Chef Nompumelelo (Mpume) Mqwebu, author of Through the Eyes of an African Chef, published by Quickfox Publishing, has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards – best in South Africa – in two categories: Best First Cookbook, and Best Self-Published cookbook. Mpume has also been shortlisted for the global award (best of all countries) in the same two categories, the results of which will be released in Yantai, China, in May of this year. The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, started in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau (of Cointreau liqueur fame) receives entries from 205 countries annually, with thousands of submissions. The Gourmands have been compared to the “Oscars” for cookbooks.
Through the Eyes of an African Chef was launched in October last year and has enjoyed outstanding press coverage, including a large Sunday Times insert, a 4-page Juice (Kulula.com) magazine article, a multi-page article with recipes in the Woolworths Taste magazine, to name but a few.
Through the Eyes of an African Chef is an African cookery book featuring traditional African classics as well as recipes using African ingredients but with a modern twist. Exciting and innovative – this book offers something for everyone and brings African cuisine into the mainstream. The book also promotes sustainable farming practices and local farmers.
The book retraces chef Nompumelelo’s journey of rekindling her love for African cooking, returning to the soil and the seasons to provide the freshest of ingredients and traditional farming and cooking methods. Her recipes incorporate time-honoured techniques, passed down through the ages.
Aimed at both chefs and amateurs, this beautiful full colour, hardcover cookery book includes all the usuals such as starters, side dishes, mains and desserts. It also includes extras such as recipes from Mpume’s international travels, including cream cheese and bread making from her time at Ballymaloe Cookery School under chef Darina Allen, some of her father’s traditional recipes, and a few Khoisan classics, such as honey-glazed springbok. This book includes something for everyone, from really traditional meals and beverages to dishes with a modern spin.
Find out more about the book on Publisher.co.za.