Maleballo Mokhathi: A Culinary Enthusiast with a Deep Love for Learning.

I got to have a conversation with someone I’ve always admired from a distance – Maleballo Mokhathi. She is the first Mosotho to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Gastronomic Science & Cultures at the University of Gastronomic Science in Pollenzo, Italy. Maleballo is a trailblazer, not only in this regard but also in the indelible marks she has long been carving within the food industry!

Maleballo Mokhathi

A culinary enthusiast with a refreshing eagerness to learn, Maleballo reflects how big Lesotho’s young generation dreams. This 25-year-old from Sehlabeng sa Thuathe is the co-founder of Ankie’s kitchen - a business that offers homemade pastries and hearty meals while also expanding into catering. She is also a business partner at Broiler Bros which blesses the masses with delicious meals from sustainably produced chickens.  

In addition to these, Maleballo and fellow entrepreneur and friend Tshepang Thabane started Karolelano, a food and clothing drive initiative that supports homeless youth in and around Maseru. Tshepang runs a company called Greenyards that manufactures greenhouses and also provides landscaping and gardening services. With Maleballo bringing in her cooking prowess and Tshepang teaching the youth how to farm, the duo envision an initiative that not only provides help in the form of food and clothes but also in the form of skill sharing, making it a more sustainable kind of impact.

In our conversation, Maleballo introduces us to the world of Gastronomic Science - a field that really intrigued me because of how deeply vast and interdisciplinary it is! Our conversation leads us to talk about the food cultures of both Lesotho and Italy which yields a collection of thoughtful reflections around Basotho’s cuisine and the courage of food innovation. We also get to hear how Maleballo has been settling into the rhythms of a new country for the past 6 months – a transition that other Basotho international students may also know is not without its challenges and is almost always cushioned by the presence of support and community. 

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. May we witness this young Mosotho woman as she continues her adventures through the wide and wild world of all things food and culture!

Our conversation has been edited for clarity and concision.

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Would you tell the readers a little about yourself?

It’s very hard to define myself without first using the parameter of where I am from. So I’ll start with the fact that ke Mosotho. Ke tsoa Lesotho. 

I am approaching my 26th birthday, which is a bit . . . nerve-wracking. 

I am a very creative person and that’s one other parameter I like using to define myself because it allows me to be broad. But right now my creativity is centred on food more than anything. And not food in the sense of just becoming a chef but food as holistically as possible. Even now, I’m not sure of the exact direction I want to take within the food industry but I know (and am learning) how broad this space is! I was fortunate enough to work with Selemela and understand policies in the context of education. And now here I am, in school, breaking down and analysing international food policies! And this is sparking new interests for me!

I really allow myself to be. I used to always plan everything. And now I’m realising that it’s okay to give myself a break every now and then and allow myself to just be. To let go of the pressures of the world and really listen to my body, listen to my spirit, listen to what it is I really value and what it is I really want from myself despite not having complete answers. And that’s the thing, this state I am in, of not knowing exactly where I want to go, is allowing me to take in so much knowledge, and is allowing me to be so open to different things. It’s a really beautiful learning experience, and not just from an academic perspective but also outside of the classroom.

I am like a sponge right now. Taking it all in as much as I possibly can. I am someone who learns a lot from mere observation. I pick up very small details from just observing the world. As much as there is still a language barrier, my understanding of Italian is definitely getting a bit better so I am able to hear and understand what people are saying and engage a bit in conversations. 

So yeah, that’s me: I am creative, observant, spiritual and I allow myself to be.

I know only a little bit about your course of study from what I’ve heard you talk about online. How would you describe Gastronomic Science to someone who has never heard of it before?

To be very honest, one of the first things that the president of our school said during orientation week is that Gastronomic Science is one of the most difficult courses to describe because of how broad it is! 

I’ll try my best to narrow it down though. Gastronomic science is based on the theory of gastronomy - which approaches cooking from a very scientific lens. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, author of “The Physiology of Taste” defined gastronomy as “a scientific definition of all that relates to man as a feeding animal". The President and founder of our school always pays homage to his writing and regards it as the reason that the University of Gastronomic Sciences exists today.

