Bubbling under: Katlego Mlambo
He had his own TV show at the age of 25, but this young gun is determined to earn his stripes in restaurant kitchens, too. We caught up with the senior sous chef at hip new Cape Town spot The Commissary
When I was growing up, my granny and my mom were the cooks.
I still say that my granny is the best cook in the world. She made these crazy chicken livers – with a lot of chilli – spicy and so moreish. I’m blessed to have eaten in one- and two-star restaurants in America and London, but my granny’s overcooked veggies are still the best. Originally I wanted to be a dentist. But I took a gap year after school. I worked as a waiter in restaurants in the UK and I saw what a good meal can do. Then it became two gap years. Then I wanted to study cheffing.
My mate told me that Cape Town has a dope food scene, and that Silwood is the best college. And then I ended up studying there.
My Silwood lecturers always said
I had potential, but I liked partying
and girls too much. As soon as I got a Friday off – party, party! They used to make me work extra shifts just to prevent me from having off days. When I graduated, I got a small certificate – I was a bit cheesed off because other people won KitchenAids and Le Creuset prizes – and I got this certificate. But the certificate said “most likely to succeed in industry”.
PJ Vadas [of Vadas Smokehouse & Bakery] has always had my
back. He’s my mentor. I worked at The Roundhouse with him and he’s the reason I went overseas. These guys from Vermont called me on a Sunday – I was hungover – they asked me if I knew where Vermont was and I said no. It’s in the middle of nowhere; there’s no Uber; no public transport. The nearest barber shop was over an hour away. I did a lot of skiing. Black man on the slopes – it was quite a sight. And while I was there, I travelled to New York, Miami, Chicago. I had a deep-dish pizza and went to Alinea. Eleven Madison Park blew my mind – I cried. Once because of the apple snow course with maple taffy, and the second time when the bill came.
When I came back from the USA,
I worked at The Saxon Hotel in
Joburg for a year. But it was hotel food – which is great, but I wanted to change the world.
I met Chef Luke Dale Roberts in the
fridge at The Saxon. He told me to email him. He gave me the opportunity to open The Pop Luck Club in Joburg. It was an amazing seven months. After it closed. Luke said to me, “I worked with you back in the day while you were still naughty, but now you’ve proven yourself,
are you keen to come back to Cape Town?” I said “Of course!” Chef Luke is one of the best chefs in the world! I worked at The Pot Luck Club, then The Shortmarket Club, and now
The Commissary is happening.
At The Commissary, we’re serving
cool food with aggressive, intense
flavours. It’s streetfood that went to private school. To put a dish on the menu at The Test Kitchen it goes through so much nipping and tucking, but with The Commissary we have a space to try things.
My favourite dish is one from The Shortmarket Club, developed by Wesley [Randles – head chef of The Shortmarket Club, who started The Commissary with
Simon Widdison]. Wesley’s from Durban, so it’s octopus, with atchar, and Durban spice – and we’ve taken that dish and put it on a bun to make a slider. You’ve got crunchiness, the tanginess of the atchar … We also have Korean-fried chicken wings. They have this tapioca batter that looks pretty weird, but it’s really, really delicious.
I’ve been very blessed – I had two seasons of my TV show,
Kasi-licious nominated for a
SAFTA. I had to have elocution lessons, learn to look at cameras, not to drop F-bombs. The TV dream is still there, but it made me realise I love being in the kitchen. I don’t want people to think I’m this kid who went to private school and just got given this. I want to earn my stripes. So I’ve tried to work in the best restaurants. But Kasi-licious was so dope because it was food made in the township with a cheffy spin on it.
One day, God willing, when I have
my own restaurant, my vision is
to take African cuisine up a level. On Kasi-licious, I did a sheep’s head terrine, so I’d like to do that one day.
“One day, God willing, when I have my own restaurant, my vision is to take African cuisine up a level”
The one thing I’d like to change
is chefs ruling with an iron fist. I was a naughty kid, but I’ve also seen kids being broken. Now, when I see people get up to mischief, I’m like, “Guys, I used to be that kid. Friday, you’re sick, really?” It’s weird shouting at guys to be on time. But I believe you bring out the best in people by being nice to them.
The best part of my job is when
you see someone cut into their
meal and you see that nod.
It makes me breathless, man.
The Commissary, 88 Shortmarket St, Cape Town