Born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, Lentswe Bhengu is a celebrity chef and TV personality and his latest venture is co-judging the KFC Taste Kitchen TV show. We were lucky enough to catch up with him to get to know him a little better.

By Ulisha Moodley

MK: How did you get involved with food?
LB: I’ve been eating since before I was born.

MK: What is it like being a judge on a cooking show?
LB: It’s quite a serious responsibility. Between myself and Lucia, we have to choose one winning duo from 11 teams of very talented and aspiring cooks

MK: Do you have a signature dish?
LB: Wild mushroom risotto.

MK. What is your favourite veggie?
LB: Wild mushrooms.

MK: Who is your favourite Instagrammer?
LB: @thejapanesecuisine

MK: Do you have any pet peeves about the food world?
LB: People who don’t taste their food.

MK: What are your top five favourite restaurants?
LB: The Short Market Club, The Pot Luck Club, Bolton Road Collection, The Potato Shed and Rust en Vrede

MK: What did you hate eating as a child?
LB: Avocados – now I love them.

MK: What is your favourite dessert?
LB: Malva pudding.

MK: What’s next for you and your food?
LB: A new cooking show (hopefully) and a travel journal with recipes and intimate Taste Africa dinners.

For more on Lentswe, follow him on Instagram @iam_lentswe.

The post Quick fire Q&A with Taste Kitchen judge Lentswe Bhengu appeared first on MyKitchen.

Michelle’s philosophy of regional, sustainable cooking sprang from a traditional South African home, where a luscious garden offered loads of homegrown produce and mealtimes were taken seriously. She studied culinary arts and then worked at several restaurants in and around Cape Town, before joining the team at Pierneef à La Motte in 2010. She helped them make the top 10 in the 2013 Eat Out DStv Food Network Awards, becoming the executive chef in 2014.

To celebrate her talent and the month of love (or the month of chocolate in our case), we asked her to create a savoury chocolate-inspired dish. She definitely did not disappoint when she presented us with something we have never seen before. Fish and white chocolate. She chose kingklip, newly back on WWF SASSI’s Green List and served it up with a white-chocolate and rooibos Béarnaise, smoked-potato, caper and onion salad and a drizzling of white chocolate and rooibos oil.

Take a look at what we got up to on shoot day and get Chef Michelle’s recipe in the February issue of MyKitchen, on sale now at Spar, Clicks, Exclusive Books, Van Schaik Bookstore, Engen, BP, Caltex and Total.

The post Behind the scenes at La Motte with Chef Michelle Theron appeared first on MyKitchen.