Cape Town - Veteran chef, Emile Mathys is not the only one who can cook up a storm but his 17-year old daughter, Afton Mathys, is following in her dad's footsteps and showing off her culinary skills in The Taste Master Junior on SABC 2.
Emile, 46, and Afton, 17, from Gordon's Bay, are the perfect dad and daughter duo and show that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as the pair love baking cupcakes and cakes while experimenting with different flavours.
For Emile, his love for cooking started in his early teens when he would prepare meals while his mother was at work.
“My mother was a single parent, so when she was at work she would instruct me to heat food on the stove as there were no microwaves at that time, and when there was no food, I had to make food and that is where I started experimenting and it worked out okay most of the time. There were times when my mother would not approve and ask, ‘what is this?' but those were learning curves for me.”
After school Emile worked as a chef in the Navy and after 11 years he left and completed a professional chef course at Capsicum Culinary School and did his in-service training at The Westin.
He later worked in places such as the Middle East and Caribbean Islands. Today he is the executive chef at Gossip Corner in Rooi Els.
Afton is part of the SABC 2 show The Taste Master Junior where young bakers take part in weekly challenges, pushing their skills to the limit and standing a chance to win R150 000.
Proud dad said he was a bit sceptical at first but as the competition progresses he has seen his daughter's perseverance.
“When she needs to do things that are out of the box and think on her feet, that is what makes me very proud and that is what it's all about in this industry. I really think she stands a good chance of winning the competition.”
While things are heating up in the kitchen for Afton on The Taste Master Junior, she is having to find a balance between being on the show, running her own business and completing Grade 11 at Somerset West Private School.
She added that her consumer studies teacher who sent her a link to the competition is the motivation behind her joining the show.
“I'm enjoying the competition a lot. I made 12 new friends and I'm learning a lot in the process. I come from a background where we bake and cook as a family, so it's in my nature and something that I love doing.”
As she has a love for sweet things, she opened her own bakery from home in June 2023 called Afton Bakes as she was getting orders for cake. She said that if she were to win, she would use the prize money for her business.
“I hope to open my own bakery one day. If I have more than one, I would be even more happy because I see a career for myself in this baking business. I hope that whatever I do in life is around my baking and one day I would like to go into business with my dad.”
You can catch Afton on The Taste Master Junior every Tuesday at 7pm on SABC 2 or check out her business on Instagram at Afton Bakes.