Mthulisi Moyo

Mthulisi Moyo

Cook

My name is Mthulisi Moyo,I was  born on the 9th of December 1989. Zimbabwean by birth but Currently residing in Mozambique where am pursuing my culinary career.

I grew up in Victoria Falls where I completed my High School in 2008 after having started in 2003. All these 6 years in High School were gearing me to be an military commander  as my culinary career was never written in the stars, however on my last year in High School all my military dreams disappeared and a new Passion was born and that is of being a Culinarian. It all started when a guy I took as my brother ventured into the Culinary field and went on to  Culinary competitions in the country and became victorious and had the chance to go and represent the Nation in Kenya.

In 2009 I grabbed the opportunity to be an apprentice chef with one of the leading companies in tourism and hospitality in Zimbabwe which was in  the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. My three years as an amateur chef were not all glossy as many would anticipate. On my first year I was deployed in a buffet set up in one of the busiest traditional restaurants in the country (The Boma Place Of Eating) which could accommodate up to 400 guests on a busy night. I had the opportunity to learn under the wings of the most accomplished Chefs (Hapana France, Brighton Nekatambe and David Lupenga) who is now the leading Chef in the country.

My second year was at college (Bulawayo Polytechnic school of Tourism and Hospitality. Here I had the opportunity to Learn more theoretical aspect of the cuisine and the practical.

My third and final year was the most challenging year of my career as I was embracing the opportunity of my final exam, as an apprentice to be a qualified chef. It also came with the challenge of working in a busy a la carte kitchen which could accommodate up to 120 diners on a busy night.  Here I learnt under the wing of the most talented chefs I believed to have ever existed in that era (Brian Ndlovu, Paddington Muguza and Daudi phiri.

After obtaining my certificate, I was never satisfied with the knowledge I had which led me to leaving the company that trains me for three years and also gave me employment afterwards for four years. I went on to be a head chef in Masvingo the city where the History

of the country Lies (The Great Zimbabwe).

After 8 months of working there I decided to go on a journey to discover good food after being Inspired by the Great British elite ches ( heston, Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux Junior). I realized my career lacked depth and that led me to visit the nearby country Mozambique which has lots of seafood at its disposal. I attached myself for three months with Machangulo Beach Lodge in Maputo in order to gain much knowledge about the country’s food culture and above all to broaden my knowledge on seafood.

After Three months,I got myself a job in Mozambique as a head chef in Vilankulos at Benguera Island Azura Retreats. I have established myself as a fusion chef who takes traditional Mozambican and Zimbabwean recipes and bring them together with a modern twist. With the aid of my South African Group Executive Chef Meeka Johannes I have transformed into  a chef who brings the food cultures of the different countries in harmony on a single plate of food. My vision of African Gastronomy is all about taking our Grandmothers old recipes and bring them into modern world by re-inventing them with a modern twist, for example cooking some of their recipes sous vide, baking them in salt  to enhance  more flavor into our grand mother’s recipes. Together we can Change African Cuisine into a place where food is a pleasure, a place where people eat not because they are hungry but because they will be longing for the good food.