Madiba appreciation club, The: A chef's story

By (author): Brett Ladds. Brett Ladds' memoir recounts his years as executive chef to Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki at the presidential guesthouse (1994–1999), mixing self-deprecating, funny anecdotes — Saudi guests buying up expensive blankets, Russian diplomats' drinking habits — with encounters with figures like Fidel Castro, Queen Elizabeth and Quincy Jones. Behind the humour sits a more personal account of serving Mandela and glimpsing pivotal moments in South Africa's democratic transition from just outside the room.