“I love going to the garage to buy a pie. It reminds me of growing up, or being at uni, coming out of a club at four o’clock in the morning, high heels in hand, and running to grab one,” says chef Nokx Majozi.
There are few things more South African than a garage pie. And Majozi isn’t remotely embarrassed to admit she’s part of the fan club. In fact, pies, from the garage-bought kind to rather fancier versions, have become something of a speciality for the London-based chef.
Majozi’s journey started in KwaZulu-Natal, where she trained as a chef before heading to Florida for two years to cook at Disney World. She returned to South Africa before making the move to the UK, first working at a pub in the English countryside and then in London, where she worked in several of the city’s leading hotels.
Fresh off the press
When we rendezvous for breakfast in Sandton, Majozi, ever the foodie, is so impressed with her meal of pawpaw, Greek-style yoghurt and almond flakes that it gets a quick photo shoot before she tucks in. It looks so good that I order one too, despite having already eaten. Her enthusiasm is that infectious.
The reason we’re meeting (and eating) is the launch of Majozi’s first book, The South African Cookbook. Bringing together 90 recipes from across the country, it is already getting attention far beyond home. Published in the UK by Bloomsbury in July, it was recently named by The Guardian as one of its best summer cookbooks of 2026, a fact that Majozi is pleasantly surprised by when I tell her.
The recognition is well deserved. It’s a beautiful book. Billed as “Authentic flavour-packed recipes from Cape Town to Durban”, it is filled with richly shot photographs of the food and South Africa. Top contenders include Durban lamb bunny chow; biltong, millet and squash salad; and grilled kingklip with caper and lemon butter sauce. The latter is a dish Majozi turns to when she wants something refined but easy to prepare.
There are recipes for squash with flowers and leaves and a crunchy, tangy coleslaw with mustard and, of course, puddings: malva pudding, which Majozi describes as pure comfort; Cape Malay potato pudding; and our national treasure, peppermint crisp tart.
Easy as pie
But back to those pies. Take a look at Majozi’s Instagram and you’ll find a lot of them. And very good-looking ones at that. Think buttery pastry, flaky golden crusts and generous fillings.
There are plenty in the cookbook too, a whole section in fact. There’s a peri-peri braai chicken pie, because, as Majozi puts it, cooking the chicken on the braai brings “a whole load more magic”. She’s included lamb pie with minty pea salad, and that South African favourite, the pepper steak pie, which the chef has worked into her regular pie rotation to rave reviews. And yes, she tells you how to make the perfect pastry too.
Majozi spent 11 years at Rosewood London and was there from the beginning of its Pie Room (yes, it’s really devoted to the pastries), eventually becoming head pie maker and earning the unofficial title of London’s “pie queen”.
After more than a decade, she was ready for something new. “If you’ve been in a place for a long time, you learn, you grow. But there was a moment when I realised I’m not growing any more,” she says. “When you hit the roof, it’s time to move on. I wanted to go and learn something new.” She is now chef in residence at Fallow, one of London’s best-known restaurants. The move has had another upside too: she works nine to five, weekdays only, and her daughter, she says, loves having her home in the evenings.
Importantly, she’s still making pies. One of the creations she is proudest of is her burger pie, inspired by the versions she grew up with back home. When she suggested making one at Fallow, the reaction was a little less certain. “I asked the chef: ‘Do you know about a burger pie?’ They were like, ‘What? What is that? A burger and a pie?’” She laughs. “It’s a South African thing. That’s where my inspiration comes from.”
Another favourite is her steak and oyster pie, based on an old British combination. “Oysters were cheaper than steak back in the day,” she explains, so the two were combined in a pie. Majozi did her research, but when she served her version, not everyone was convinced. “People were blown away, but they were like, ‘It’s not traditional.’” Then the debate started. “The British were debating themselves.” The oldies knew it; the youngsters didn’t.
Home comforts
Majozi may live in London now, but she doesn’t return empty-handed when she visits South Africa. Her suitcase back to the UK is usually packed with Gorima’s spices, Tennis Biscuits, Romany Creams, Eat-Sum-Mors, South African muesli, sweets and, it turns out, quite a lot of Aromat. “I’ve got different flavours,” she says.
And don’t forget the Peppermint Crisp. South African shops in London do stock it, but it tends to disappear quickly. “You have to be fast,” she says. Aero Peppermint will do in an emergency, but it’s not quite the same.
When the chef wants proper comfort food, she makes chakalaka from scratch. No shortcuts. She likes the chopping, taking her time over each ingredient and getting everything just right. “I’m a perfectionist,” she says. “I’m in my zone. No-one is going to disturb me.”
Her daughter is developing a taste for South African food too. After a recent trip home, Majozi says she now wants to eat whatever her mother is eating, even pilchards.
What’s next?
Majozi isn’t short of ideas. She’d love to do her own television show, with South African food and, inevitably, a few pies taking centre stage.
For now, there’s The South African Cookbook. It certainly looks good enough for the coffee table, but this is no “look-don’t-cook” cookbook. The recipes make you want to get into the kitchen, and there are plenty that feel entirely doable on an average Thursday night. It’s also the kind of book you’ll buy as a gift, then decide to keep for yourself.
The South African Cookbook by Nokx Majozi is distributed in South Africa by Jonathan Ball Publishers and is available at major retailers and online
