Chef Twala is cooking art on a plate

Of the many highlights of the menu, it was his impressive fish starter that got everyone talking. It featured an artwork on a plate, the hero the round slice of a mosaic of fish — strips of tender and juicy white fish sheathed in seaweed, gently compressed and poached. Delicious. It was a triumph; heartily hailed by all the guests, and I later learnt when we meet that seafood, and particularly fish, is one of his favourite proteins to work with — and it showed.

Beyond fish, there were celebrations of traditional flavours in each course, think biltong coated ostrich, a gourmet square of pap tert, melk tert done in three different ways — all dishes matched with a trio of excellent South African wines, Buitenverwachting, De Grendel and De Wetshof melding together Malusi’s French-style cuisine.

So who is Chef Malusi Twala?

I met with the chef a week after the event, and was curious what sparked his foray into food. “It’s an interesting story,” he said.

"My parents said I was a naughty kid, and as a toddler my mom would regularly meet up with her stokvel group, taking me along. Here, the ladies would cook for the get-together, and on this specific day, there was a large pot of pumpkin with cinnamon to be prepared.”

As the story goes, Malusi — with the aid of a kitchen towel — performed a Tarzan-style leap swinging himself and mistakenly landing right into the pot of pumpkin. “For me, that story signifies that my destiny was to be in food, and to become a chef,” he laughed.  

He didn’t enjoy school, and his father insisted he complete his matric at Parktown College and for Malusi who wanted to be an engineer, reluctantly enrolled for the only vacancy available — to study hospitality, sealing his fate and his future.

It was Malusi’s friend, also studying hospitality, who inspired his enthusiasm for a career in food. His story is interwoven with guts and determination, and he’s not one to give up easily, carving out his own path, which included his impromptu meeting up of his own creation, with many mentors who have shaped his career. These include Chef James Khoza — past president of the SA Chefs Association, who Malusi said was his greatest influence and mentor in his career. Chef Khoza had even alerted him about his new job, which he had secured, and the likes of  celebrity Chef David Higgs, then at The Saxon hotel, and many more.

A highlight in Malusi’s career came at a time he least expected. It was a packed lunch time in a 400-seater Sandton restaurant, where he was executive chef. A pesky patron insisted the chef make him a lamb curry, an item not on the menu. The kitchen was so busy, he forgot, yet on the patron’s insistence, the waiter kept coming back to remind him of his order. “Who would believed that a lamb curry made with my secret curry paste, made in a hurry, landed me a dream job with a billionaire on his yacht that took me travelling and cooking around the world?” The incredible opportunity, his very first trip overseas, was memorable. It was a job he did for a year before returning home.

Malusi speaks affectionately about his wife, “who understands my life,” fellow chef Elona, who he met while working at one of the country’s top game lodges.

So, what’s next for the chef?

Malusi is loving his new job. His team and management, he says, are incredible and supportive. Having revamped the menu, many more gourmet/wine pairing dinners are on the cards and will be open to the public at Keystone Bistro. For the chef, whose motto is “Become the best, not the biggest”, his eye is on gold, at the Culinary Olympics in four years’ time. And, as a proud member of the SA Chefs Association, his focus and mission is to be included in the South African national team representing the country at the event in Erfurt, Germany. “Culinary Olympics; that’s my goal. I’m bringing back gold,” he said confidently.

Watch this space.