Chef Lifa is passionate about food. His eyes twinkle with glee as he describes his plans to continue elevating the menu at Nkosi Lodge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. At Nkosi Lodge, he has the ideal platform to express and share that passion with the world. His cooking style is one of simplicity but with complex combinations of flavours using top-quality local, seasonal and responsibly sourced ingredients.

Signature dishes include goat curry with savoury rice and rolled poppadum with sambals. Another is the sweet potato gnocchi served in a mornay sauce with mushrooms and wilted spinach. For dessert, guests enjoy treats, including local red wine poached pears with a chocolate disk.

Kudakwashe Lifa may look incredibly young for the coveted role of head chef; however, he studied at the School of Hospitality in Bulawayo for five years. During this time, he represented the school in Zimbabwean chef competitions and won two gold medals and a silver in the live cooking, mystery basket and carving display categories, respectively. Moreover, Chef Lifa was selected in 2017 to be part of the National Chefs team and won a gold medal in the Skills Challenge and live cooking at the Nelson Mandela Culinary Cup in Johannesburg, where Zimbabwe joined eight other African countries in the competition.

“I grew up watching my mom and sisters cooking, and I saw them make a dish that translated within minutes into joy on people’s faces, and I thought that was magical. I wanted that superpower because the sheer joy of making other people happy is something you can’t really replace.”