Sipho turned his passion for food into a career.
It may have taken Shinoyolo Sipho's father some time to accept his son's passion for cooking, but Sipho's recent success has helped him understand.
“I'm most proud of that guy. I won the Dstv Content Creator Awards, so the first thing I did was call him and say I want to send him money. He said, 'Hey, this dish of yours costs money. I was like, 'Yes!'” Sipho said. The Citizen.
Popularly known as a chef, Sipho has turned his passion for food into a career over the past four years, after initially studying and working as a pharmacist.
His father was initially not receptive to the idea of his son making a living solely by preparing meals.
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change of heart
Sipho said about his father that the old man did not understand at first.
“The fact that you're a Xhosa from the Eastern Cape and cooks is another stereotype in itself. My father said, 'I sent you to university to study pharmacy, but you came back to cook.' “I'm coming,” Sipho said.
A few months ago, Sifo won two awards at the Dstv Content Creator Awards: Content Creator of the Year and Foodie Award, and shared the prize money with his father.
“I'm still trying to process it too. This is a real seal of approval from the people watching that I'm doing the right thing,” he said of the prize money.
“It's nice to see a parent reform. It's not like he didn't support it per se, but it shows you what a parent is like, especially from that. [older] Generations — They have a certain set. [about career choices]”
Sipho witnessed his father's softness towards the idea of him becoming a professional chef when he published his first cookbook.
“I gave it to you. [a copy of the book] he almost cried. As you can see…he couldn't believe it. ”
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passion for cooking
Sipho said he had always had a passion for cooking, but things escalated during the coronavirus pandemic after his wife encouraged him to create a social media page. But it was back in high school that he started experimenting in the kitchen.
“When I saw my mother cooking, I thought, “Maybe I should try mixing it up like this,'' and since I don't have much money on the national team, I was looking for something that tasted like curry using sardines. ”
“I grew up in a family that loved food. My father owned a farm and a butcher shop, so we were constantly exposed to it. With COVID-19 being a milestone, my wife and I told me to open a cooking page and people loved it,” Sipho said.
Sipho's decision to go public with her passion for cooking coincided with a morning TV show competition encouraging people to cook at home in the early days of lockdown.
“They said they wanted to encourage people to cook at home because everyone was in lockdown and I was one of them. That's where my career exploded.”
His wife was a support throughout his journey, even when his father questioned his choices.
“She saw something in me that I never saw,” Sipho said. “She was the one who made sure I followed through on my dreams and passions.”
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Master chef dream come true
Sifo is one of 12 famous chefs South African celebrity master chef. He said he couldn't believe it when he first received the invitation to appear on the cooking show.
“I've always watched MasterChef, especially Australian MasterChef. It's something I've always watched, so for them to reach out to me and say, 'Come on, come with me.' It was like a dream. I was more surprised and excited,” he said.
The Celebrity MasterChef champion will share the prize money of R1 million with a charity of their choice.
Twelve famous chefs, divided into groups of three, will try their hand at cooking in the first four episodes of the series.
The winners of each of these “heats” advance to the semi-finals and face off in the final two games later.
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