‘The most rewarding experience’
MAKING top three of Taste Master SA was the most rewarding experience for professional chef and content creator Tahila Pillay.
Pillay, 22, was eliminated on Friday during part one of the finale of SABC 2’s Taste Master SA, where contestants put their baking skills to the test.
“Everyone going into the competition wants to win, but I never expected to make the top three, being the youngest and against the level of skills and experience everyone had. I was shocked. I didn’t expect to make it this far. It was the most rewarding experience.
“Everybody says your best is good enough, and it is, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to get better. Being on the show and seeing all my failures and all the mistakes I made, now looking back I know there is room for improvement. I was grateful to have been there and the experience, people I met and what I learnt from the fellow contestants and judges,” said Pillay, formerly from Pietermaritzburg and now based in Cape Town.
She said she found appreciation for the simpler bakes and desserts, and enjoyed the bread challenge when she made the naan bread.
“It was very rewarding to hear the judge Fritz Schoon say it was the best bread he had in years.”
Pillay, who worked in five-star establishments such as the Test Kitchen, said ever since she was diagnosed at the beginning of last year with Marfan Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder, she had to rework the path in her career. She struggles with her joints, being on her feet for a long time and using her hands for long periods.
“Taste Master SA was a redefining moment. I realised no matter what you come across you just have to keep chasing your dream,” she said.
With 78000 followers on Tiktok, Pillay said being on TV was different to doing Tiktok videos.
“You are in your own space. And having to cook in a kitchen I’ve never been in before with people I had never met and cameras in my face was definitely a challenge.”
Pillay, who graduated from Jackie Cameron’s School of Food and Wine, has been sharing and teaching her recipes on Tiktok.
“I love the fine dining industry, it was where I imagined myself, but it was taking its toll on my body and my joints were wearing out. Test Kitchen was my dream restaurant. And I am just starting out in my career. But I had to make the decision that I can’t be in this industry because of my health.”
She is currently working with brands on Tiktok and making recipes with their products. Pillay would like to have her own bakery or patisserie one day, like her mom.
Her mom, Cheryl Govender Gillig, who owns The Bake House in Pietermaritzburg, said she had been rooting for Pillay.
“It has been quite a journey for her. She has grown in confidence. What I enjoyed seeing was the culmination of the skills she accomplished over the years. Patisserie is so close to my heart. Growing up Tahila was in the kitchen and she helped me a lot. I never thought she would branch into patisserie and take it up as a career,” she said.