Feed Mzansi and The Lazy Chef head to Joburg to help kids eat their veggies

Chef Makhiba Modupe prepares 20 hot meals, with a warm smile when Feed Mzansi arrives in Johannesburg - the next stop on Food Lover’s Market’s heartwarming road trip across the country, providing nutritious meals to children who need it most.   

We swap our rain boots for sun hats, as Feed Mzansi waves goodbye to rainy Cape Town, and hello to sunny Johannesburg.

Last month, Chef Ayabonga Gope and food writer Errieda du Toit kicked off our feel-good road trip in Cape Town, and this week we’ve challenged Chef Makhiba Modupe to prepare a hearty, delicious meal for 20 children, partnering with the Bread of Life Christian Foundation.

Chef Makhiba has made it her personal mission to sneak in loads of powerhouse veggies packed with health benefits when she prepares a cheesy mince pasta for 20 growing toddlers. In preparation, Chef Makhiba, popularly known as The Lazy Chef, heads to Food Lover’s Market Hillfox where, on a budget, she ticks fresh, crips ingredients off her grocery list, proving that quick and easy meals don’t always require unhealthy ingredients.

“Getting kids to eat vegetables is a nightmare, so what I normally do is I just make their favourite meals and I hide the veggies in there. So, they get all the yummy goodness, and they still get the nutrition and the veggies they need,” says Chef Makhiba.

Following the grocery run, Chef Makhiba hops in her car and heads to Muldersdrift, where she meets with Siboniso Sithole from Bread of Life Christian Foundation, ready to prepare her ooey gooey mac and cheese. 

A staple in the community, much like the one Chef Makhiba grew up in, Bread of Life Christian Foundation assists communities in the informal settlements with food, school supplies, hygiene kits and all other necessary items sourced through donors.

Chef Makhiba says: “I actually grew up in a community a bit more like this, so I was raised with a lot of other kids around me. And we would get ingredients from each house, and all come together and cook in our little tins, and I’ve loved cooking ever since then.”

With a niece around the same age as her special guests, Chef Makhiba is overjoyed to see so many happy smiles and of course, empty bowls as she looks around her.

Packed with vitamins, antioxidants, fibre and water, veggies give children the energy they need to learn and play. And whoever said kids don’t like vegetables have certainly never met The Lazy Chef. 

“We’re getting veggies in them while they’re still young, so they can grow up big and strong,” says an ecstatic Chef Makhiba.

At the end of the video series, one lucky chef with the most votes will receive R25 000 to donate to their featured child and youth care centre.