Silence descended upon our abode. Deafening. No pins dropping. Words failed us, save for the occasional oohs and aahs. There was no inclination to enter into discussion anyway.
Inadequate would be any attempt at describing the indulgence in the mix presented by foodie Paula Mokwena, who surprised with a late afternoon hand-delivered offering of next-level, to-die-for chocolate cake on our doorstep late yesterday.
A display of heart - a decadently rich creation by The Foodie Files curator while on visit to Polokwane for the holidays - got this blogger back on track after months of career commitments and time constraints that jeopardised the positive flow of creative juices.
The gesture of appreciation stemmed from an earlier engagement documenting an initial narrative that was published online. The piece shed light on her career in finance which she juggles with venturing into the world of food, as she invests in her culinary interests.
With a You Tube presence and an Instagram page brimming with posts from experiences, engagements and endeavours among kitchen appliances, she is continuously exploring during her foodie journey. To the benefit of her followers she serves visuals of fresh, wholesome dishes combined with generous helpings of appealing presentation.
Evidently Paula Mokwena knows her swift tango from her spicy salsa when it comes to a playful dance among flavours in a kitchen, be it somewhere in the world while traveling abroad, in her own space or that of mom Sylvia’s. A true food advocate who serves a killer cake.
· Read the initial story that was featured on newsportallimpopo.co.za below
The Foodie Files: Space for culinary passion among pots and pans in a happy place
November 30, 2020 3 min read News Portal Limpopo
The Foodie Files is a hot slot on the culinary block and with the You Tuber behind the concept being from Polokwane, it adds a generous serving of local flavour to an offering that coincides with a social media following.
When Johannesburg-based private equity professional Paula Mokwena steps out of the corporate environment and into the kitchen, she gives rise to her passion for food that took off at a young age. It all started when she was still at school in Polokwane, rummaging through the fridge upon getting home in the afternoons when looking for something to prepare for lunch, she recalls. This weekend she was back in mom Sylvia’s kitchen while on visit for an all important family affair.
Her love for food developed while being responsible for organising lunches and dinners for clients when working in the investment banking field and learnt about food and ingredients, she explains. She mentions that she likes visiting new restaurants, following chefs and recreating dishes at home. She is fond of getting updated on food reviews and reading food-related articles, watching cooking programmes and channels as well as travel shows setting off cuisine from across the world.
When she travels she endeavours to learn about the local food, visit recommended eateries and go for cooking lessons. And in that way each trip, be it within the country or abroad, is turned into a foodie adventure.
The kitchen is where she expresses herself through her baking and cooking. She describes it as very therapeutic and adds that it relieves stress.
While having more time at hand on the career front nowadays, she decided to embark upon a YouTube channel, linked to thefoodie_files_ on Instagram, demanding of her to spend time in the kitchen about three days a week. “It is wonderful to have digital platforms to get content out,” she remarks as she underscores the fact that she had acquired added skills along an interesting journey. She takes care of preparation and presentation while applying her penchant for photography in the production phase when shooting and editing imagery of her own creations.
In order to grow her subscriber base she posts clips on Thursdays and Fridays and daily posts on Instagram for an increased level of engagement, updating her followers with her own culinary art and the food of others she finds inspiration from.
She tells of an intention to enrol with a culinary school in future to learn the science behind food. In the meantime Paula Mokwena wows with the scoops and the swirls that result in guilty pleasures like chocolate peanut butter zebra cake, Blueberry Swiss roll or crepe cake she so ardently produces in her happy place.
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