Food XX Icon winner Xoliswa Ndoyiya.

• Xoliswa Ndoyiya, Nelson Mandela’s chef for 22 years, received the Food Icon award at the 2024 FOOD XX awards for her contributions to South African culinary heritage.
• Jessica van Dyk, owner and head chef of Post and Pepper, won the Chef of the Year award, highlighting the significant role of women in the food and hospitality industry.
• This year’s judging panel consisted, amongst others, of Dr Anna Trapido, Zandile Finxa, Khanya Mzongwana and Errieda du Toit. 

Xoliswa Ndoyiya, former president Nelson Mandela’s chef of 22 years, was awarded top honours at the 2024 FOOD XX awards held on Wednesday.

The ceremony, formed in 2019 by Studio H to celebrate the remarkable contributions of women across the food and hospitality industry, was held at Soetmelksvlei – a new addition to the iconic Babylonstoren.

The categories covered excellence in all spheres of food, from farming and food styling to education and culinary heritage.

Ndoyiya took home the Food Icon award, which is dedicated to an all-encompassing guardian of all that is food in South Africa.

Ndoyiya’s career in the food industry spans 33 years: she is a cookbook author, custodian of Xhosa culinary culture and was the personal chef to Mandela for more than two decades.

Recalling the first time she met Mandela, Ndoyiya described how scared she was to come face to face with the icon.

“I was so scared I was shivering. After I entered the room, I froze. [Mandela] was watching the news at the time. He saw I couldn’t move, so he got up and came to me with open arms.

“He simply asked: ‘Can you cook our home [isiXhosa] food’? I told him yes, and he said, ‘Welcome home’.”

A breakfast ritual

“I didn’t understand this until later, but when I was cooking for Madiba, I was replacing his mother,” she said.

Ndoyiya retold the story of walking into the kitchen and finding Mandela eating a bowl of sugary Frosties cereal for breakfast. This was a bold diversion from the usual umqa (a stiff maize meal porridge) she had served him for 18 years, a dish his mother made him for breakfast as a child.

When he questioned him on this, he simply told her he had honoured his mother enough through his morning breakfast ritual, perhaps a sign he was ready to move forward.  

Her stories on food and the former president could fill up hours, each encounter a new glimpse inside his dining room.

More top honours

Alongside Ndoyiya, the Chef of the Year award was given to Jessica van Dyk, the owner and head chef of Stellenbosch’s Post and Pepper.

Van Dyk, who hails from Kuruman in the Northern Cape, started Post and Pepper in 2022, has described herself as a small-town girl with a mission to make fine dining fun.

Chef of the Year Jess van Wyk.

Paris Brummer

“In the male-dominated world of professional cheffing, being a female chef-patron is an even bigger feat. Having the guts to open her own restaurant in the heart of Stellenbosch, one of the world’s culinary hotspots, says a lot of her pioneering spirit,” said judge and previous Food Icon winner Errieda du Toit.

“We were once again overwhelmed by the incredible volume of nominations,” added Hannerie Visser, the director and founder of Studio H.

“This only strengthens our conviction that women truly are the backbone of the food and hospitality industry. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that we take the time to celebrate and honour their remarkable contributions.”

All the winners of the FOOD XX awards 2024.

Paris Brummer

Thee 2024 awards trophies were crafted by Brigitte Lilley, a former FOOD XX Awards winner in the ‘Behind the Scenes’ category.

Paris Brummer

You can view the full list of winners below.