Luyanda Mafanya is a 23-year-old food blogger who aspires to be a private chef and wife to M’Baku from Black Panther
I think I fell into it, because I was … I never thought I’d end up in food. When I finished school I wanted to be a doctor but I studied geology. I ended up studying finance, I ended up studying logistics. And then, somehow, I got into food when my gran passed away and I started cooking as a form of therapy and it led me into the food world.
I don’t think I have a cooking style yet; I’m still figuring myself out. I like to try different types of dishes from all over the world. Because I’m self-taught, I don’t focus on one type of style of cooking. I try different types to teach myself and to learn more and figure out different styles of food.
I asked Cassper Nyovest, “Can I cook for you?” He said get 10 000 retweets. I got 10 000 retweets but I actually haven’t had a chance to cook for him because he’s always busy, so his manager asked me to cook for him.
But when I went to cook for his manager, Cassper came. So in a way I got to cook for him but it wasn’t in the way that I’d wanted — for him, for the type of dinner party that he wants. But I still say I did get a chance to cook for him.
It’s a really tough. I think it’s a very white industry, so it’s really hard to break in if you’re a black woman. In this type of industry, you have to be known. People can get in, it’s just that it’s gonna be a long journey. — Luyanda Mafanya is a 23-year-old food blogger who aspires to be a private chef and wife to M’Baku from Black Panther, as told to Kiri Rupiah.