Greetings out there!

I start with all Praise & Thanks is 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 Johannesburg, South Africa. Allow me to fill you in on my totally normal & professional side, before things get crazy over here. For soon you to will begin to develop an addiction to all things that CHEFThyme food does to you internally, mentally, physically & emotionally. 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. Okay, besides sounding like a crazy scientist, which sometimes I feel I am! Especially during those stormy rainy nights working until late hours experimenting with all things than can blow your taste buds away. But at the end of it all, it doesn’t even feel like work for me, 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 started blogging only recently due to a busy life & my hectic schedule, being a wife, teacher, working hours & occasionally hosting cooking workshops… I always thought that one day I’ll achieve my dream of putting my ideas all in one, into something thing called “A recipe book”. But I don’t think I could wait any longer. I must spread, spread what I know! To inspire all those beautiful people in the world, to what good food is on a larger scale & how to utilize God’s creation given to us in the best possible manner, that satisfies our every need.

My story began with my Mother , Hajra Saith. Who to me is the greatest chef in the world. I am grateful to have developed an identifiable sensation of taste on my palate because of my mum’s cooking. All her life she worked long & hard hours, without fail was still able to put a scrumptious meal, infact a feast on the dinner table. As if it was all planned, but naturally as always she instinctively cooked from the heart.

Mums kitchen

Mums kitchen reminds me of a warm happy place, with steaming exotic aromas emanating from pots & tasting unusual flavors of ingredients that till today still lingers on my tongue. Combining unlike flavors, contrasting textures & using the freshest ingredients most people would never ever imagine blending together, however every time she would pull it of! 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! Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but rather I needed something more creative, more out there & dynamic , something more me! I decided to follow my heart, change career paths & study 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, work in an industrial kitchen, earn big monthly paychecks & 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. 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 teenagers, student’s of a close friend of mine’s in  Johannesburg , South Africa. It turned out a hit & word spread. Indeed I am ever so Thankful to my Creator, that I currently have a chef career better than I dreamt of having & 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 the basic primal skills, that every individual on this planet should know to awaken a desire within themselves to cook with finesse & have the confidence to achieve excellence! And soon 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 to.

LET’S DO THIS !!!

Chef Tasneem Saith