Chef Elias Thobakgale creates a customised menu for homesick travellers

Chef Elias Thobakgale has the perfect recipes for travellers when they feel homesick by creating a menu that is a blend of nostalgia, cultural delicacies and local flavour.

The Southern Sun Katherine Street in Sandton creates a unique SA stay for its long-stay guests who reside at the hotel for up to six months.

Thobakgale’s hospitality extends his personal touch to each guest's preference, creating a customised menu that warms the hearts of homesick travellers and is served with sophisticated local finesse.

“As we cater mainly to guests who stay here for a long time, they prefer filling food that has a home feeling,” says the 37-year-old executive chef at Southern Sun Katherine Street.

“We would customise dishes and make them sophisticated by Africanising them just to give them a taste of local. We would take the idea of the meal and make a meal out of it which has some local techniques and spices.”

Thobakgale’s requests from his guests range from homemade pasta to umleqwa (hard body chicken/free range) and mogodu (tripe).

“I interact with the guests and ask them about their food preferences,” Thobakgale says.

“Though I specialise in contemporary cuisine, I continue to research and learn about the food culture and cuisine of different regions of my guests. With our local guests, I get requests from mogodu to umleqwa as they miss the food they ordinarily have at home.”

Growing up in Tembisa, on the East Rand, Thobakgale’s main family responsibility was to perform house duties including cooking.

“I developed a love for cooking from there. I was always trying to spice up our family meals. I started watching TV food shows and was inspired by chefs like British chef Gordon Ramsay on Hell’s Kitchen,” Thobakgale says.

“I would be fascinated by the contestant's passion for the food; seeing how a professional kitchen is run, the pressure to be creative with meals and the details in the plating.”

At age 17, Thobakgale took his passion for cooking to the next level by making his family an oxtail dish inspired by a TV cooking show.   

“My family was only used to simple food, so I had to convince my parents to buy me the ingredients to make the oxtail. At the time, it was an expensive cut of meat. The oxtail dish became the turning point for me. Their comments encouraged me to pursue a career in hospitality,” says Thobakgale, who holds a diploma in hospitality and management from Tshwane University of Technology.   

Pan-seared salmon served on a bed of cauliflower purée, herbed Bulgar wheat, passion fruit beurre Blanc with broccolini 

Ingredients

• 200g salmon

• 100g bulgar wheat   

• 20g coriander

• 20g parsley

• 10ml lemon juice   

• 1 head of cauliflower

• 100ml milk   

• 250ml orange juice   

• 100ml fresh cream

• 3 granadilla fruits

• 20g white onion

• 1 clove garlic

Method

• To prepare the cauliflower purée, gently cook the onion and garlic in butter in a saucepan until tender but not browned. This method enhances the sweetness of the onions while preserving their flavour and colour.

• Add the clean cauliflower and milk. Simmer until the cauliflower florets are soft.

• Strain the milk and blend until smooth, adding the milk liquid if needed.

• To prepare the passion fruit, Blanc, take out the seeds from the granadilla fruit and transfer them into a pot.

•  Add fresh cream and simmer for 10 minutes or until thick.

• Season with a pinch of salt.

• To prepare the herbed bulgar wheat, mix an equal amount of orange juice and water, add bulgar wheat and simmer for 30 minutes.

• Once cooked, strain from the liquid and set aside. In a blender, mix coriander, parsley, lemon juice and cooked wheat and blend until smooth.

• To sear the salmon, pan fry skin side down for 6-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the piece of fish. Turn it over once the flesh has lightened ¾ of the way. Sear for another 1-2 minutes. Take the salmon out of the pan and let it rest.

• To assemble the plate, create a thick bed of cauliflower purée on the plate. Layer the herbed bulgar wheat and place the salmon on top.

• Create 3-4 dollops of the passion fruit Blanc around the plate.

• Serve and enjoy.