone at lunchtime, she phones me and asks if I will have lunch with him. She is caring and knows that companionship is important to him
they would say: ‘ Ah, ukutya kwasekhaya’ [home food] and be very happy with it . . . In many Xhosa households, Wednesday is umngqusho [samp and beans] day. It’s the way we all grew up. Even if it’s not a Wednesday, Tata gets sad if days go by and I haven’t cooked umngqusho. He will call me to come and ask: ‘Where’s umngqusho?’”
Alongside her recipes are comments on Ndoyiya’s culinary skills written by members of the Mandela family and their friends. Advocate George Bizos wrote: “Often when Nelson is alone at lunchtime, she phones me and asks if I will have lunch with him. She is a caring person and knows that companionship for Nelson is very important.”
In his introduction to the book, Professor Jakes Gerwel, the government’s directorgeneral during Mandela’s presidency, who died last year, wrote: “Many are the luminaries that receive awards and accolades, and as many that benefit from their association with Madiba. Few, however, could have served him with greater loyalty, devotion and consistency than Xoliswa Ndoyiya.”
On Friday, a tearful Ndoyiya said from the Mandela home in Houghton: “I looked after him until his last breath.”