I start with Praise to my Almighty Creator for His endless blessings unto me. Granting me the strength, knowledge & the ability to offer my best.

My name is Tasneem Saith, a Qualified City & Guilds Chef in South Africa. Allow me to fill you in on the latest scoop about me. I’ll be honest the kitchen is my playground, where I am literally on a roll! Totally in my element, making dreams & the science of cooking come to life. Besides sounding like a crazy scientist, which sometimes I feel I am! Especially during those storming rainy nights, working until late hours experimenting with all things than can blow your taste buds away. At the end of it all, it doesn’t even feel like work for me, simply because I love what I do! The kitchen is my happy place. And that is what I plan to achieve with this blog too.

I keep my recipes simple, as well as my pictures natural, just to demonstrate creating food is not rocket science! I always thought that one day I’ll reach my dream by putting all my ideas into something fancy called a, “Recipe Book”. However, I really could not have waited any longer. I had to, spread, spread what I know across the globe! To inspire every person on this planet, to what good food is & how to utilize God’s freshest creation to the best of their ability. Just like every other type of education we receive, we must strive to use our knowledge about food in the most productive manner. That will not only satisfy, but also benefit our every need.

Furthermore, CHEFThyme’s goal is not only going to be about food, but also about health, travel, home fashion & all things creatively entertaining. So watch this space! I started blogging only recently, but I have no regrets thus far. Life has been amazingly busy, juggling priorities, schedules, teaching, Radio Islam MW1548 every Wednesdays programme, working part-time & hosting CHEF Thyme cooking workshops…Super grateful to my “Best Friend” up there, for all HIS Kind Favours onto me throughout life.

My story all begins with my Mother, Hajra Saith. Who to me is the greatest chef in the world! I am fortunate to have developed an identifiable sensation of taste on my palate because of my mum’s home food cooking. All her life she worked long & hard hours, and without fail was still able to put a scrumptious meal, in fact a feast on the dinner table. As if it was all planned, needless to say it was all instinctive cooking, from the heart.

Mums kitchen

Mums kitchen reminds me of a warm cheerful place filled with food. Steaming exotic aromas, emanating from pots & tasting unusual flavours of ingredients, that till today still lingers on my tongue. Combining unlike flavours, contrasting textures & using the freshest ingredients most people would never ever imagine blending together. However, every time, she would pull it off! Her passion for feeding her family & often entertaining guest is what inspired my Father, Siblings & I to make cooking a joyful experience.

After finishing school 2 years down the line of studying Interior Design & Architectural Draughting I had a sudden light bulb moment. I had come to realize that sitting in an office is just SO NOT ME! Even so I did enjoy it, I just felt the urge for something more…More creative, more out there & dynamic…Something more me! I decided to follow my heart, I changed career paths & studied culinary arts to become a Professional City & Guilds Chef.

There I was at 2am like a scientist whipping up my newest formula to a secret ingredient. I became even more in love with the kitchen, an addiction that just needed a spark, finally came to life! After qualifying I grew to perceive that as a chef I had a choice, I could either follow my career goals such as: work in an industrial kitchen, earn big monthly pay checks & get the experience required to work overseas…Or with my skills help inspire people to cook skilfully with energy-enriched, nutritious, good food for leading healthy lifestyles, which at that time was a need in the community & still is. Alike to my role model, Jamie Oliver.

You guessed it, I opted for the latter, hence the birth of “Chef Thyme”. A cooking workshop that I initially started of as a fun pasta making project with a few teenage girls (students of a close friend of mine) in Johannesburg, South Africa. It turned out a hit & the word CHEFThyme escalated.

Indeed I am ever so Thankful to my Creator, for I currently have a chef career better than I dreamt about & much more rewarding at the same time! Spreading my culinary knowledge is my purpose & with the support of my Husband, Parents, Family, Friends…My goal is to influence people of all ages.

Teach them the basic primal skills, that every individual on this planet should know to cook with finesse & have the confidence to achieve excellence! Soon to be empowered to create truly delicious, wholesome, crowd pleasing meals for themselves, families, friends, etc.

And Yes! I believe anyone can cook! I believe in you, so you should too! LET’S DO THIS!!!

Chef Tasneem Saith