Adding love -- just like granny did
IT was at his grandmother’s table in rural Tongaat that a young Sandren Govender first learned the secrets of Indian cooking. Today, his mastery of spices and Indian cuisine form the heart of the new Jeera restaurant at Durban’s Suncoast Towers hotel. The senior sous chef — who received his formal training in Switzerland and has worked all over the world — spoke to
SIPHILISELWE MAKHANYA shortly after Jeera was launched about two weeks ago. When did you realise that you enjoyed working with food?
I started cooking from the age of 12. I come from a very big family and my grandma, Muthma, was always preparing these exotic dishes for the family so that, when they got back from work, they could all sit together and have a nice meal. Then each one of us would tell her how our day went. I was always running around in the back — helping, mixing the spices, stamping the garlic. I learnt a lot from there and that’s how my passion grew. What’s the most important thing about cooking that you learnt from your grandmother?
Everybody thinks Indian cooking is to do with the spiciness. When the food is hot, they think it’s Indian cuisine. I do not work that way. I blend my own spices. I roast each one; I fuse them together to get that special spice. Everything is freshly ground; I do not buy readymade. I think you can take a leaf and turn it into a dish — it’s all in the way you prepare it and what love you put into it, as my grandmother
did. What are your go-to ingredients when cooking?
Cumin, coriander and mint. I use that in every dish of mine. And, of course, lemon grass — I love lemon grass in my dishes. You’re 55 now, so you must have cooked in a lot of places for a lot of people in your time. Who are some of the memorable people who have enjoyed your food?
I’ve cooked for the queen of Spain, I’ve cooked for the president, I cooked for Kool & the Gang, for the Chennai Super Kings, the Sharks. I cooked for Bollywood stars and many more. For King Goodwill Zwelithini I made tripe, pap and pot bread, which is called jeqe, with chakalaka. The queen of Spain was a very down-toearth person. She loved grapes, berries, Norwegian salmon and crab cakes. I’ve cooked for the prince and princess of Monaco — they are very health-conscious; they love organic stuff. Who do you enjoy cooking for the most?
My family — I’m always cooking for them. My fouryear-old nephew, Tayden, is my favourite person to cook for. Before I go to work, I ask him what he wants for supper. He says: “I want small [minutely diced] meat today.” So I prepare a meal for him that is not too spicy. I get up and get all my stuff ready. I start actually cooking the dish at around noon so that it’ll be nice and fresh by the time they get back home. I’ve been doing this since the age of 16, cooking for my family. Of all your grandmother’s dishes, which was your favourite?
The crab curry. The first time I tasted it was at the age of 13. I really enjoyed it — she had a unique way of creating crab curry and I learnt all her secrets. If you could host any three people at your table, living or dead, who would it be?
First, my grandmother Muthma, then my mom, Yogas, and my general manager from the hotel, Kaliq Essop. These are the people that really inspired me and pushed me. They saw the passion that I had for food and they didn’t let it go to waste. Besides your own, whose cooking do you think you could eat for the rest of your life?
Chef David van Staden’s. I really admire him because he’s always got brilliant ideas.