Soweto-born chef Lesego Semenya, well known as LesDaChef, shares his journey from the corporate world to being a chef, and offers township cuisine with a twist in his debut cookbook Dijo: My Food, My Journey.

‘My goal as a township-born African chef trained in fine-dining cuisine is to remove all the snobbery and showcase the important parts of our food: the stories and memories behind each dish, and the rich and beautiful heritage that comes with it.’

This book is an affirmation of South African cuisine, its heritage and its unique flavours. Full of mouth-watering recipes such as Cape Malay Pickled Fish, Spicy Trotters, Asian-style Oxtail, Smoorsnoek with Croutons and Mint Chimichurri Crusted Lamb Rack with Mint Balsamic Sauce & Sweet Potato, this book is also filled with stunning photographs and beautiful food styling.

Every dish that is featured in Dijo has a story that speaks of passion and nostalgia. Sharing both the recipes and their history will give foodies a way of getting to know Lesego’s food background while growing up in Soweto, as well as the fine-dining techniques he learned at chef school and a few hot chef secrets, too.

‘Let’s cook what brings us joy; let’s have fun and make new memories.’

Lesego Semenya was born and raised in Soweto. While working as a process engineer, he decided to make a career change and went on to complete a Grande Diploma in Food and Wine. With numerous accolades over the years, media features and being a judge on Top Chef South Africa, Lesego runs his culinary business whilst chasing his goal of taking the snobbery out of food.

Categories Cookery Lifestyle Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Dijo Jacana Media LesDaChef Lesego Semenya New books New releases