Find out what’s cooking with Chef Lesego Semenya (and his new puppy) – Jacana Media’s Author of the Month for May
More about the book!

Jacana Media’s Author of the Month for May is Chef Lesego Semenya a.k.a. Lesdachef!

‘Wow, you don’t look like a chef!’ This statement is something Chef Lesego Semenya has heard many a time over the years. His response is always: ‘So, what does aaa chef look like?’

With his bulging tattooed upper arms, soft-spoken nature and obvious passion for South African cuisine and giving it his unique twist, Lesego probably doesn’t fit the generic look of a self-made top chef. It is his unconventional personality and approach to food that has kept South Africans coming back for more over the years.

Having cooked for billionaires such as Richard Brandson, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, starring on the judging panel of foodie programme Top Chef South Africa, being the resident chef for various newspapers and radio shows, and then building his successful culinary brand LesDaChef, he finally published his first cookbook, Dijo: My Food, My Journey in 2018.

A bestseller, Dijo is a steady favourite among South Africans who love to cook, and it recently made a comeback as more and more South Africans started cooking from home during lockdown. This renewed interest in the book meant it was back in the bestseller listings almost 18 months after it was first published.

Every dish 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.

Divided into three sections that span his food journey, Dijo is an affirmation of South African cuisine, its heritage and its unique flavours. Readers will go on a journey through the simplest yet most-loved of township dishes, to the more complex fine-dining molecular gastronomy creations he has become known for. It truly is a reflection of his life lived through food.

Lesego is also very active on social media and has used this platform to not only build his brand, LesDaChef, but also to educate, inform and, sometimes, challenge his followers to learn and understand exactly what they’re consuming – whether it be food or beverages.

Click here to buy Dijo

Since the publication of your first cookbook Dijo, what has been your experience of being an author?

Since November 2018, when Dijo was officially released, it has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for me. I didn’t realise the world of authors and bibliophiles was such an interactive one. So many book events and signings! For almost a year my sole focus was promoting Dijo and all the media attention that came with it. I did need to nurse my first passion, though, which is cooking, by having monthly cooking events with Bosch Home as well as a few catering events here and there.

My mom unfortunately passed away two months after the book was launched and that took over every part of my life. Besides the book events, corporate commitments and media interactions, I pulled back from all other social engagements in order to cope with the loss. This also affected my personal relationships, but I took it in my stride and at the beginning of 2020 endeavoured to make a few positive changes.

Many of your supporters are asking for a second book already. Have you given any thought to this?

I finally committed to start writing my second book. A crazy idea and concept on paper and even crazier in reality. It will be a bit of a mountain to conquer but having seen how well Dijo has done in terms of sales and support, I believe the next book will be even bigger. I originally envisioned Dijo as one of a trilogy of cookbooks with a similar slant which will progressively get more and more detailed with each book. So hold on, the next two cookbooks and their production will be rather intense.

Tell us about a positive change that you’ve decided to bring to your life?

Besides the book writing, I’ve decided to bring some much-needed positivity into my life by adopting a naughty little rascal from the SPCA who I named Porridge. I think he has gone on to be more popular than me on social media actually, so much so that I had to create his own Instagram account for him. I’ve always encouraged people to adopt pets from the SPCA and hopefully Porridge’s popularity will motivate some. He even gets sent gifts from loving fans during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Speaking of which, the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions have given me an opportunity to try switch my company’s focus to the new wave of business, which is mostly online. I created my YouTube channel, Dipitšeng with LesDaChef, in 2018 in order to mostly document the marketing of Dijo and the road trips it involved. Since our ‘new normal’ I have repositioned the channel to focus more on food and simple recipes, similar to the ones found in Dijo. The reaction has been staggering with about 5000 people having subscribed to the channel and my blog has now surpassed 1 million views. This has also led to renewed interest in my cookbook with more TV and radio interviews about the more popular recipes. But by far the one recipe that has received the most reaction has been the magwinya one – I simply recorded myself making the magwinya recipe that is in Dijo and it went viral.

Can you give us a bit more detail about how the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the focus of your business?

This pandemic has completely, and I think permanently, altered the world of hospitality. It will take years for it to recover. Even if the virus was miraculously destroyed, it will take a while to get over the psychological fears people will have about being in crowded spaces such as hotels and restaurants.

The lack of patrons will lead to less demand for skilled chefs and this will leave many graduates stranded. The usual solution of emigrating to go work on foreign shores is also not viable as this is a global pandemic. I have been very vocal on social media asking people to heed the lockdown rules. The sooner we all comply, the quicker we can manage and re-open important sectors of the economy such as tourism and hospitality.

On a more positive note the pandemic has forced people to get back into their kitchens and start cooking again. Due to people having less income, and disposable income at that, it has forced them to start approaching chefs and recipe writers for our tips and expertise, so I’ve been encouraging other chefs to begin looking at this segment of the market more closely.

Besides the writing of your next cookbook, what else is on the cards for LesDaChef in the next few months?

I’ve been offered to produce and host a few television cookery shows and some are in their pre-production phase. I’ve also been working with various corporates who see the value in how I approach and present food and related ideas online. I have been researching and developing a product line and will be looking to get into LesDaChef merchandising soon. This comes after years of many requests from the public. There are a few other projects that are simmering in the background but those are still under wraps, but please keep following me on social media and you’ll be the first to know what’s cooking.