Chef Kim.

Hungry guests.

So here’s the scenario. 8 people are coming to dinner, and they are bringing 4 kids between them that will need to be fed also.

You just don’t feel like cooking, couldn’t be bothered shopping, and especially couldn’t be bothered with all the cleaning up afterwards.

And, most importantly, you do not want to spend a fortune. 

So here is what I did. I invited the guests and asked them to bring their own drink.

Then I called Chef Kim.

Chef Kim is a gentleman of Chinese/Mauritian origin, and has cooked in some of the top hotels in Mauritius and The Seychelles. He has cooked for 4 presidents, the Italian football team, and all the Miss World girls in 1998. 

A heart condition meant that he could no longer hack the stress of big busy hotel kitchens in Mauritius, so he came to Cape Town

The flaming wok.

with his family. Now he does small private meals and cooking Chinese food is his speciality.

I called him up and explained the numbers. “No problem, no problem”, he said. Everything was no problem. He would bring all the equipment, cook and serve all the food, clean up afterwards and quietly disappear into the night.

He arrived on the dot of 7. He had a huge gas burner ring, and everything was to be cooked on a huge wok. He elected to cook in the double garage, with the doors open because of the steam clouds.

It took him 10 minutes to get his gas burner going and before you could say Shanghai he was flaming up dish after dish.

We started with Spring Rolls (vegetarian and pork) and Won Ton soup with Chinese Cabbage with a spring onion garnish.

It was such a pleasure not to have to cook and serve. It is so stressful when you think about it.

Stir fried pork in hoisin sauce.

The main courses began to arrive. 

Pork with green beans in hoisin sauce, beef in oyster sauce with mixed vegetables, hake in a black bean sauce and chicken sing sing, a casserole dish. A huge pot of rice accompanied.

The food was cooked so rapidly that it all ended up on the long table at more or less the same time. Everyone just dipped in and helped themselves. The children grabbed bowls themselves and went off to munch contentedly in front of the DVD player.

One Taste Buddy, who worked in a Chinese restaurant as student, declared it to be the tastiest Chinese food he had ever eaten. My favourite dish was the fish. Three other Taste Buddies said the the pork dish was to die for.

Chef Kim is very careful about his food. He only uses sunflower oil in the wok, and liberally splashes white wine into the process to

Won tons waiting for some hot soup.

add flavour. He is is very careful with his use of salt as he is aware of the health issues. He is also strongly opposed to using MSG. It’s just not necessary he said. Good ingredients mean good flavours, and there’s no need for flavour enhancers.

As we all tucked in Chef Kim came in to the kitchen and smiled and said goodnight. He left as quietly as he arrived, the cooking area was tidied up, everything was spick and span.

We actually couldn’t finish all the food. The Taste Buddies agreed unanimously that Chef Kim had woked their world.

The cost for the evenings food was R90 per head.

Chef Kim can be reached on 072 557 6483.