Food XX Icon winner Xoliswa Ndoyiya. Paris Brummer Xoliswa Ndoyiya, Nelson Mandela's chef for 22 years, received the Food Icon award at the 2024 FOOD XX awards for her contributions to South African culinary heritage. Jessica van Dyk, owner and head chef of Post and Pepper, won the Chef of the Year award, highlighting the significant role of women in the food and hospitality industry.
This year’s judging panel consisted, amongst others, of Dr Anna Trapido, Zandile Finxa, Khanya Mzongwana and Errieda du Toit. Xoliswa Ndoyiya, former president Nelson Mandela's chef of 22 years, was awarded top honours at the 2024 FOOD XX awards held on Wednesday. The ceremony, formed in 2019 by Studio H to celebrate the remarkable contributions of women across the food and hospitality industry, was held at Soetmelksvlei - a new addition to the iconic Babylonstoren.
The categories covered excellence in all spheres of food, from farming and food styling to education and culinary heritage. Ndoyiya took home the Food Icon award, which is dedicated to an all-encompassing guardian of all that is food in South Africa. Ndoyiya's career in the food industry spans 33 years: she is a cookbook author , custodian of Xhosa culinary culture and was the personal chef to Mandela for more than two decades.
Recalling the first time she met Mandela, Ndoyiya described how scared she was to come face to face with the icon. "I was so scared I was shivering. After I entered the room, I froze.
[Mandela] was watching .
