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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South African Culinary Heritage
Monki is a passionate, healthy cook, with a huge collection
of herbs. On this day, the menu was chicken stew with
mushrooms; served with dumpling, beetroot and
Morogo salad. A nice bottle of Rosé was left to cool in
the fridge for dessert, with a glass of Merlot flowing
beautifully as she cooked. I do not recall what had brought
up the subject, but my sister was reflecting on the aftermath
of her tumultuous marital life.
Trying to fill the void, she had joined a Stokvel, a women’s
club. Once a month, she looked forward to meeting with
this group of women, where she found solace as she poured
out the drama of her life. However, with time, my sister had
noticed a pattern in the way the meetings were conducted.
These never followed the agenda. No other topic was ever
discussed, except her personal issues. Without noticing, her
life had become the agenda. The drama of her life had
captured their attention like a soapie. No one else spoke
about their own, specific “businesses”.
“This is odd”, she had said to herself. After giving this some
thought, the following month she decided that she would
engage with them on different terms. At the next meeting,
when she was asked, predictably, how the drama of her life
was unfolding, she had responded: “Things are the same,
nothing has changed, thank you.”
With the characters in the soapie now having been written
off, the meeting ended. It was now evident that the group
was not being helpful to her situation, and that the
conversations were insincere. As it had become an
unfortunate norm for so many women who are dealing with
marital challenges, the ladies’ group was just a platform to
indulge and drown sorrows in alcohol and insincere
discussions. Safe to say, my sister, Monki, had subsequently,
and wisely, left the Stokvel. It is only my sister who can relate
the story in a way that left us rolling with laughter; even
though this discussion took her family back to their difficult
childhood in Rockville, Soweto, and her daughters managed
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