The Funny Chef: Biography, Age, Pregnant, Husband, Cookbook

Lebogang Tlokana (born 22 March 1990), popularly known as The Funny Chef, is a South African professional chef, cookbook author, presenter, and content creator. She is the host of SABC1’s Plate It Up.

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The Funny Chef is a National Best Seller Cookbook Author. She has written a book, The Funny Chef’s Delicious Dishes, and is working on another one titled The Funny Chef Simply Elevated.

The Funny Chef
From crafting hearty recipes to captivating social media audiences through funny skits – Lebogang Tlokana (aka The Funny Chef)
Personal Details
Name:	Lebogang Tlokana
Born:	22 March 1990 (age 35 years old)
Place of birth:	Pretoria, Gauteng
Nationality:	South African
Education:	Culinary arts
Occupation:	Professional chef, cookbook author, presenter, content creator
Years active:	2010-date
Known for:	Our Perfect Wedding (season 12)
Book:	The Funny Chef’s Delicious Dishes

Early Life

The Funny Chef was born on 22 March 1990 in Pretoria, the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. She was raised in the suburb of Theresa Park.

Watching her mother cook for her family made young Lebogang fall in love with the process. She became so interested in cooking shows and would watch the preparation of certain meals.

Education

She studied in an Afrikaans school. As the only black girl in the school, she faced racism and was left out. She struggled with passing in 9th and 10th grade.

Lebogang then left high school and went to college, and got a qualification equivalent to a matric. She was studying marketing management. Her father registered her in a cooking school to study culinary arts, and she passed and qualified as a chef.

Career

Lebogang has worked in a hotel, a restaurant, and a game lodge. She rose through the ranks to become the head chef at Thulani Game Lodge and Amp, Eco Estate in Thabazimbi.

After gaining experience, Lebogang quit her job and started creating videos. She added the unique ‘Spitori’ dialect, which led to her going viral. She featured in comedy movies with comedian David Kau and also landed a cooking show on SABC1.

Lebogang Tlokana landed the role of Dora Phakathi in the multi-award-winning telenovela The River. She eventually joined the South African Chefs’ Association. She has appeared in other shows such as The Big Bozza Cookoff on Honey TV.

The chef gained attention as a comedian after imitating what a Pretoria girl would do if she discovered she had R14 million in a 2018 video.

As a television presenter, she hosts SABC1’s Plate It Up, bringing exciting cooking from different places and cultures, and turns old recipes into new ones.

The Funny Chef performs miracles in the kitchen and shares her recipe on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Some of them include Creamy Chicken and Mash, ting (sour porridge), maotwana (chicken feet), malana (chicken intestine), and dumplings with stew or oxtail.

Lebogang joined current host Nomsa Buthelezi for Season 12 of the television series Our Perfect Wedding. She hosted the DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards red carpet and graced many magazine covers.

Apart from being a successful content creator, Lebogang is a National Best Seller Cookbook Author. She wrote the book, The Funny Chef’s Delicious Dishes.

While she is increasing her fame, Lebogang gives back to society. She raised and donated R250,000 to Rhema Children’s Village in Johannesburg.

The Funny Chef has also leveraged her online fame to build a booming business. Her initial significant earnings were R300,000, marking a milestone in making money from her social media platforms. She has also promoted top brands on her platforms, including Coca-Cola, Sunlight, Sunshine, and Knorr.

Personal Life

The Funny Chef pregnant — The Funny Chef announced her pregnancy in August 2025.

Lebogang got married in March 2025. She announced in August 2025 that she was pregnant and showing her baby bump. She welcomed her first baby in 2023. Her baby daddy left during her pregnancy.