Logo
MC SA S4 Slim Billboard Desktop

Tembisa

Tembisa Jordaan (37), Marine Scientist and Documentary Filmmaker, Durban

Signature dish: Wild mushroom Samp risotto with beef medallion, balsamic reduction, and lemon juice dressed microgreens.

Favourite heritage food: Umphokoqo with amasi, amanqina enukhu (chicken feet).

Multifaceted, intelligent, and inquisitive, Tembisa is as passionate about people-centric biodiversity conservation and transformation, as she is about being in the kitchen. Cooking since age 10, the tenacious nonconformist who grew up in Dobsonville and in Eastern Cape, has fond memories of her beloved late Grandmother through food. With a rustic cooking style and using only seasonal ingredients, Tembisa enjoys cooking African, Italian, and Asian food, and has great respect for the ingredients just like her inspiration, TV Chef Jamie Oliver. She prepares home-cooked meals and shares them on her Instagram page, tembisa_cooks.

Besides being a scientist and a foodie, Tembisa is also a filmmaker and she recently won second runner-up in the Yale University Environment 360 Video Contest for her multi-award-winning short documentary film titled ‘Ulwandle Lushile’. She holds a master’s degree in marine biology from Rhodes University.

masterchef sa season 4 tasnim
masterchef sa season 4 alicia
masterchef sa season 4 tembisa

Life on the island

Title