A foodie with a big heart, and an even bigger appetite, takes on the tastes of Africa
WE ARE NOT ONE COUNTRY
I can sense all the eye rolls and exacerbated sighs as I write this. For too long Africa has been considered the dark continent where kids ride to school on Lions and street vendors accept Bonsai seeds as a form of payment. Themba from Khayelitsha in South Africa has been asked if he knows Mukisa from Kampala, Uganda because, “I just assumed all you guys knew each other” (Yes, this is a conversation I’ve actually had with an American).
But that simply is not the case.
Africa is made up of 54 distinct and diverse countries that all boast a creativity and vibrancy as exciting and as unique as the last. Ethiopia has given us some of the most colourful textiles in the world. Rwanda brews delicious teas and coffee. The spices of Senegal are a welcomed addition to any meal. Egypt's architecture has marveled the world over. It is believed that modern medicine was influenced by the traditional healers and herbal practitioners in Mali. Had they not been burned down, the libraries of Timbuktu would be considered one of the oldest sites of education and knowledge in the world. Music genres like ‘gqom’ and ‘kwaito’ we’re conjured up in South Africa and are spreading like wildfire cross the entire globe.
And this only skims the surface.
Africa, as a conglomerate of the separate countries that make it up, is a powerhouse. Beyonce has pantsula’d in her music videos, Drake has collaborated with Wizkid, Kirk Franklin wore a David Tlale design during a performance. And if you find yourself in Brooklyn, New York, be sure to book a table at Madiba’s Restaurant.
Our influence is far reaching.
But that isn’t what I want to interrogate.
Africa is a calabash of cultures - all serving a smorgasbord of cuisine that I am dying to try. Quilted together to serve up some of the most delicious food you’ll ever taste, African food includes everything from traditional amagwinya with mince (or strawberry jam, cream and cheese) to jollof rice and plantain - and I want to taste it all.
I’ve been lucky enough to have parents whose feet are as itchy as mine. We have traveled to America; visited Greece and Italy; spent time in France, Monaco, London and Scotland. I’ve seen my fare share of the Western world but I’ve always had a desire to explore the land I come from. I was born in Durban, grew up in Johannesburg but spent the bulk of my life in Grahamstown (a small student town in Eastern Cape of South Africa). I've in Cape Town too, so I know that I am South African. I appreciate what that means. For a long time, I’ve had a desire to know what being African means.
And so I begin my journey - to discover Africa through food.
I hope my travels take me to food markets that sell morsels I am accustomed to, but I want to be invited into kitchens cooking with ingredients I’ve never heard of. I will rely on the recommendations of others and the generosity of mothers that prepare the menu I consider the United Tastes of Africa.
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Like what you see so far? I've got a piece about the Benefits of Buying Local that'll have you rushing to your local family-run grocery store.
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