The South African Chefs Association

16/09/2026

🇿🇦 Heritage on a plate | Meet Chef Edward Clegg

For Chef Edward Clegg, heritage tastes like a Sunday roast – a tradition that reflects both his English family background and the South African home in which he grew up.

Raised in Alberton, Johannesburg, Edward remembers food as a constant throughout his childhood. At the heart of those memories was his mother and the sense of comfort her cooking created.

“My mother’s cooking always makes me feel better and safe.”

Watching her in the kitchen also planted the seeds for a culinary career that would span more than 25 years.

Today Edward is a Chef Lecturer at The Swiss Hotel School South Africa, having completed his culinary training at Bournemouth University in the UK. He has represented South Africa internationally during his career and is now helping to develop the next generation of chefs.

As part of Team Masakhane, the opportunity to once again take South Africa to an international stage carries particular meaning for him.

“The world loves our hospitality and our people. My blood is green and gold, and forever I will be South African.”

For Edward, Luxembourg is another opportunity to share that South African spirit with the world – this time while helping a new generation of young chefs do the same.

This Heritage Month, we’re celebrating the people, places and food stories behind Team Masakhane – and the South African heritage they’ll take with them to the world stage. 🇿🇦

Help get Team Masakhane to Luxembourg – support the team through our BackaBuddy campaign.

Back a Buddy. Build a Team. Represent a Nation.

15/09/2026

🇿🇦 Heritage on a plate | Meet Chef Pholoso Sebola

For Team Masakhane’s Chef Pholoso Sebola, heritage is as much about the feeling around the table as the food on it.

Born in Pretoria and raised in Norwood, Johannesburg, his strongest food memories are of simple meals made at home, familiar aromas filling the kitchen and the family gathering together.

One dish in particular stands out: his mother’s pasta bolognese made with both spaghetti and penne. The combination happened by mistake – but it worked so well that it became part of his food story.

“My mom will always make the best version of it.”

Chef Pholoso, who works at Hotel Melrose Arch and trained at HTA School of Culinary Art, is now preparing to represent South Africa as part of Team Masakhane at the 2026 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

For him, that means taking more than his culinary skills to the international stage.

“It’s an opportunity to share our culture, food, traditions, stories and unique identity with people from another part of the world. It represents where I come from while also showing that South African talent and creativity belong on an international stage.”

This Heritage Month, we’re celebrating the people, places and food memories behind Team Masakhane. 🇿🇦

Help get them to Luxembourg – support Team Masakhane via our BackaBuddy campaign. See link in comments to show your support.

Back a Buddy. Build a Team. Represent a Nation.

14/09/2026

🇿🇦 Heritage on a plate | Meet Chef Lesedi Morudi

For Culinary Team SA Team Masakhane’s Chef Lesedi Morudi, home tastes like his mother’s pap and pork trotters.

Lesedi grew up in Naturena, in the south of Johannesburg, and one of his strongest food memories comes from the braai. He had just turned 16 when his dad handed him responsibility for the fire for the first time.

“I got to learn first-hand what heat actually is,” he remembers.

But when it comes to the dish that takes him straight back home, it’s his mother’s cooking that wins.

“To me, a dish that best describes home is my mother’s pap and pork trotters. It’s simple yet incredibly flavourful... I mean that broth – out of this world.”

It wasn’t always a favourite. His mother introduced him to the dish and, as Lesedi admits, he didn’t understand its appeal at first. Now, particularly after time away from home or a long, busy day, it’s the food he looks forward to coming back to.

That connection between food, family and home is something Lesedi will carry with him when Team Masakhane represents South Africa at the 2026 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

“For me, it’s about taking a little piece of home with me. I’m really proud of where I come from, and I am glad to be a stepping stone in exposing more of South African cuisine to the world. So I’m not just representing myself, I’m representing home.”

Chef Lesedi is completing his final year at Capsicum Culinary Studio while gaining practical experience at Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff Johannesburg, and will represent South Africa with Team Masakhane at the 2026 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. 🇿🇦

This Heritage Month, we’re celebrating the people, places and food stories behind Team Masakhane – and the South African culinary heritage they’re taking with them to the world stage.

