Mogau Seshoene

Mogau Seshoene aka The Lazy Makoti is a young chef who is passionate about promoting South African cuisines through hosting master classes across the country. In 2015 she made The M&G top 200 young South Africans list and then went on to make the Forbes 30 under 30 list the next year. Her debut cookbook, The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to The Kitchen, became a best-seller, nominated for 2 Gourmand cookbook awards and now on its 3rd reprint.

Q & A with Mogau

Mogau Seshoene aka The Lazy Makoti is a young chef who is passionate about promoting South African cuisines through hosting master classes across the country. In 2015 she made The M&G top 200 young South Africans list and then went on to make the Forbes 30 under 30 list the next year. Her debut cookbook, The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to The Kitchen,became a best-seller, nominated for 2 Gourmand cookbook awards and now on its 3rd reprint.

Question: What is your view on SA POC, and why is this conference important to you?

Answer: It’s important for people of colour to not only break the walls that keep them out of the culinary industry but most importantly the ones that keep us apart as creatives and professionals. There is so much that we could be doing together as a community but we aren’t, doing amazing things in isolation when together we could have amplified impact

Question: Name one person in this broader industry whom you look up to or a person who you really admire and why.

Answer: My inspiration is Mama Dorah Sithole @dorahlydia. She is the first black woman I saw growing up who was making a name for herself and changing perceptions about black women and the kitchen as more than just cooks or maids. She’s the first person I really saw be creative and expressive with our food.

Question: Transformation in this industry (name your specific field or cause) will happen when…

Answer: … people of colour own the spaces in which they play. Be it industry kitchens, publishing etc, a lot of the times demand is created and or stimulated by the availability of the offering. I think this was proven this past year when so many books from POC hit the market. People proved that representation truly matters and that they will buy the books if they are produced and made available.

Question: What would you love people to know about you and your work?

Answer: I’m passionate about traditional South African heritage and culture and that we need not abandon this important part of our identity chasing “globalization”.