K ATLEG O MLAMBO

Head chef of

The Marabi Club in Johannesburg

The food memory: Red jelly and custard

As a child growing up in Eldorado Park in Johannesburg, the start of school holidays signalled the start of jelly-andcustard season for Katlego. “Even though nowadays, as chefs, we frown upon it because it’s basically this gelatinous, brightly coloured goo, as a kid, it ticked all the boxes for me. Holidays meant that I could have jelly and custard more than once a day and not just as a weekend special treat. Being able to eat it as an afternoon snack and not get in trouble with my parents was the best part. Luckily for me, I’m the first and last born, so all the jelly and custard came my way!”

As many youngsters today will agree, Katlego adds that, for optimum enjoyment, the jelly had to be red and he had to stir his serving vigorously until it virtually disintegrated into hundreds of specks suspended in the custard.

“My grandmother Betty was the jellyand-custard queen,” he adds. “She made the custard on the stovetop using instant custard powder – you know the type that stands in the kitchen cupboard for about 20 years. And I don’t know if she added extra milk or cream, but I do know that it never tasted as good when anyone else made it.”

@i_amkatlego; @themarabiclub