Professional celeb make-up artist and Instagram foodie, Neo Nontso (@dinewitheneo) chats to us about her first ever cookbook.
Neo Nontso has gone from being a make-up artist to the stars to a darling of South Africa’s digital foodie scene. Her first cookbook is for her fans, but especially for her family. Chad January caught up with her to find out more.
Family (Meals) First
`Growing up in a very tight-knit family meant that mealtimes were very important. We would always gather around the table and eat together,’ recalls Neo.
Her mother, Tembeka Ngcebetsha-Mooij, raised her 5 children to value family and to rely on each another. Neo is grateful that the siblings took this lesson to heart and are still close. Sundays were a big deal in their home.
It was a chance to enjoy the company of family, yes, but it was also about the anticipation of a feast! Tembeka would wake up at the crack of dawn to start preparing Sunday lunch before they headed off to church. After the service, they would drive to a local bakery to pick up an ‘after lunch treat’.
If she had to choose, the potato bake would be Neo’s favourite out of all the dishes her mother would make. The soft, velvety potatoes which ‘simply melted in your mouth’ were layered with roasted peppers, shredded chicken, mushrooms and lashings of cream. This was only 1 out of the 10 dishes Tembeka would prepare that morning before church…
From Make-Up Artist To Foodie
‘My career in make-up within the entertainment industry was not planned at all. It fell into my lap,’ Neo explains. In 2015, she studied professional make-up artistry at STADIO [formerly LISOF] in Pretoria and her first job was at MAC cosmetics.
Within the first few months of working, she made her first contact with a celebrity client. The celebrity’s make-up artist at the time had cancelled on her right before having to attend a red-carpet event. Neo stepped up to the challenge and did the client’s make-up right there and then in the MAC store.
From that point onwards, Neo’s inbox filled up (very quickly) with more high-profile client bookings. Soon she was snapped up by award-winning South African songstress Shekhinah and travelled across Africa as her personal make-up artist for 2 years.
In 2019, she got ‘the opportunity of a lifetime’. Radio and TV host Anele Mdoda appointed Neo as her personal make-up artist while she shot her first Oscars special.
When The Kitchen Calls
‘My journey from make-up artist to full-time foodie started in 2017 with the birth of my Instagram account, ®dinewithneo, which at the time was a passion project,’
Neo recalls. She soon opened up the ‘Dine with Neo’ dark kitchen [a food company that serves eaters through delivery only] and her food was sold through delivery partners Uber Eats, Mr Delivery and Bolt Food.
Her business came to a temporary standstill during the stage 5 lockdown in South Africa. The side hustle had by now become her main source of income. Despondent but not defeated, she turned her attention to finding fun in the kitchen.
‘I saw a massive opportunity in the digital space and decided to start a 21-day challenge on Instagram. I cooked one dish each day for 21 consecutive days. They were inspired by the fast food everyone craved but couldn’t get at the time. And people wanted more — her online following tripled in three weeks.
My Insta Feast
When developing recipes, Neo has her audience’s pocket and preferences in mind. Her family and her fond childhood memories of being in the kitchen together has had a profound impact on her food.
Her recipes are also shaped by travel and her admiration for celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Bobby Flay and Chrissy Teigen. Her first book, @dinewithneo: my insta feast, is a love letter to her family and her loyal followers.
She’s packed a lot into it: her most requested recipes, her top tricks as well as her grocery shopping list, and why lockdown has some upsides. And she dares homecooks to stop sweating and have fun with it, too.
Neo has given us a sneak peek into what to expect in her first book with one of her ‘Gram-worthy’ recipes:
Chicken Alfredo
Serves 4
Total Time 25-30 Min
Ingredients
- Chicken breast, 2
- Salt, 1/2 tsp
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- Ground paprika, 1/2 tsp
- Garlic powder, 1/2 tsp
- Butter, 1/2 tbsp
- Lemon, juiced 1/2
- Oil
- Pasta, 250g
- Butter, 1 tbsp
- Onion, chopped 1/2
- Garlic, chopped 2 clove
- Cornflour, 1 tbsp
- Full-cream milk ,500ml
- Aromat, 2 tsp
- Parmesan, grated 1/2 cup plus extra for serving
- Fresh parsley to garnish
Method
- Place the chicken on a plate or board and season with the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
- Heat a little oil in a medium-sized pan on high heat and fry the chicken for 8-10 minutes, turning occasionally until cooked through and tender.
- Add the butter and lemon juice to the pan and fry for another minute, remove from the heat and set aside.
- Boil the pasta in salted water according to the package instructions.
- Drain in a colander, reserving about Y4 cup of the pasta water, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking.
- To make the sauce, melt the butter in a large pan on a medium heat, then sauté the onion and garlic until translucent.
- Whisk the cornflour and milk together in a jug.
- Gradually stir the cornflour mixture into the sauce.
- Once bubbling, add the Aromat and parmesan. Add more milk to loosen the sauce or more cornflour to thicken it if necessary.
- Add the pasta and pasta water to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Warm the chicken breasts for a few seconds in the microwave or in a hot pan, then slice. 12. Top the pasta with the chicken slices and sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Top Tip
For an even creamier sauce, use 2 cups of fresh cream instead of the milk and cornflour mixture.
Neo’s Content Creation Dos and Don’ts
DO start the process. You have to start somewhere. It doesn’t matter how big or small, the important thing is that you take that first step and just start creating. The rest will follow. DO improvise.
If you don’t have all the traditional tools, space or equipment, then use what you have on hand. The audience won’t notice, or mind, the difference. DON’T deviate. Choose your niche and the message you want to relay to the public and stick to it.
They’ll come back for more of it and this is how you create a loyal following. Do create with love. If you are passionate about the content you’re creating and love doing it, then you’ll be able to create with ease.
@dinewithneo: my insta feast (R395, Quivertree Publications) is available at all good bookstores.
Photography: Quivertree Publications
