A life lived in purpose is a life well lived. For Chef Marcus Modimokwane (simply known as Chef Marcus), purpose is found in the heat he experiences in the kitchen, as well as the passion that flows in his veins when he brings a recipe to life. 

“I never wake up and question what I’m currently doing. I love being in the kitchen. I love trying out new things. It just brings joy to me,” he shared. 

Growing up in the North West province, his upbringing was characterised by food, love and family. Reminiscing on his childhood, he shared memories of his grandmother cooking on an outdoor fire. 

“My roots are grounded in cooking from that fire at my grandmother’s house…and from my mother making sure that we have a little corner at home where we can always make open fires and regularly cook traditional  food from the ground.”

Chef Marcus has a background in Marketing, Communications and Public Relations. While serving diligently in that field, his burning passion for the kitchen caught up with him. 

“A few years into the brand and marketing space, I started doing a lot of events. And my focus was mainly looking after the event logistics side of things. What are people going to eat? What are people going to drink? My passion developed from there and I was drawn into studying Culinary Arts,” explained the chef. 

After obtaining his culinary diploma from Capsicum Culinary Studio, he continued with marketing and events, while serving  as a chef part-time until the coronavirus pandemic. 

During the lockdown, he came to popularity as he dived deep into recipe development and shared videos of various easy meals that people could prepare at home. 

“Everyone was home and making banana bread. That’s when I decided to put out some work. A lot of brands then started picking up my work and wanted to collaborate,” he shared. 

Since then, he has grown within the culinary world, contributing food knowledge and tips on various publications and platforms. His work has received much appreciation and recognition, also landing him on the Mail & Guardian list of Top 200 Young South Africans.  He has also been noted as GQ’s Top 5 Chefs.  

Unity through food – a purpose fulfilled 

Throughout his journey, Chef Marcus has experienced multiple highlights. He views the most precious one as being able to unite people from different walks of life through his food. This is especially when it comes to traditional food since different cultures cook certain foods differently. 

“When you have a Xhosa, Venda and Shangaan at the same table and they can all say the food was brilliant, that’s beautiful. It makes me realise that I know what my purpose in life is,” he explained. 

Apart from preparing traditional food, some of his favourite recipes include pasta in all shapes and forms, as well as Roast Duck served with vegetables. 

“I would slow cook it in its own fat with herbs like rosemary and thyme. When you take it out, you just pan-fry it. It will have that beautiful crispy skin on the outside.”

Fitness and finally spicing things up!

One of the chef’s culinary aspirations has always been to spice things up by creating his very own a spice blend. This dream is finally coming to life and the space will be released very soon.  

“We’ve just gotten approval in terms of the legalities. My end-goal is for people to be excited to cook, to prepare nice meals for their friends and family. If you don’t like cooking, you must enjoy cooking using my spice.” 

When he is not cooking up a storm, the chef can be found writing or keeping fit. 

“I like exercising because this industry can be very stressful and tiring. I enjoy going to the gym or urban hiking. I just walk for 15 to 20 kms within the community that I live in, instead of going to the bushes and mountains.”

For those who aspire to thrive in the culinary world, Chef Marcus encouraged the importance of letting go of self-doubt and finding the courage to start.  

“Start today. Whether you are thinking of writing a recipe or cooking something that you’ve never made, do it today. Don’t wait for tomorrow. We’re always self-doubting.  We are worried about what the next person is going to think but we’re not worried enough about our own journey,” he concluded.