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EDITOR'S CHOICE
Coffee shop owner wants to keep the spirit of Ubuntu alive
Nonjabulo Nzuza’s biggest culinary achievement to date is opening and successfully running her own coffee shop, Sweet & Savoury Café. In her cosy café...
Perseverance drives his farming dream
A farmer’s work is definitely not child’s play and Sizo Tshabalala’s story is a testament to that. It took guts and perseverance for the...
Hawkers are vital for potato farmers and consumers
Hawkers and informal traders are by far the biggest marketing channel for the potatoes sold on Mzansi’s fresh produce markets, with these veggies offering...
Mzansi farmer leads the world in carrot juicing
When South African carrot grower Vito Rugani wanted to add value to his harvest he embarked on a journey two years ago to produce...
Traditional food ‘has a story to tell’
Chef Farzana Alvarado believes that every traditional dish has a rich history with a story to tell “about its origin, how it’s prepared and...
‘Neighbourhood Farm’ creates jobs and tackles food security
“We’re trying to create a mosaic of urban farms that grows food, minds and our communities,” says, Neighbourhood Farm founder and chief executive officer...
Heart-healthy foods that everyone can afford
Heart Awareness Month is the perfect time to look at some proactive ways of supporting heart health through our diets. Heart disease still is...
Rubbish dump proved to be a treasure trove for female agriculturalists
In 2012, a group of women from Mapetla East in Soweto looked at a rubbish dump behind a primary school in the area and...
A woman worthy of the title ‘farmer’
Agriculture has traditionally been regarded as a male profession, but women are playing a vital role in developing the growth of the sector. Maria...
‘Farmers can build social cohesion in SA,’ says Prof. Thuli Madonsela
“When poor people have nothing to eat, one of these days they are going to eat rich people,” said Prof. Thuli Madonsela, Law Faculty...
Self-taught cook turns her food blog into a viable business
Food blogger and self-taught cook Vanessa Dossi was sceptical when her followers encouraged her to host cooking classes and cater. This nudge was just...
Health conscious millennials challenging alcohol industry
You know how Fridays are the most exciting day of the week for hardworking individuals? It almost feels celebratory to act on the urge...
LIFESTYLE
No end in sight for SA’s love affair with potatoes
Are potatoes South Africa’s favourite veg? It certainly seems like it, based on how inflation-proof our demand for this versatile vegetable is.
Despite increases in...
How to make delicious family meals on a SASSA budget
Trying to stay afloat with your monthly budget while juggling life and managing a household, all whilst making sure your family eats nutritious and...
RECIPE: Local maize favourites Umdoko, Umqa and Maize Spiral Chips
The people of Mzansi are known for their love of corn or mealies. It’s a staple food in most households that give us our...
‘Coffee is my first love, but you can be my second’
A good cup of coffee can actually leave you weak in the knees, and at a loss for words with a high temperature. Seriously....
Raw vs processed food: All you need to know
Some of the latest food trends, such as “raw foods”, “clean eating” and “juicing” are making us super aware of the fact that processed...
Chef Nonto ready to sharpen her knife in the culinary industry
Some chefs dream of having their own restaurant, but Nontokozo Mkhonto has other plans, such as selling her own personalised cutlery range called Chef...
Meal prep – What you need to know
When trying to eat nutritious meals, avoid processed foods, lose weight or avoid waste, your best bet is meal prepping.
Meal prepping can sound so...
Not all superfoods are super-expensive
The superfoods craze never seems to end, with hemp, cassava flour, seaweed and tiger nuts trending as this year's top superfoods. Finding goji berries...
Believe it or not, your make-up actually has agricultural roots
For years women have built their confidence on how they look and how they feel about themselves. In addition, through the usage of cosmetics,...
Variety of milk options leave SA spoilt for choice
Choosing an everyday grocery essential like milk is not always the easiest thing to do. South Africans are really spoilt for choice, whether we...
We are cray cray about potatoes – and it’s a good...
South Africans love potatoes. Fact. Potato salad is the archetypal side-dish for braais. Our fish-and-chips shops would be nothing without “slaptjips”, slathered with salt...
RECIPE: Potato and Aubergine Pie
Mzansi’s potato farmers ensure that we’ll never run out of potatoes, despite challenges such as climate change and political uncertainty. Potatoes SA shared this...
RECIPE: Chef Zana’s Durban Style Prawn Curry
Growing up in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, chef Farzana Alvarado was always surrounded by family who loved to cook and bake. Her late grandfather Ebrahim Roshee,...
RECIPE: Metjie Shongwe’s Pork Trotters
Metjie Shongwe worked as a bank teller and receptionist before she discovered her culinary potential. At 36 she runs her own catering and décor...
RECIPES: Flavourful Flu Shots
Getting ready to defend yourself from the flu this winter? Try these dietary flu “shots”, a mixture of immune-boosting ingredients in a shot-glass. They...
RECIPE: LesDaChef’s Creamed Spinach
Chef and cook book author Lesego Semenya, also known as LesDaChef, says he doesn’t understand where the South African obsession with creamed spinach comes...
How to create a garden that keeps on giving…
Providing for your family’s financial needs is proving more difficult with each passing day given the current state of the South African economy and...
Rural food hubs key to delivering affordable, nutritious food
Sourcing fresh produce from rural small-scale farmers close to supermarkets can make healthy eating much more affordable and boost small-scale farmers to boot.
In an...
Sebastian Newman always knew his future would be filled with food
A sweet Sunday obsession in the kitchen turned out to be the stepping stone for Sebastian Newman’s skyrocketing culinary career. The 23-year-old chef, food...