Help us get them there. Back Team Masakhane on their journey to Luxembourg and become part of the team behind the team.

👉 Support Team Masakhane – https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/take-team-masakhane-to-luxembourg

Back a Buddy. Build a Team. Represent a NatiBack a Buddy. Build a Team. Represent a Nation.

14/09/2026

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all who are celebrating today. 🪔

As members of our Hindu community mark the birth of Lord Ganesha, may this special day bring wisdom, prosperity, new beginnings and the removal of obstacles.

From all of us at SA Chefs, we wish you and your loved ones a joyful and blessed Ganesh Chaturthi.

12/09/2026

🇿🇦 Heritage on a plate | Meet Chef Marcus Gericke

For Chef Marcus Gericke, Technical Head Coach of Culinary Team SA Team Masakhane, culinary heritage isn't captured in a single dish. It's in the South African flavours he grew up with – and in what he does with them now.

Born in the Western Cape and raised in the Free State, Marcus says South African cooking in all its forms has stayed with him throughout his career. Rather than simply recreating traditional dishes, he enjoys taking familiar flavours and ingredients and giving them a modern interpretation – something that has increasingly found its way onto his menus over the past year.

Cooking also runs in the family. His father, Chef Kevin Gericke, represented South Africa as a member of the National Culinary Team and went on to train and mentor many young chefs in the Free State.

“My dad is the reason I cook. He was a chef, represented the country and was an incredible inspiration and mentor for me in this career.”

Today, Chef Marcus is creating his own chapter in that culinary story. As Technical Head Coach of Team Masakhane, he is helping prepare a new generation of young chefs to represent South Africa at the 2026 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

And that, for him, carries particular meaning.

“It is massive for me. For us to have a full South African team, from the managers through to the chefs, is incredible, and I think it speaks volumes about how far we have come as South Africa.”

This Heritage Month, we're celebrating the people, places and food stories behind Team Masakhane – and the South African culinary heritage they're taking with them to the world stage. 🇿🇦

Help us get them there. Back Team Masakhane on their journey to Luxembourg and become part of the team behind the team.

👉 Support Team Masakhane – see link in comments.

Back a Buddy. Build a Team. Represent a Nation.

11/09/2026

Wishing a sweet and joyful Rosh Hashanah to all our SA Chefs members and partners!

Tonight marks the start of the Jewish New Year. We hope your tables are full of sweet flavors, beautiful traditions, and great company.May the year ahead bring fresh culinary inspiration, growth, and prosperity to your kitchens!

Shanah Tovah from all of us at SA Chefs!

11/09/2026

We are proud to announce the appointment of Chef Andile Somdaka and Chef Mahlomola Thamae as Vice Presidents of the South African Chefs Association. Please join us in congratulating these leaders of our industry.

08/09/2026

Some inspiration for winter from Tiger Brands Food Service Solutions!

07/09/2026

🇿🇦 Let's get our chefs to Luxembourg!

It takes a nation to build a world-class team.

Team Masakhane, South Africa’s Junior Culinary Team, has earned its place at the 2026 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. Now, we’re inviting South Africans everywhere to become part of the team behind the team.

These talented young chefs have the opportunity to showcase South African skill, creativity and food culture on one of the world’s most prestigious culinary stages – and every one of us can play a part in getting them there.

Whether it’s R50, R500 or R5,000, every contribution adds another supporter to their journey. And if you can’t contribute, sharing the campaign helps too.

🥘 Back our young chefs.
🇿🇦 Back South African culinary talent.
🏆 Back Team Masakhane.

Back a Buddy. Build a Team. Represent a Nation.

👉 Support Team Masakhane here:
https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/take-team-masakhane-to-luxembourg

Team Masakhane, South Africa's Junior Culinary Team has earned their place at the Culinary World Cup 2026 in Luxembourg, one of the most prestigious ...

04/09/2026

Sweet treats, rich heritage, and festive kitchens! 🍯

✨Today, we wish a very happy Krishna Janmashtami to all our Hindu followers, chefs, and hospitality families. On a day deeply rooted in the art of making traditional milk sweets and festive treats, we salute the chefs keeping these cultural food traditions alive across South Africa! ❤️