Chef Precious Ntsalaza wanted to be a cop first

The South African Police Service’s loss became Birdhaven eatery Arbour Café’s big win.

Head chef Precious Ntsalaza never thought food would be the way that she served people. Her childhood dream was to protect and serve. But life pivoted from the get-go, and she’s been spicing and dishing out delicious food for almost two decades now.

Ntsalaza grew up in a small town called Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. Then, after completing high school, she moved to the big smoke, Gauteng.

“In 2003, I met a student who was working, and I thought, maybe I can find a way to earn a bit of money too.”

At the time, it was less calling and more survival. Ntsalaza started off as a sculler in a restaurant in Edenvale. Simply put, a dishwasher.

“I wanted to protect people,” she said. “But I didn’t have money to study and by the time I could maybe try the SAPS again, I was told I was too old.”

From law enforcement to kitchen boss

The kitchen didn’t immediately seduce her though.

“I didn’t love cooking,” she said. “I loved food, yes. But I was lazy to cook.”

It was the environment, the bustle of a busy kitchen, the choreography of service, that eventually hooked her.

“Once I got tied to the kitchen, I started enjoying it. That’s when I stopped thinking about other careers and decided to focus on food.”

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And just like that, she laid her dreams of donning the blues were shelved.

Larry Hodes, owner of Arbour Café, spotted Ntsalaza at the restaurant where after washing dishes, she was employed as a cook on training in the kitchen. It was almost 15 years ago when he offered her a job to work in his kitchen, and she has never looked back.

She grafted. And she grew.

“Eventually they promoted me to head chef. I just put in the effort,” she said.

This despite not having any culinary school credentials. She learnt everything on the job. “Larry helped me,” she said. “He knew I didn’t study, so he showed me things and taught me.”

She now collaborates with him on everything from menu design through to presentation.

She grafted, she grew

Working in a kitchen and managing everything from fulfilling orders through to ensuring quality and still cooking herself, on top of it, is hard work.

“I wouldn’t change what I do,” she said, “except maybe because I’m getting old. My feet are sore every day from standing.”

Ntsalaza said that middle age does impact stamina, and one day she’d be keen to just chill on the couch, at home.

She cooks with love, or she doesn’t cook at all.

“If you’re just doing it, your food won’t come out right. But if you’re doing it with love, it shows.” She also loves waking up in the morning and knowing she will make someone’s day with a good meal. And even though sometimes it’s not easy to keep everyone happy, she said that it’s a daily goal.

There’s one thing though that she does not like much. Baking.

“Baking needs too much attention. It is rigid. Right ingredients, right measurements. No thank you,” she shared. “Maybe it’s also age!”

Ntsalaza said that her two teenage daughters will not be following her into the kitchen.

“The little one wants to be a doctor. The older one wants to be a social worker,” she said.

“Even though the older one helps me in the kitchen sometimes, I wouldn’t advise them to be chefs. Not because I hate it, I’m living with it, but it’s a tough industry.”

Being a chef is tough

When she’s not cooking, she’s chilling.

“I just relax. No hobbies. Just chill on the couch,” she said.

Her go-to snack when she’s off duty is peanut butter and bread. “I’m not sweating for myself!” she said.

At mealtimes, she still loves pap and meat too.

“It’s my heritage, and what I love. It reminds me of home and growing up.”

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