ChefLi's Food Diary

The life and times of ChefLi

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"I'm a Chef, of course I know how to cause a stir"

-ChefLi-

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Intention

Definition of intention - a thing intended; an aim or plan, the healing process of a wound, conceptions formed by directing the mind towards an object.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about intention and the actual power behind it. I know we’ve probably all heard of the concept of the power of the mind which is great, but what is it really about? Not many actually understand what all that means, so I’m going to try and break it down according to my own understanding. Firstly, I believe that vision and intention go hand in hand, it is paramount to establish what your vision is so that you can marry it to the concept of intention. Simply put, when you know where you are going, it’s easier to lay out the blue print for the foundation phase. Once your vision and intentions have been set in place in your mind, you will start to find yourself in the right places at the right time, attracting the right people to help your vision come to pass. 

I can definitely attest to this theory because when I was younger, I had no cooking clue who I was or what I wanted and as a result, I ended up lost and confused. I got caught up in so many things trying to navigate through life, I went through all sorts of growing pains, depression, anxiety, anorexia & even contemplated suicide. It actually breaks my heart sometimes when I think about the intricacies of the human spirit. If you don’t know what you’re here for, you end up getting lost in all your thoughts and end up being dissatisfied and indifferent about everything. I don’t know what it is about the human psyche that has us craving for something more, something beyond here & now. We crave to know the magic & mysteries of our existence. We crave to have something to live for, something to worship and its a beautiful thing. I am so grateful that I live in a country where I have the freedom to explore who I am in every way I can. 

There’s so much to learn out there and I want to encourage my readers to be brave, do not be afraid to search high & low until you find yourself. We all come into this world pure & fearless but because of circumstance, we all end up broken & incomplete. However, I’ve got some good news for you, there IS HOPE & you can overcome every insecurity, every weakness and every short fall that you have to face, we were made to win and lose some of our battles but the war within yourself is meant to be won. Its all up to YOU child of the earth, we all have a choice it’s either you get burned by the fire or you become the fire. Find that thing that fuels you and constantly feeds your soul, that’s when your true power will begin to manifest. 

Being intentional is more powerful than having hopes & wishes, just like having a dream is more powerful than having a plan. Our plans never transpire exactly the way we anticipated but that’s the beauty of life, its the beauty of the journey. I’m writing this to every person who might be feeling inadequate or lost, I want to encourage you to be intentional in finding who you are & what you were sent here for. You have nothing to lose but so much more to gain. 

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I just decided to add a sprinkle of chocolate dust last minute! 

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Banoffee Pie Cups

1 pack Tennis Biscuits (finely crushed)

1 can Caramel Treat (lightly warmed)

6 Fresh Bananas

250ml Creme Chantilly (sweetened whipped cream with vanilla)

1. Lay whiskey glasses out. Place 2-3 tablespoons of Tennis Biscuit crumbs at the bottom of the glass. Followed by the slightly warmed Caramel Treat then the banana then the creme chantilly.

2. Repeat the process until you fill the cups to your heart's desire!! 

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Its been a long time guys but I have a new recipe for you guys, the good ol’ Banoffee Pie but this time we are making them in whiskey glasses so that they look prettier. I made these for the Delush Private Picnic with Tshepi Mabs

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-Coming to South Africa-

Many of you don’t know this but I am actually half Malagasy (Betsileo) and half South African (Zulu). My mother is native to Madagascar and my Dad is a South African. I was born in Madagascar and I that’s where I actually started learning the art of culinary. The Island is so beautiful, filled with hundreds of types of precious stones but its literally forgotten by most of the world. I kind of like it that way, its peaceful and untouched by the greedy hands of mankind. The only thing that makes me uncomfortable is the political turmoil that the country has been going through for over a decade now but I believe that things will work out some day.