I think gastronomy has to do with manipulating ingredients with a lot of intention. As opposed to just saying, ke pheha gravy ka anyanese le tamati, you think about how you could transform this traditional gravy into something more exciting! You play around with food matter. Gastronomy is very experimental. 

And so my program draws from this theory.  Mohlala, last semester I studied Molecular & Taste Sciences, Food Economics and Food Biodiversity. Molecular & Taste Science included learning both basic chemistry and also biochemistry but in the context of food. We got to study things like compounds involved in cheese making. This science allows us to think out of the box, like how could we manipulate these compounds to make something better than just cheese. It’s making room for alternative ways we can now create cheeses out of non-dairy products because now, we understand the chemistry, the textures and the mechanisms at play in these food processes. 

Yes, there is food innovation but I do think there is still so much space to grow because we are so afraid of getting out of the safe zone of how we create food.  

Gastronomic science also takes us back to where food comes from, understanding food from an agricultural perspective. We ask questions like how can we make food production more sustainable? How can we still meet people’s needs without causing so much damage or plunder to the earth? 

We delve into the economics of food too. What are the policies around food? How do we fix them? Do we completely scrap them away for something new? So it’s really very broad!

Wow! Ehlile it sounds quite broad and interdisciplinary too! I’m curious then: what has Gastronomic Science changed about how you view your career so far? Ke hore, your relationship with food and cooking -  what world has this discipline opened up for you?

I’d say I came here already knowing my limitations within the culinary space, but not quite sure how to articulate them. So this program is giving me the answers that I was already looking for. For example, how do I minimise food waste in my kitchen? How do I eliminate unnecessary expenses? There are expenses I could cut by learning to produce some of my food myself instead of constantly having to go to the supermarket for them.

And even beyond that, this course is exposing me to different ways of being more creative in the kitchen. Like, we recently had a culinary professional visit my school who talked about their goal towards “zero” waste in their kitchen by using fermentation. They preserve a lot of their produce through fermentation and a lot of their recipes are centred around these products. So, it’s little things like this, innovative ideas like this one, that are igniting my own creativity in this space.

It sounds like you are learning so much! I bet you are constantly needing to step back from classes and reflect on all that you are learning? Like, take it all in. It’s a lot to digest? (No pun intended)

Yes, definitely. There is a lot of reflection. One of the beautiful things I've observed has been how much Italians, generally, love their food. They try so hard to embrace it and teach people about it, which is something I think we don’t do much at home. How do we get to this point, where the entire country embraces their food so much? It’s very beautiful to observe.

While in college, I got to observe a dear friend of mine prepare her meals. She is from Nigeria and my goodness, her dishes were always so layered. Like, Jollof Rice? Sis would be blending tomatoes and peppers – a whole thing! In the eyes of a Mosotho who was used to snow-white rice, I was basically just marvelling the whole time!

I'm curious, what is this discipline teaching you about our own cuisine as Basotho? Ho ile ha etsahala joang ka ho hola ha mefuta ea lijo tsa rona le mekhoa ea ho pheha? Does it have to do with being landlocked and being so contained within ourselves? I don’t know, I just feel like sometimes our food is not as varied as I’d hope it would be?

I have a personal theory about this. I don't know how accurate it is though. But, when you look at our general history in Southern Africa, we come from a lineage of hunter-gatherers. We were not settlers for a very long time. My theory is that we were not able to invest very much in our cuisine because we were always on the move. We ate for nourishment more than we ate for enjoyment. So having all those complex recipes and processes in everyday making food may not have always been necessary.

I also think that with us, there has not been a lot of outside cultures that come in with different spices and different methods of cooking. Ke ee ke shebe Uganda, e le mohlala feela. Some of the dishes that they now consider as ‘traditional’ have a lot of Indian influence because they’ve had a sizable population of Indian migrants with whom their food cultures blended. It seems we have barely allowed the outside world to influence our food.

