Twitter: @ChefMLK
How would you describe your style of cooking? What inspires you?
My style of cooking is “Personal”, every dish I make has a bit of me in it, I want my food to feed your soul. At ChefMLK, we’re all about doing things a little differently, and I love to encourage South Africans to think a little bit out of the normal grocery box. We are blessed with some of the finest ingredients – both local and imported – and there’s no reason that everything should be done the way it always was. Bringing some modern flavor to a traditional recipe brings spark, creativity and an element of delight.
Describe a typical day
Every day is jam-packed and different for me. It always starts with saying “Good morning gorgeous” whether it be checking into my Culinary School, meeting with clients or suppliers or planning the next catering job. There is no typical day as my job ranges from developing recipes to providing professional culinary consulting services, judging at various relevant events around the world and of course cooking training at the ChefMLK School of Cooking. Being a vice -president of the Worldchefs - World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS), my career has given me the opportunity to travel and learn about cuisines from all over the world, and I make use of this knowledge every day in a myriad of different ways.
What have been your proudest moments as a chef?
Being the Convener of the Bidvest World Chefs Tour Against Hunger in 2011 where we raised R8 million to feed hungry children in South Africa
The best career advice you’ve ever been given
Make sure you’re certain you chose your career for the right reason. I often see youngsters who want to become a celebrity chefs because they watch them on TV and think they can step into the celebrity role with ease. You’ve got to love food, take an interest in the industry, work long hours and have lots of experience before you can become a celebrity chef. Best you like your job and there is also no guarantee you’ll be chosen as a celebrity.
The quote you swear by
“Life is too short to have a bad day.”
The biggest myth about success
Overnight success is a myth. ‘Overnight success’ mostly comes from dedication, hard work, loyalty, focus and discipline.
The best lesson you’ve learned along the way
Don’t trust everybody. Be careful out there – not everyone is what they seem or what they say they are.
The biggest myth about success
Overnight success is a myth. ‘Overnight success’ mostly comes from dedication, hard work, loyalty, focus and discipline.
Convenor of Bidvest-World Chefs Tour Against Hunger.
Accredited Global Master Chef (2014).
Global operations manager and lead judge of Global Pizza Challenge.
Appeared as celebrity judge on SABC3’s Clover’s Little Big Cook Off seasons 1 (2014) and 2 (2015). He also featured as a championship chef on Chopped SA 2015 to raise funds for World Chefs Tour against Hunger and starred on Kyknet’s Bring n Braai from 2013-2015.
Chef Martin Kobald climbed Kilimanjaro as part of the ‘SA Chefs Climb Kilimanjaro Against Hunger 2013’ initiative.
Chef Martin Kobald
FB: @chefmlkschoolofcooking