Chef Andile Somdaka recalls cooking meals for Madiba: Mandela Day
Chef Andile Somdaka recalls cooking meals for Madiba and the life lessons Mandela shared
Black News 
This Mandela Day, renowned chef Andile Somdaka reflects on the life-changing privilege of cooking for Madiba at just 24 years old.
Saturday 18 June marks International Nelson Mandela Day, and we reflect not only on Madiba’s leadership but also on the people whose lives were transformed by working alongside him.
One of them is renowned chef Andile Somdaka, who, at the age of 24, earned the rare privilege of preparing meals for the country’s first democratic president.
He says the experience taught him lessons that extended far beyond the kitchen.
Chef Andile Somdaka says, “…he used to have this porridge made of maize meal, with milk, water and butter. He was in Robben Island for way too long; he didn’t eat the food he used to eat as a young man. So, they hired me because I was exposed to such dishes growing up in the Eastern Cape.”
Somdaka weighs in on other dishes that satisfied Madiba’s taste buds.
Somdaka says, “For lunch I used to make fish, he loved fish, particularly grilled and poached fish, not fire-fried but oven-fried with vegetables that were roasted on the side. He preferred fish from Cape Town”
For most young chefs, cooking for a head of state would be the pinnacle of a career.
For Andile Somdaka, it became the beginning of a lifelong journey shaped by Nelson Mandela’s values.
Somdaka adds, “Madiba put others before him. He was a great man. Everyone put him in the spotlight, but everything that was done by Madiba was done through the collective. I learnt such personalities. Wherever I go, I always make sure I make an impact on the young generations of chefs and other members of society.”
Beyond the recipes, Somdaka says Madiba served him daily lessons in humility, kindness and respect for every person, regardless of their position.
As the country observes Mandela Day, the celebrated chef says the greatest legacy he carries is not the meals he prepared, but the values he continues to share through his work and his passion for African cuisine.
