This shy cullinary superstar lets her food speak for her!

For Cynthia Mathebula, work means doing a job she absolutely loves as a chef in the busy Baobab Ridge kitchen. It wasn't exactly the career she had planned, but it's turned out to be one she treasures each and every day. 

Born in 1986 at Tintswalo Hospital in Acornhoek, Cynthia has spent her life in this busy nearby community. When she left school she did a computer course but her family did not have enough money to send her to college or university, so she stayed at home until 2013 when she heard that Baobab Ridge was looking for a housekeeper - a job she applied for and got. 

It was a humble beginning but Cynthia was glad to be out of the house, supporting her family and getting the opportunity to learn as much as she could about tourism and the running of a busy safari lodge. 

Two years later there was an opening in the kitchen and she grabbed the opportunity with both hands, undergoing training to become a chef and falling in love with working with food! 

"I always loved cooking at home, and everyone enjoyed my food, so they always told me I should make food for a living. So I worked hard and learned all I could and in 2016 I was promoted to the position of chef. I have never been happier than here, in the kitchen, with my colleagues, working with food!

"my favourite part of work is baking. I just love it. I bake a lot at home and my family love what I bake whether it's scones or cakes... I have a 13-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl and I love getting to cook for them when I am at home, showing them all the dishes I have learned at work. When I am at work my aunt looks after the children and I talk to them every day."

Shy by nature, Cynthia is nonetheless always smiling and laughing and enjoying what she does. She hopes to be a head chef one day, and maybe even a TV chef! She's a big fan of Gordon Ramsay and she follows a lot of "foodies" on social media, which is where she gets inspiration from.

"I love my job. I just love cooking. I also love meeting guests, even though I am very shy and not really talkative. I prefer to let my food speak for me! It's better than words," she says.

"I am always learning new things. I get ideas and all of us chefs - Maggie, Petunia, Mamma T and I - we sit down and share our ideas and try things out, working on them until we get them right and they're ready to share with guests! Sometimes we have failures, which we laugh about, but we also have successes and when you hear that the guests have loved what you have cooked, it's a wonderful feeling.

"While I love baking, cakes especially (I have a sweet tooth) I also love creating savoury dishes like the impala stew I have just prepared for dinner tonight. It takes a long time to prepare a good stew, which has to be slow cooked for four hours, adding wine and flavouring and allowing the meat to become tender so that it melts in your mouth," she explains.

Work keeps her on her toes. "We work in two shifts, the morning shift is busy as you are doing breakfast and afternoon tea as well as preparation work for the evening meal. In the evening we just finish off the dinner dishes and serve dinner for our guests," she says.

"We have a revolving five-day menu but we often add or subtract dishes, depending on the season and the vegetables that are available. There are always favourites like the pizzas we made for afternoon tea today. It's so wonderful working here. It's a big family and we work well together and we're happy.

"COVID was very difficult for us, with us having to close and there being no guests, but thank goodness that is now in the past and we are busy once more. It's just so good to be busy and welcoming guests from all over the world who get to eat some of the food I prepare. It makes me feel very proud of what I have achieved."