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
I enquired why he was asking me, and he said, “Well,
because you are the caterer.”
Earlier that morning, the chief pharmacist had raised her
concern about the floor plan and flow of the event. The
caterer and event coordinator did not seem to understand
her, she had confided. Even though my portfolio was
outside of these logistics (mine was conference facilitator
and pharmaceutical product detailing), she asked if I could
intervene.
I had been asked to intervene and ended up doing the job
so well, (a job that had nothing to do with my designation,)
that the hospital staff had thought I was the caterer. “The
need to be perfect had turned me into a control extremist.
What a control fanatic I had become,” it had suddenly
struck me.
On another occasion, still working as a medical
representative, I had submitted a budget proposal for one
of the key accounts that I was managing. And, as a follow
up, I had asked my boss as to when I could expect the
budget to be approved.
“Well, Eunice, with you, it will be immediate,” he had
replied. “You must understand that I trust you so much that,
even if you ask me to put my head on a block to chop it off
and promise to put it back again, I think I will do it because
I believe in you,” my boss had added, jokingly.
This was the most petrifying thing anyone had ever said to
me, about me, and was even spine-chilling. I now knew,
without a doubt, that I was consumed by the need to be
perfect. “This does not feel right,” I had thought to myself,
and continued to live my life the same way for the next ten
to fifteen years, and I have been executing this in a most
impressive manner, always, I may add. I have always done
what most people with concealed issues do; which is also
said to be an exaggerated social behaviour.
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