Top chef Wandile Mabaso thrills with music paired with fine dining

The art of pairing music, food and wine is the kind of dining experience Soweto-born chef Wandile Mabaso shines in. 

From the plating technique to the impeccable presentation and delicious flavour profiles, Mabaso had guests including Shudufhadzo Musida, Shamiso Mosaka, Naledi Radebe and Chad Jones singing to the tune of his menu backed by a Spotify playlist. 

Hosted by the global music streaming service and overseen by Mabaso at his intimate 40-seater Joburg restaurant Les Créatifs the special night was a six-course culinary adventure of local sound.

The amuse-bouche not only awakened the palate and tickled the taste buds, but it was a visual treat. The egg-shaped appetiser mimicked the Spotify logo – bright green with three black lines representing sound. 

“What you see there is a duck egg, which is very hard to find and expensive,” Mabaso explained. 

My favourite was the fork-tender beef tongue, which melted in the mouth, almost as easy as the chakalaka and garlic, chilli potato purée that complemented it. Big Nuz’s latest hit Ngeke scored the dish.

“We braised this for about eight hours, very slow cook… we have grilled it and then used the broth of the same cow to create the sauce, which takes about ten hours to make,” Mabaso said.

Then it was time to get our hands messy with the Kasi-style mini kota, that clearly went to private school. The updated ingredients included Mozambican langoustine, mango atchar and goat cheese. Amapiano tracks served as the background music. Side note: I still prefer my kota with russian sausage and chips.

Then came the not-so-popular goat meat, paired with a sweet potato purée finished with sorghum.

“I know a lot of people are not fond of goat for two reasons, the smell and the fact that it’s tough. Some of us are forced to eat goat at funerals or when we have family gatherings. It’s always very tough and our grandmother boil it the entire day. So we have decided to refine it and cook it slow–braised. This is about 12 hours at 90 degrees and cooked with red white,” Mabaso explained.

Mabaso got emotional as he introduced the music for the dish, which paid tribute to late rapper AKA and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane. AKA’s colourful catalogue had the room feeling nostalgic and singing along as they indulged on the meal.

The night closed on an optical high, with a headphone chocolate sculpture dessert with a vibrant Ndebele design. Each ear cup had a separate and distinct flavour, which included Madagascan vanilla, Botswana marula and Kenyan coffee mousse.

Earlier in the day, I enjoyed a far more hands-on experience with Patrón tequila hosting a cocktail masterclass at Mamasamba restaurant in Rosebank, in honour of International Margarita Day. Stars including K Naomi, Tshiamo Modisane, Bridget Masinga, Abigail Visagie and Palesa Mokubung.