Young Centurion cook keeps South Africa’s rich food heritage alive through her mobile kitchen

Heritage Month is here in South Africa, and while the month gives us an opportunity to celebrate our culture, history and traditions, food also forms a big part of our heritage.

There is something special about South African food, and for Lehlogonolo Mthombeni, the founder of Thaweni Cookery in Centurion, traditional food holds a particularly special place in her heart.

When she had to decide what to specialise in through her business, leaning towards traditional food was a no-brainer.

Mthombeni, who started cooking in 2016 before leaving the corporate world and going full-time into the cooking space in 2025, says her love for cooking goes way back to when she was still studying. It was during those years that she started experimenting with different foods and flavours, and it was through that practice that her cooking skills developed.

Having grown up in the rural province of Limpopo before moving to the suburbs, there was something about the home-cooked meals she grew up eating that stayed with her. The food was nutritious, tasty and comforting, and no matter what restaurants in the city had to offer, she continued to love the meals she had grown up with. She wanted other people to experience them too.

“I have a particular love for traditional food. They are so delicious,” she says.

She explains that one of the greatest things about some of South Africa’s popular traditional dishes is that they do not require a lot of spices.

"It’s just a technique and the way you cook it that makes this food so flavourful and delicious,” says Mthombeni.

For her, one of the dishes that holds the most meaning is morogo - a variety of African leafy greens or wild spinach. 

“I love morogo. I love pumpkin leaves. These are the meals that I grew up with. They just remind me of home,” she says, adding that she grew up eating these meals, which her mother would prepare at home.

 

The dishes customers keep coming back for

After venturing into the food business, Mthombeni says there are several traditional dishes that customers continue to return for.

These are also some of the dishes she would recommend to anyone wanting to experience South African cuisine.

At the top of the list is tripe, followed by hard-body chicken, ox head, goat meat and meaty bones.

“These five, they keep coming back for more,” she says.

For Mthombeni, part of what makes these dishes special is knowing how to prepare them properly.

Unlike meals that can be quickly heated and served, many traditional dishes require time and patience.

She says one of the secrets behind their flavour is allowing the food to cook properly rather than rushing the process. It is this slow cooking and preparation that allows the flavours to develop and gives the food its distinct taste.

Bringing different cultures to the plate

While traditional food remains at the heart of her business, Mthombeni also recognises that South Africa is a diverse country, and she enjoys incorporating elements from different culinary traditions.

Her chicken curry, for example, is prepared using Indian spices. For her, this is another way of celebrating South Africa’s diversity through food.

Her menu also includes dishes such as steak and beef stew, which she says remind customers that while traditional food is important, there is also room to enjoy modern dishes.

Her steak, beef stew and chicken curry are among the best-selling meals.

She also believes that good food starts with good ingredients.

“The secret to making good food is that you need to use quality products,” she says.

For Mthombeni, using quality ingredients is essential to ensuring that customers receive food that is both delicious and satisfying.

Taking the leap into business

Following her passion, however, has not always been easy.

Mthombeni says that although she started cooking in 2016, initially catering mainly for artists who were performing at gigs around Gauteng, the orders eventually became too much to balance with her full-time job.

She found herself having to juggle her corporate career with an increasingly busy cooking business.

Eventually, she knew she had to make a decision.

In 2025, she began planning seriously for how she would run her business and eventually took the leap of faith to pursue cooking full-time.

Today, her food is also available on platforms such as Uber Eats, while customers from different parts of Gauteng travel to get a taste of her food.

She says her meals are often sold out by lunchtime, with scores of people waiting to experience what she has prepared.

For her, the secret is simple: do what you love and remain consistent.

As a young woman in her thirties, taking the leap into business also came at a significant time in her personal life. She was a new mother and had recently gotten married, but she still chose to pursue her passion.

That decision, she says, required faith, but also careful planning.

One of the biggest lessons she has learnt along the way came from a quote that continues to motivate her: “Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.”

The words have pushed her to keep going and become the best she can be.

If she could offer advice to someone thinking about starting their own business, she says the best way to learn is by making mistakes.

As someone who has experienced the highs and lows of running a business, she says there have been many days when things did not go according to plan.

But through trying, learning and remaining persistent, she eventually figured out what worked and what enabled her business to become profitable.

And as South Africans celebrate Heritage Month, Mthombeni believes there is value in remembering and appreciating the food that has been passed down through generations.

Traditional food is more than just something to eat. For many people, it carries memories of home, family and community. For Mthombeni, it is also a way of keeping those memories alive - one plate at a time.