CHEF ZOLA NENE

Passionate foodie Nene is an inspirational, much-loved TV celebrity chef and the author two top-selling cookbooks, Simply Delicious and Simply Zola. She lives in Cape Town.

I looked at many things in creating my apron and because I’ve been cooking for a long time and owned many aprons, it was important that it was durable and would stand up to years of battering.

I liked the idea of denim because it’s fashionable and looks presentable

because I run in and out of the kitchen so I wanted something that looks really good. No matter how many times you wash denim, it keeps on gaining character.

I put my logo on the apron because it adds colour and brightness. The apron represents me and my personality and I want those who buy my apron to have a piece of me — and help them to channel my cooking prowess. And when they look at themselves in the mirror, I hope they see me smiling back at them with my signature — a head wrap — and hope it boosts their self-confidence in the kitchen.

I love that my apron is so bright, so colourful and so happy. I’ve tried to exude joy and sort of put happiness out into the world and I think that my logo does that.

Aprons never went out of fashion! It’s all about the apron; one doesn’t want to wear something ugly, which can make one feel like a dowdy housewife, nor will you have to hide away in the kitchen. So my cue was to design something that won’t make you feel like you should be hidden from the world and hopefully people think my aprons are cool enough to wear proudly – in and out of the kitchen.

I’m in such awe of my followers and supporters who show me so much love and get so excited about me releasing my apron. The country has been through a difficult time during the Covid pandemic, so the idea that people are willing to purchase my apron is something I don’t want to take for granted. I’m just so grateful.

Aprons cost R295, zolanene.com/product/apron/