How former MasterChef contestant Tebogo Mabye turned loss into a life of flavour

When Tebogo Mabye lost his beloved Hillbrewed Coffee Co. during the July 2021 unrest, he could’ve given up.

Instead, he turned tragedy into opportunity - finding his calling in food, competing on MasterChef SA and carving out a career as a sought-after self-taught chef whose life and purpose now revolve around sharing flavour and hope.

Growing up in Hillbrow, Mabye developed a fierce passion for his city and community. At the age of 23, he poured that passion into his dream: a coffee shop called the Hillbrewed Coffee Co.

The name was a direct homage to his home, a beacon of hope in the neighborhood. While the dream was alive, the business was quiet, and things were hard.

"I really loved coffee and I wanted to do something different from what was happening in my community," Mabye explained. "But also, I wanted to create a space where I could employ guys from my community. The majority of my employees were guys I knew from when they were young."

For Mabye, the goal was simple: to create something they could all be proud of.

"I hired guys from my high school, I hired guys from my community, and we just figured it out, all of us."

When the coffee shop was tragically looted during the July unrest in 2021, it didn't stop Mabye; it pushed him further. This disaster marked the true beginning of his culinary journey, a path that led him to compete in MasterChef South Africa Season 5.

Though he didn't take home the trophy, Mabye's performance was outstanding, showcasing a talent that proved to the world he was unstoppable.

His deep connection to food comes from a childhood of both scarcity and rich flavor, thanks to his family.

"My mom and my grandmother are amazing cooks," he shared. "In the household, I always followed their journey and helped them cooking. I used to go grocery shopping with my grandmother, and the love of ingredients and local foods grew from there."

Later, he found himself cooking for his younger siblings.

"My mother would go to work, and I would be left with them. I started cooking for my own brother, and that grew into me cooking different foods and watching shows like MasterChef to just get a hang of it and know how to go into this culinary journey."

Mabye noted that being on the show significantly boosted his career path and confidence.

To upskill himself as a chef, Mabye began hosting pop-ups and kitchen takeovers - an evolution of something he used to do with friends. Now, he's in demand.

"When friends and families are having events, they call me through, and anyone else that has an event calls me through," he said. "I recently did a dinner for Valentine’s and am currently doing takeovers at restaurants that I feel have a story to tell and that vibe with my type of cuisine."

The biggest culinary development, however, is his current role.

"I’m a private chef for a family and I do dinners four times a week for them, which has been amazing for me and has helped me grow."

As a self-taught chef who didn't attend culinary school, Mabye is committed to continuous improvement.

"I want to upskill. I want to learn more, and this is where I’m at the moment," he affirmed. "That’s why being a private chef for this family is perfect, because I get to implement, I get to plan meals for them, I get to do things that I want to do, and that is helping me get into the rhythm and the groove and getting better."