Chef Kele Brings A Touch of Mediterranean Flair to Farmstead

Kele’s Story

Chef Kele is curious, creative and he loves food, so studying to become a chef made sense from the start, but he says he wouldn’t be where he is today without his many mentors, starting with Chef Phineas Lepuru.

The two met during Kele’s internship at the famous Sun City resort in North West province, where Chef Phineas showed him the ropes and sparked his desire to explore the international food scene. He then had the opportunity to travel to the US and work at the Ritz-Carlton in West Palm Beach and later South Beach, Florida – a culture shock and an opportunity to learn under Chef David Seares. While he learned all aspects of fine-dining, from plating to sophisticated food and wine pairings, it was the downtown street food in Miami that really got his tastebuds going.

On returning to South Africa, he joined Singita and had the opportunity to get truly creative in the kitchen under the guidance of Chef Andrew Nicholson and celebrated chef and author Liam Tomlin – who sent him to the renowned Chef’s Warehouse in Cape Town for further training.

He embraced it all, growing more confident each year, so when the chance came to open his own restaurant at the Loch Logan hotel in Bloemfontein, Chef Kele took the plunge. But COVID-19 struck, making business impossible for his new venture during harsh lockdowns.

The Bush Calling, Again

A brief stint at Cheetah Plains in the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve revived his love for being in the bush. Being an ambitious young chef, the opening of Royal Malewane’s Waterside offered a fantastic opportunity, and he made the move to the Greater Kruger, becoming a valuable member of The Royal Portfolio team under Archie McLean (former Executive Chef) and Head Chef Cheslin Cornelissen (who is now at La Residence). His dedication and talent soon opened new doors. Just over a year ago, he was invited to lead the kitchen at Farmstead, where he’s thriving, bringing his food philosophy to life in harmony with the lodge’s relaxed, rustic charm.

“We start by eating with our eyes first. So the idea of nibbles, that’s where all this tapas concept came into my mind for Farmstead, and also that the direction was more about local flavours with a Mediterranean twist…”.

He says tapas work well in the bush setting, where the weather is warm and people are looking for healthy, delicious food and want to taste a variety of different flavours and textures.

Savouring tapas with a front-row seat to the wild — an unforgettable moment overlooking the bustling waterhole

Small Plates, Big Flavour

He has many personal favourites on his latest tapas menu.
“There’s the chicken lollipop; we serve it with a smoky chakalaka purée with a blue cheese cream sauce. Then I make bobotie empanadas. I top that with some spicy tomato sambal, then on the side, we serve it with our homemade chutney aioli.”

For non-meat eaters, alternatives are thoughtfully created: “If we’re going to substitute the chicken, it will be with a grilled or tempura mushroom, or tempura avocado. I serve it with the same smoked chakalaka purée with the blue cheese velouté. Then substituting the empanada, it will be more of a curried lentil empanada instead of the bobotie empanada – and that’s delicious too.”

Introducing a sense of Africa remains important to Kele’s philosophy, whether it’s sweet potatoes in a citrus and honey sauce or a springbok fillet or loin finished off with a biltong crust (a mixture of blended biltong with Parmesan and butter).
Introducing local flavours is always a talking point: “Guests love to hear the story behind the food. They always ask what chakalaka is, and I tell them; they find it fascinating.”

A light tapas-style lunch at Farmstead at Royal Malewane

Bush Dinners Under a Giant Marula Tree

Chef Kele explores every opportunity to be creative, and the bush dinners have become something of an occasion, set under a huge marula tree with the fire pit going and a perfomance of singing and dancing.

“There will always be a variety of vegetables on the grill. We also have our Karoo lamb chops, very South African – dusted with a little bit of chutney,” he says. “We set up the entire kitchen not far from where the guests are sitting, and it’s more of a show – and a lesson in how we do things.”

Local flavours continue across Farmstead’s dessert offering – things like malva pudding, milk tart and koeksisters. In fact, Chef Kele has an idea to create a sweet tapas board with typical South African desserts.

A Unique Farmstead Food Identity

Chef Kele says what he loves about Royal Malewane is the fact that the different properties are known for different things, which means his team can express themselves through the food offering.

“When they visit Malewane Lodge, they get a different style of food; when they go to Masiya’s Camp, which just opened now, it will again be a distinct style, and the same goes for Waterside. When they come to Farmstead, they get something special – when guests leave Farmstead, they must remember it’s the home of tapas in the bush.”