Young female chef set to open French bistro in Melville
For most people, a job and a passion aren’t synonymous. For 34-year-old former flight attendant Tyeya Ngxola, turning her passion into her career meant pushing herself out of her comfort zone by quitting her job, packing up her life, moving countries, and forging a new path with a set of knives, an apron, and a white chef’s jacket in hand.
“It was both so terrifying and exciting. It was terrifying because at my age, people are well established in their careers, or at least well on their way to that, and there I was starting again,” she says.
“It was also exciting because of the prospect of starting something new, something that involves my passion and my creativity, with the potential of so much growth.”
Ngxola has partnered with friend and fellow Alma alum Timothy Stewart, and they are in the process of opening a French-bistro-style restaurant called La Petit Maison in Melville in Joburg. Ngxola will do what she loves as head chef, crafting a menu that is inspired by her incredible food journey and lessons so far. “Working in an Italian kitchen makes one have a deep appreciation for the profession and for the ingredients,” she says. “The pillars of the menu are simplicity, seasonality, rawness and nature,” she says.
“This is something Tim and I both learnt to appreciate while in Italy: to work with an ingredient and respect it enough to try to still serve it in its most natural form.” La Petit Maison may be a dream come true, but Ngxola isn’t stopping there. The next step on the culinary ladder is a Michelin star, and her passion is sure to give her a shot at getting one. “It’s one thing to do something you love, but it’s another to work with people who are just as or even more passionate than you,” she says. “This keeps me going and excited.”