Life was great but one day, my dear Father said that we had to leave Madagascar to come and live here in South Africa, I must have been 6 years old at the time. I was distraught because I had to leave everything I loved behind but I was excited at the same time, I was looking forward to my new adventure in the City of Gold. Yes these were my thoughts as a 6 year old, I’ve always been an imaginative person, I have always loved literature (Malagasy & French) and learned how to read at age 3 according to my awesome Mother. We arrived a few months after my Father’s announcement but my excitement soon died out because when I started going to primary school, I had to start from grade 1 because I could not speak a word of English, I was so mad but I was determined to learn, thank God I was at the right age for grade 1 though.  

Primary school was really tough for my sister and I, the children were so nasty and mean to us because we weren’t fully South African and could not speak the language. We were constantly being bullied and humiliated for being different, I couldn’t understand why. But God blessed me with two wonderful friends called Thuli Mathabela & Lerato Boikanyo, they were the only ones who accepted me the way I was and helped me learn English so that I could communicate. I got so inspired that I began reading every single book I could get my hands on and I also watched Generations for the subtitles! LOL, those were the good ol’ days. I am still very good friends with Thuli to this day (21 years later) but we lost contact with Lerato along the way.

As the years passed by, we got to grade 4 and they started teaching us about apartheid and the history of South Africa, I got the shock of my life because I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as race. My whole world changed in one moment, I started to see people differently and I began to understand why the other children could not accept someone who is different from them. Our history is full of darkness and the mentality that their parents formed as a result of their despair got passed on to the children. 

Life got less depressing as time went on because I began to understand certain things a lot better, I became immune to the teasing and I also earned my title as one of the top scholars in school. I learned that there is always at least one person who will love and accept me for who I am. No one could tear me down anymore because I became strong on the inside, I finally understood that there is so much more to me than meets the eye. The same applies to YOU.

Hope you enjoyed this post! 

Sali

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Freshly baked Sweet Potatoes garnished with Alfalfa 

I am in love

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I'm a Cold Kitchen Chef who launched her blog as winter approaches, strange but true

ChefLi -Food for Thought-

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Food for Thought: When God Speaks

Here’s my story:

Once upon a time, ChefLi was just gliding through her life & career with no real direction & then one day, she received her BREAKTHROUGH. Before I started roaming these Tumblr streets, I was a private chef working for a Jewish Family. I was happy but I was not fulfilled, it seemed like I had everything but it still felt like something was missing. I was building my profile & slaying but my heart felt empty. One random day, I figured it out. I needed more TIME, the most precious commodity. I had everything except time. I have all these beautiful ideas but I could not execute much because most of my time was being swallowed up by my job. I fell into a depression around September 2017 & eventually decided to leave. I set a date (end of April 2018). So here comes the juicy bit...

My Church called a fast sometime in March (21 days before Resurrection Sunday) & I thought to myself this is PERFECT, just what I need. So a few days into this fast, God speaks & tells me that tomorrow (16th March 2018) will be my last day at my job. I was like ‘get behind me satan!’ but the Holy Spirit kept on pressing my heart about I kept resisting. I even bumped into a sermon by Pastor Keion Henderson on Youtube titled “It’s Time to Make a Move”, under that was a message titled “Leaving it ALL Behind” & under that was one titled “Turning the Page”. I thought I was losing my mind, I have never heard of this Pastor before why is he all of a sudden on my YouTube feed?? Still I resisted. Only to find that later on that evening, the boss’ wife had built up a ‘case’ against me, even went as far as insulting my work that was the last straw. I couldn’t take it, I know who I am & I know that I do everything with love & excellence. I stood up for myself, she got angry & sent me to their PA the next so that the PA could bark at me as well, I stood up against her as well and I don’t regret one second. That’s when it hit me. I really was leaving, not at my time but God’s time [Proverbs 19:21]. It was scary but something told me not to be afraid. I sought counsel from my Dadd, my Aunt & my closest friends & they all encouraged me that things would fall into place, you are a child of God. Be brave they said. It’s about time you stand up & create your own LEGACY. I prayed and I prayed, I even watched those sermons & finally I sent in my resignation on Sunday evening with immediate effect. They accepted & the rest is history so here I am. 

