SOUTH AFRICAN CULINARY HERITAGE
The book South African Culinary Heritage by Eunice Rakhale, is about local food history and traditions interlaced with family conversations. It illustrates the culinary diversity of Southern African cuisine and some neighbouring countries, comparing the similarities and unique palatable heritages thereof. Written in a conversational style, the book is a handy culinary compilation which will bestow the reader with explorations regarding local African lifestyles history, art, clothing, music and perhaps even some song and dance. For tourists visiting these African countries – possessing a diversity of ethnic cultures, it is a worthy read regarding heritage and of-course African cuisine. A guide which should be included in any tourist’s travel pack and families. It is about a genuine story told with an extraordinary ability that draws parallel between the author’s struggle in the restaurant industry and in her personal life. Ultimately, her passion for food is where she finds solace to learn, heal and grow. Mother Daughter relationships can be extremely complex and Eunice is no exception. In the book, besides a plethora of authentic recipes and history, she shares candidly about her strained relationship with her daughter Mothei Makhetha. Being estranged for seven years, Mothei writes her mother a letter, in a desperate cry for help, which she hopes will begin the healing process. After receiving the letter, circumstances of her life took Eunice back home to her mother in Moletsane, Soweto. This happens while she is researching her culinary book authenticating the recipes through the help of her mother. This handing down of recipes from her mother gets them connected on a very deep level, thus, creating compassion and trust they never had. In desperation Eunice seeks counselling from her own mother to try and mend the relationship with her daughter. Their journey is one of true and sincere conversations handed down from one generation to another, around family meals and prayerful family meetings.
The book South African Culinary Heritage by Eunice Rakhale, is about local food history and traditions interlaced with family conversations. It illustrates the culinary diversity of Southern African cuisine and some neighbouring countries, comparing the similarities and unique palatable heritages thereof. Written in a conversational style, the book is a handy culinary compilation which will bestow the reader with explorations regarding local African lifestyles history, art, clothing, music and perhaps even some song and dance. For tourists visiting these African countries – possessing a diversity of ethnic cultures, it is a worthy read regarding heritage and of-course African cuisine. A guide which should be included in any tourist’s travel pack and families.
It is about a genuine story told with an extraordinary ability that draws parallel between the author’s struggle in the restaurant industry and in her personal life. Ultimately, her passion for food is where she finds solace to learn, heal and grow.
Mother Daughter relationships can be extremely complex and Eunice is no exception. In the book, besides a plethora of authentic recipes and history, she shares candidly about her strained relationship with her daughter Mothei Makhetha. Being estranged for seven years, Mothei writes her mother a letter, in a desperate cry for help, which she hopes will begin the healing process. After receiving the letter, circumstances of her life took Eunice back home to her mother in Moletsane, Soweto. This happens while she is researching her culinary book authenticating the recipes through the help of her mother. This handing down of recipes from her mother gets them connected on a very deep level, thus, creating compassion and trust they never had. In desperation Eunice seeks counselling from her own mother to try and mend the relationship with her daughter.
Their journey is one of true and sincere conversations handed down from one generation to another, around family meals and prayerful family meetings.
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Eunice Rakhale-Molefe
Unlike Ma-Hlalele, who was a housewife, Ma-Fume was an
entrepreneur of sorts. She used to make a living by selling
hand-woven grass brooms and cow dung bricks – Disu tsa
boloko ba kgomo.
The same as my mother, Ma-Fume’s favourite dish was
sheep’s trotters – ditlhakwana tsa nku. Patiently, she would
do the prep and let the trotters cook until the meat fell off
the bones and would serve these with pap. The recipe on
page 40 is the one she had handed over to my mother, who
had then tweaked the formula – just a little bit – before she
had handed it to me, later.
And, this method – among many others – has stood out
amid my family’s myriad, celebratory dishes. Ma-Fume’s
natural beauty was enhanced by a traditional display of
beauty spots, Ditoba-Toba, what might be referred to as
tattoos, today. In contrast to the ones commonly worn by
Xhosa women, the Basotho traditional facial designs are
permanent. My granny, Ma-Fume, sported one such
“beauty spot” on each cheek, and also had another one
strategically positioned between the eyebrows!
Taking a break from her broom making, Ma-Fume’s meals
were routine. Unlike my maternal granny, with her, we had
to come one at a time for our meals. I cannot remember the
order of the “queue marshalling” – like they normally do in
the minibus taxi ranks to keep order, so to speak – but I do
remember asking her why we could not eat together. And,
to this curious query, her response would be: “To save on
the washing of dishes!”
Nkgono Ma-fume always came to visit us, and those were happy
moments!
My mother came from a warm family environment. My
father, on the other hand, came from the harsh reality of a
polygamous marriage, with an ever absent “rolling stone” of
a father. My grandmother, Ma-Fume, had to raise her four
boys (my father and his siblings) on her own, selling
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