MasterChef South Africa
Charmaine Govender-Koen (39), Self-Employed, Cape Town
Signature dish: Lamb Breyani – slow-cooked lamb, with garlic and ginger, turmeric, loads of whole spices layered in basmati rice.
Favourite heritage food: Sausage chutney, lamb breyani.
With an infectious smile and strong personality, Charmaine is a self-taught cook who comes from a big Indian family in Durban. Cooking has always been an important part of her life, and after she married her Afrikaans husband Frikkie, she’s been blending her Durban Indian food traditions with his.
She worked in food and beverage management but lost her job due to lockdown. She has since started a business delivering her homecooked meals, a show of her sheer grit and determination. Referring to herself as an alchemist cook, she has a special knack for bringing a fresh, contemporary twist and some Asian flavours to the plate.