BY Motlatsi Kekana
Makhiba Modupe, affectionately known as The Lazy Chef, is a vibrant soul from Botshabelo, Free State, who exudes a passion for food, music, and photography. At 29 years old, her journey has been one of culinary exploration and creative expression. From her humble beginnings as the youngest daughter in a family of four to her high school days at Brebner High School, Makhiba’s path led her to the Central University of Technology, where she pursued her passion for hospitality management and earned a BTech degree. She embarked on a diverse career path, from retail management to finding her true calling as a chef and content creator. She’s since been on an inspiring journey, filled with flavour, melody, and visual storytelling.
When did you become a chef and was this career something you always wanted to follow?
I started working full-time as a chef in 2017 and this was the only career I considered and applied for after finishing high school.
What inspires you?
Everyday food that I grew up eating, I am not much of a fan of fancy food.
What is your favourite food to eat & how often do you eat it?
Samp & Tripe, I have it once or twice a month because health-wise I cannot have it daily. If I could, I would though.
How would you describe your overall cooking philosophy?
Food does not have to be complicated to be nice, taste as you cook, that is the only way you will get good at cooking.
Where can people sample your food?
People can sample my food by booking my services when hosting or for catering.
What is your signature dish?
This is a nearly impossible question for chefs to answer because we really can make any meal or dish under the sun. But everyone calls me the samp queen so I would have to go with that.
Which wine works best with this dish?
This depends on the dish being made but red wine is used for hearty red meat dishes, stews, and oxtail, along those lines.
White wine is used for light dishes, Fish & chicken.
What are some good dishes you would make for your family over the Easter holidays?
My family like myself do not like complicated meals, so we always try to keep Easter meals as simple as possible also because we only eat fish around that time. My go-to is either baked hake with a creamy garlic sauce served with a bowl of savoury rice.
What’s next for The Lazychef?
I would love to have my cooking show and a cooking book in the near future.
RECIPE
Curried Samp and beans
INGREDIENTS
-2 cups Samp
-1 Can Red kidney beans
-2 tbsp curry paste
-2 tbsp butter
-1 packet Chicken soup
-1/2 tspn tumeric
-6 – 8 cups boiling water
-1 tspn salt
-1 tbsp dried parsley
DIRECTIONS
Wash and rinse samp with cold water twice.
Place the samp in a pot, add 3 cups boiling water,salt,tumeric and 1tbsp butter. Cover and leave on medium heat to cook for an hour.
Check and stir the samp occasionally to avoid it sticking to the bottom, adding more boiling (a cup at a time) if your water cooks off.
After an hour check the samp should be soft, add the curry paste, chicken soup and 1 cup boiling water, cover and leave to cook for an extra 30 – 45 minutes.
Once the soup in the samp has thickened, add the can of bean, dried parsley and the last tbsp of butter. Stir until well combined.
Switch off the heat, cover your pot, and leave the pot on the stove until you are ready to serve your samp.
Serve warm.
