Changing the culinary game
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday August 24, 2018 11:42
Unlike other chefs, the Tonota-born man uses his imagination and creativity into cooking, often at a very high level.
Gaborone, who is famed by his brand, Faith Gaborone’s Kitchen can turn an ordinary meal into extraordinary, delicious dish filled with flavour.
In an interview with Arts and Culture, the lad regarded himself as a food engineer or food doctor. He said his aim and objective was to transform everyday food into something astounding.
He gave an example with one of his latest dishes where he made mosutlhwane balls with the traditional dish. Faith Gaborone’s Kitchen food has their special signature. This is because the young chef always adds a dash of his specially made sources and spices in all his dishes. This has the ability to make his food taste delicious yet unique.
“What separates me from other chefs is that whatever that I create, I make sure that the food has a signature. Let’s say the sauce that I use, I don’t use any other sauce. I make the sauce myself. It makes a whole difference in the taste of the food.
The other thing is that when I do a private catering, each dish has a personality of my client. For example, if my client is a simple person, I make simple but delicious dishes that match the client’s personality. I want to speak to the soul in a way,” he said proudly.
Gaborone added that his service provides private chef, where he makes food for his clients looking at their characters and personality.
He said he makes custom-made food for the clients and swear that the food that he makes for a certain client would not be the one for the next client as his aim is to show his clients personality and characters through cooking. He said his food cannot be found anywhere else.
The young man also provides restaurant consultancy where he trains different restaurant’s staff on how to handle the food, customer service, teaching them recipes and how to represent food.
He explained that he did not want to work for anybody that is why when he does these restaurant consultancies, once his contract ends he moves to the next restaurant.
He also does menu assembling of different menus. He also explained that the reason why many people’s restaurants failed was because of copycatting others. He said each person must put their personality in their own food so that they could attract their targeted market.
In his recent radio interview at Yarona FM, Gaborone made cauliflower rice mixed with a few food items making it delicious and unique. He named the dish after Mothusi Lesole’s brand Izezur. Each of his food items has special names. He has made dishes such as my ‘husband’s girlfriend’, and others that tell a story.
The young man said he makes food that speaks and connects to his spirit and soul. He does not make food that is seen elsewhere like ordinary pap and chakalaka.
Even though some people seem not to understand the kind of catering he does, Gaborone has gained famed amongst a number of Batswana who have shown him a great support. His manager Mercy Thebe has won him a number of potential clients.
His passion in the kitchen started from an early age. Gaborone told a story where he tried at age five, and burnt the food. His other attempt to bake coffee scones was when he was eight years old, but he failed dismally, in the process, earning a banning from the kitchen.
Even though his mother did not understand why he was passionate about cooking, after realising that the young man was talented, she became his source of pillar and number one supporter.
Unlike many chefs who go to culinary school to learn cooking, Gaborone’s raw talent makes his cooking unique and applaudable. The young man studied Occupational Health where he later dropped out of school. He later pursued Events Management, which he felt was closer to his cooking career.