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
strange talk, and – as had been expected – unsuspectingly
went to the conference.
But, unbeknown to me that these words – through which
she had exhorted me to respect others, especially my sister,
Monki – were going to be her last instructional verses for
me. And, tragically, the next time I would see my mother
again, after the conference, was to bury her. Looking back,
I realised that lack of respect amongst us as her children was
one factor that had bothered her a lot, and, surely, that is
why she had chosen to talk about this as a last will of
testament.
Until then, I had not even realised how disrespectful I had
been to my elder sister, Monki. After my mother’s passing,
I shared this conversation with my sister, and had further
explained how remorseful I was for having disrespecting her
for all those years. But, as I had mentioned, earlier, Monki
has a healthy sense of humour; and, in one of our family
discussions, I dropped the ball and she remarked, jokingly,
“listen to how you are speaking to me, Eunice; you are back
to your old ways. Now, where is the respect that you were
talking about?” Laughing, I had responded, “Aus’ Monki,
change does not come overnight; you are going to have to
bear with me as I unlearn this bad trait of disrespect.”
It has been seven years since then, and respect is still my
daily struggle. Now that I am aware and mindful, I can see
myself, whenever I talk to people disrespectfully, and –
immediately – I change gears. I am now able to say what
needs to be said to my sister without disrespecting her.
Disrespect is fatal, and is one of the diseases that most
families are infested with. In some families, disrespect is
masked with fear. Parents are fearful to tell their children
when they are wrong. Terrified of potentially aggressive
retaliation from their children, they succumb to whatever
immoral behavior their children engage in. Furthermore, the
family discussions must involve affirming each other and
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