Video courtesy of Maleballo Mokathi

I wonder, as a Mosotho chef and one studying Gastronomic Science, how are you thinking about how you would spice up our meals as Basotho and maybe just how you think about innovation when it comes to our food culture?

It’s actually interesting that you ask because I’ve had to do something along these lines recently. A friend of mine who was studying in Japan connected me to an organisation that wanted to start workshops that taught Japanese people how to cook. One of the cuisines they wanted to teach was Basotho’s. That was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to do. It was not very easy for me to source our ingredients, like maize meal, sorghum and likahare, outside of Lesotho.  So I had to improvise and play around with things like polenta and spelt wheat, ke hore, ingredients that are as close as possible to our own. 

I think we can keep the base ingredients of our dishes and play around with aromatics. We have so many naturally growing herbs in Lesotho that we can play around with, infusing them into our dishes and making our food more tasty. 

Cultures are constantly evolving. Allowing a bit of influence from other cultures but without taking away from ours is not a bad thing. You can add a bit of curry powder to your likhobe to make them nicer. You can add some herbs, some wine to your lekhotloane or oxtail. Just, enhance the flavour of our foods. Hobane kannete teng, at times our recipes are too simple.

Here in Italy too, you’ll find most of the recipes have been passed down through generations. And there is backlash to innovating these traditional dishes in restaurants. The pushback would be ‘This is not how we do things’. Sure, it may not be how we do things but we can change things. We can innovate. But again, it’s still important to have boundaries, so that we don’t dilute the parts of our culture that are important.

It sounds like culture is negotiating in a way. It’s not linear.

Before our interview you mentioned that you’ve been toying with the idea of creating a channel to share your experiences in Italy. I’m honestly very excited about it. I am really enjoying hearing about how you are experiencing Italy.

I want to ask you, what are some of the ways that Italy has felt like home for you? And also, when have you felt out of place?

I think the biggest advantage has been that the school has a decent international community. So I am not experiencing this whole being in a foreign land thing alone. Ke nna Mosotho oa pele sekolong sena, which is a big shocker but, knowing that you are sharing this experience with multiple people, that we all left our families at home and don’t even know when we are going to see them next creates a sense of comfort. I am not alone. We are able to talk and share our experiences. Also the Italian community in our school is very open to learning from us so it feels like a mutual relationship. That's what made me feel at ease and helped me assimilate into the community.

But at the same time, sometimes I tend to dissociate without even realising. It was a big issue at some point because it seemed like I was being rude, you know? But my brain is so tired. I am always speaking English and also trying to speak Italian too. Hlooho ea ka e khathetse! Other international students have communities with whom they share a language and so they still have a home away from home in a way. I only get to speak Sesotho when I call home. Ho na le hore ho khathatsehe hanyane teng.

There are also not a lot black people. We tend to stand out. I feel like there is a bit of tokenism especially from the school’s side. They tend to show the diversity of the school by showing off black people, putting them on the forefront on their Instagram, for example. I get it but come on guys, tone it down. Sometimes I feel like a rare pokemon that people get excited to see. I have been wearing headscarves a lot lately and there is this weird fascination with them. Hae koana ha u roetse tuku, u roetse tuku, ha ho na taba, you know? Ke ntho tse nyane tse etsahalang mona tse nkhopotsang hore mona ha se hae. 

That feels like quite a familiar experience of a lot of black international students, haholo in predominantly white schools. You are suddenly so aware of yourself – you are made to feel so aware of yourself.  That can be hard to navigate truly. 

Have there been other communities that you have found that help you feel at ease?

Going to the gym.  I have been an athlete for a long time so even if linguistically there is a barrier but within the activities there is a common language. It’s very easy to integrate, it’s very easy to feel welcome and be a part of that community.

I am also part of Slow Food Youth Network, a chapter of the larger organisation: Slow Food International. We plan events that are centred around both the community we are in now and the individual communities we come from. And it’s predominantly international students. It’s really fun. It allows room for playing and learning a lot.

One last question: Italy in 3 words or phrases?

I’d say: eye-opening; a little paradoxical & inspiring.

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