The minute I left, I got a call to do a project (create a range of new tapas & desserts) with Six Cocktail Bar in Melville, the owner wanted me to start immediately. All of a sudden, ChefLi has left her mark at Melville’s most loved Cocktail Bar. I now also have so much time to build Braveheart Multimedia with one of my dearest friends, Lunga Msimang. Things are happening, its still hard but I was made for this!

Here are some nuggets from what I learned through this experience: 

Be COURAGEOUS enough to LISTEN when God speaks, it usually makes no cooking sense but my God is a God of the odds and I’m that 1 in a billion. 

Be HUMBLE enough to TRUST & OBEY. My ego won’t ever get me anywhere, let go and let God. 

Being close to GOD is EVERYTHING & more, I learnt that I am in a real relationship with my Father in Heaven, I don’t have to stress. It’s actually real.

Hope you guys are inspired and encouraged by this. I can’t wait to share more & more with you ALL. 

#ThereIsMore

Sali  

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Intro

Hey Guys!

My name is ChefLi & some of you know me and others don’t, but I am so new to this blogging life and I just thought I should share some things around my journey as a person. This post is the first of many under my “online newsletter” titled Food for Thought.

First of all, I am a Kingdom child and some of you may not understand what that means right now, but as time goes on I’ll reveal more and more about this.

I want to share a little story with you guys based on my journey as a chef, it’s been rough & tough, it took me a long while to actually find out who I am as a chef & what I came here to do BUT everything I went through was more than worth it. I have evolved so much since my topsy-turvy teenage days & most importantly, I have drawn so much closer to God in so many ways but I know I still have a long way to go, this is just the beginning  so I’m excited!

Sali

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Had the most beautiful weekend with the Liebermans. 

I also discovered a herb called Lemon Balm from Pick n Pay, so I decided to use that instead of mint. Here is the recipe:

ChefLi’s Tzatziki

1/2          cucumber (brunois) 

1/2          red onion (brunois)

1 clove    Fresh Garlic (finely chopped)

6 tbsp     Plain Yoghurt

1 bunch  Fresh Lemon Balm

Pinch      Pink Himalayan Salt

Pinch      Crushed Black Pepper

Juice from half a Lemon

1 tsp       Honey (optional)

Sumac

Micro Herbs

1. Mix ALL the ingredients together, garnish with Sumac and Fresh Micro Herbs. 

ENJOY! 

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Getting all the ingredients is easy, but the madness is in the method. So, how crazy are YOU?

ChefLi -Food for Thought- 

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Roasted Beetroot & Cucumber Salad

6 small Beetroots (roughly sliced)

half a Cucumber (sliced into quarters)

1 ring of  Plain Feta (crumbed)

1 handful Fresh Mint (chopped)

Rock Salt

Black Pepper

Olive Oil

*Dressing on next Post*

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees.

2. Place chopped beetroot onto an oven tray, add salt, pepper and olive oil. Roast until the beetroot is soft and the skin shrivels up.

3. Place all the other ingredients into a bowl.

4. When the beetroot is done, place it into the bowl and toss. 

Dress, serve & ENJOY!!

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CREATIVE GHETTOS x CHEF LI 13 April 2018

Hi Guys, 

Check out my interview with Miss Kwanele Kunene on Creative Ghettos. This woman is a POWERHOUSE in the making. This is definitely my favourite interview to date. 

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Yes, of course there are plenty fish in the sea, BUT that's exactly why its easy for you to get hooked onto the WRONG one.

ChefLi -Food for Thought-

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I recently had the honour of creating a new set of Tapas for the famous Six Cocktail Bar in Melville so I wanted to share the photos:

Asian Style Cauliflower with Onion Seeds, a taste you wont forget!

You can pop in anytime to have a try!

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I recently had the honour of creating a new set of Tapas for the famous Six Cocktail Bar in Melville so I wanted to share the photos:

Cantonese Chicken, this is slowly but surely becoming another fan favourite!!! You’ll understand why once you’ve tasted.

You can pop in anytime to have a try!