Winner of Celebrity MasterChef South Africa (2025), Seth Shezi moves between food, travel, and culture as one of the World’s 50 Best TasteHunters. Here, he shares his favourite restaurants, travel rituals, and why the first place he visits in any city is always the market.
YLA: How did your food journey begin?
Seth: From as early as six years old, I remember how much I loved watching my grandmother cook. I revelled in being allowed to help by adding the ingredients she had laid out. But it meant more than just a love of food during the winter months when she would tend to her crops. She often had to chase me back inside because it wasn’t ideal for a child to be wading through frost in a Natal Midlands winter.
When a six-year-old – who grew up not to be a morning person – chooses to wake up early to tend the fields, it says something.
YLA: What did winning MasterChef change in you?
Seth: It didn’t inflate my ego – it anchored my authority. It gave weight to my voice. I became more precise in how I taste, how I critique, and how I speak about food. The experience sharpened my discipline and trained my palate under pressure, which means my opinions are grounded in practice, not theory.
More than anything, it allowed me to contribute meaningfully. I was able to give more than half a million rand to a charity close to my heart, Ladles of Love – a feeding scheme I’d supported for years. There’s no greater feeling than knowing you played a hand in ensuring two schools can afford meals for pupils for two years.
A Global Food Voice
YLA: Chef, storyteller, tastemaker, curator – what title best fits who you are right now?
Seth: The most public role I occupy is as one of the World’s 50 Best TasteHunters. But my work shows up in several ways. I operate at the intersection of food, travel, and identity — translating global food experiences into context, taste, and insight. My role isn’t just to cook or document, but to curate perspective by highlighting what matters, why it matters, and how it fits into a wider cultural conversation.
I lend my voice where nuance is needed. Not just about food, but about taste. It’s a privilege cultivated through a unique set of exposures. I’ve eaten at the best places in the world and stayed at the best hotels – not for sport, but to show that an African belongs in every space worth exploring. It’s an uncharted path, and I take being a pioneer seriously.
This year I plan to share more behind-the-scenes content through my creative brand and strategy consulting, because many young people still don’t realise there’s space for a skillset like mine.
YLA: Tell us about your involvement with 50 Best?
Seth: For me, 50 Best represents many things, but most important is responsibility. Yes, it brings influence and access, but at its core, it’s a platform to reframe how Africa is seen in the global food conversation. Not as a trend or a ‘discover later’ continent, but as a source of depth, technique, heritage, and contemporary excellence.
Until recently, the only African restaurants celebrated globally were those successfully reproducing French or Italian cuisine. Platforms like 50 Best are allowing a reframing – celebrating what is innately African, but simply elevated. It will take time to become the norm, but I’m not afraid of hard work.
How Seth Shezi Travels
YLA: What’s the first thing you do in a new city?
Seth: I always go to a market. Before reservations, before the hotel bar, before the ‘best table in town’, I want to understand what people eat when no one’s watching. Markets tell you everything: what’s in season, what’s affordable, what smells right, and what’s loved.
Street food usually follows – that’s where you feel the city’s pulse – and then I’ll do fine dining. High-end food makes more sense once you understand the raw ingredients and everyday habits behind them.
One of the most thoughtfully curated trips I’ve experienced was a recent visit to India with Masque chef Varun Totlani and restaurateurs Aditi and Aditya Dugar. They unfurled Mumbai by taking us through markets first, and then street food interpretations of staple snacks. By the time we dined at Masque and Paradox, we weren’t just eating great food – we were connecting the culinary dots of the city.
YLA: What are your top five international food destinations?
London
For its unmatched diversity. Restaurants like Kiln, Ikoyi, Akoko, The Cocochine, Speedboat, Bibi, and The Ledbury coexisting in one city is extraordinary.
Lamu
Often overlooked, but it challenges every preconception. Meals are impossibly fresh, with fish and crab caught the same day. Peponi’s menu is exceptional, local fish curries are memorable, and a Swahili dinner at Banana House is pure joy.
Bangkok
For the chaos, balance, and heat – and the way street food and fine dining speak the same language. Mavericks like Gaggan, Potong, and Nusara thrive here because of the city’s relentless energy.
Cape Town
For its produce, its people, and its position where Africa, Europe, and Asia quietly meet on the plate. Beyond fine dining, a shisanyama or braai is essential to understanding South African food culture.
Mumbai
For its intensity, spice, and stories. The food reflects resilience and ritual. First-timers should explore Masque, Paradox, and Swati Snacks.
Bonus: Paris
Where the craft is sacred and food is inseparable from culture. Paris rewards those who research well and value culinary foundations.
Memorable Meals & Drinks
YLA: What’s the most memorable meal you’ve eaten abroad?
Seth: It’s a tie. Trésind Studio in Dubai was a masterclass in modern Indian storytelling – intellectually rigorous, technically fearless, and emotionally rooted.
La Grande Table Marocaine at Royal Mansour in Marrakech was timeless and ceremonial. It was my birthday dinner with friends and felt like being invited into history.
YLA: What’s your favourite cocktail?
Seth: A Negroni. The best version, for both taste and atmosphere, is at Moebius in Milan. Close runners-up include The Connaught Bar in London and the in-suite mixologist at Jumeirah Burj Al Arab.
Luxury and Influence
YLA: You’ve worked with global brands like Veuve Clicquot and Belmond. What draws you to these partnerships?
Seth: I’m drawn to partnerships that allow me to bring my creative vision – filtered through an African lens – into the global luxury conversation. I insist on being involved behind the scenes, shaping creative direction from the start. Representation matters, and this work continues to affirm that Africans belong at the centre of global storytelling.
YLA: What is luxury to you?
Seth: Ataraxia – tranquillity, freedom from fear, and freedom to create without betraying my truest self. On an ordinary day, luxury is intention and quality. Elevating small moments to their highest expression is, for me, the ultimate indulgence.
Where Seth Shezi Eats
YLA: Name your favourite restaurants around the world for…
Breakfast
Atlantis The Royal, Dubai; Biyela Lodge, Hluhluwe; Babylonstoren, Cape Winelands.
Lunch
Le Sirenuse, Positano; Soho Farmhouse, Cotswolds.
Dinner
Ouzeri, Cape Town; followed by a cocktail at The Gin Bar.
Sundowners
AMAH Studio by Daniel Obasi, Lagos.