Popcorn producers positive about the future
Nothing tickles your taste buds like freshly popped popcorn. Its fresh and tantalizing smell attracts you from afar and a movie night isn’t a...
Radio presenter cooks to touch the lives of others
Although Lee Duru has been working in the broadcasting industry for years, she has taken to indulging her love of food and cooking on...
RECIPE: Malva Pudding
Chef and food stylist Sebastian Newman has worked on numerous popular television shows, including Expresso and Top Billing. The sweet-toothed 23-year-old regularly features a...
Weird mushroom facts we bet you didn’t know
One of the great things about mushrooms is that they're in season all year long. They're also a great source of vitamins D and B and, above all,...
Boost your body with a blackberry smoothie
Summer is here, and it is as if we suddenly came to the realization that we must get our bikini bodies in shape. Exercising alone won’t do the...
RECIPE: The Lazy Makoti’s Chickpea and Bean Salad
Mogau Seshoene, popularly known as The Lazy Makoti, decided to cook instead of farm and she's charming Mzansi with her culinary skills. The 30...
RECIPE: Mopane Worm Chocolate Tree and Ginger Crumble Soil
For Unaty Daniel (37), becoming a chef was never something she planned, although her grandmother worked in the culinary industry. Before finding something that...
RECIPE: Lemon Butter Fish
Nompilo Mathe might not be a chef by profession, but she’s known as the queen of the kitchen on social media. The 34-year-old is...
HIGHLIGHTS
‘I just did not believe that black people could farm’
Growing up in Thohoyandou in Limpopo I thought a farmer was… only of a certain colour. I just did not believe that black people could...
RECIPE: Slow Cooked Tripe
In 2016 Vanessa Dossi, a 28-year-old digital marketer and self-taught cook, turned her food blog into a lucrative business and she hasn’t looked back....
Foods you thought were vegetarian, but actually aren’t
For most South Africans meat is the centre of any meal, although many others prefer plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables. I have...
Employment and empowerment is real in the chicken industry
Feathers are flying in the chicken industry with importers and local producers crossing swords over issues of pricing, consumer interests, employment and empowerment.
FairPlay sides...
Don’t confuse ‘cotton gin’ with your fave booze
Ok, so there’s been a big explosion of craft gin in South Africa, but in case you were wondering, there is no relation between...
Lenasia’s ‘sheep uncle’ driving Muslim agricultural revolution
Passion is a hard thing to fake. You either have it or you don’t. And Lenasia-based livestock agriculturalist, Imraan Ishmael has it in spades....
Electrician finds his spark in cotton farming
How long does it take to make a dream come true? Sometimes, it can happen overnight, or in the case of Frans Khambi Malela,...
VKB mentor planting seeds of hope and opportunity in new farmers
Selflessness has become a scarce trait amongst many. However, altruism is certainly synonymous with Francois Crause who has been mentoring new farmers for the...
Cook Ella Mthethwa says food stole her heart…
Ella Gqinekile Mthethwa swapped her love for plants to pursue her dreams of becoming a culinary queen. Today she runs her own catering company...
Going underground with a mushroom farmer
How does a young woman take over a farming business from her father to double production, carve herself a niche in a highly competitive...
Jozi buzzes with Urban Beekeeper, Themba Mntambo
There is nothing extravagant about Themba Mntambo. But there is nothing ordinary about him either. He expresses himself simply, without any airs or graces....
Things you didn’t know about sunflowers
We all know that sunflowers are considered to be a “happy flower”. A bright sunflower bouquet is the easiest way to chase the clouds away....
Celebrating our agri-workers – with some ways to go…
Every day for most people a short prayer of gratitude at mealtimes is a way to give thanks for the food they eat. But...
‘Flick’, a short story by Faeez Van Doorsen
On a rocking chair, on the stoep, on another day, stretching hopelessly her powers of recollection for the best of her dead friend, Auntie...
Positivity among hard pressed farmers impresses Irish agri journalist as he...
We’ve all seen and heard the news. Farm attacks in South Africa are reported almost on a daily basis to the rest of the...
Overberg women spearheading aquaponics farm
Six women from the Suurbraak community are piloting a dynamic aquaponics farm in the Overberg district near Swellendam in the Western Cape. Their farming...
#BlackBoerseun happily singing in the rain
A drought-stricken farmer has captured the hearts of Food For Mzansi readers after he posted a moving video in which he thanked God for...
No milk and honey for Mzansi dairy industry
South African dairy farmers are facing an extremely challenging environment, with market forces turning big producers into corporate giants and putting extreme pressure on...
Land debate ‘clouded by misreports, lack of data’
South Africa’s parliament has passed a resolution to amend the constitution and allow expropriation without compensation. The decision has generated a storm of gigantic proportions as...
Growing hope by the River Dzindi
The evergreen hills and valleys of Limpopo roll for what seems like an eternity. Its beauty catches the eye, captures the soul and remains...
Mentoring programme opens the door to commercial farming
The dream of farming commercially will soon become a reality for six emerging farmers from the Free State. They were identified through the Sernick...
Cotton by-products promise opportunities for Africa
Cotton by-products hold valuable opportunities for farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa. Developing these opportunities could make a huge contribution towards diversifying the subcontinents’...
Managing her family farm helps woman fight lupus
Three years ago, on the eve of her 24th birthday, Christin-Joy Middleton lost everything. While working as an au pair in Los Angeles in...
There is an angel factory in the Karoo
Picture, if you will, a Christmas angel factory. Do you imagine fluffy clouds, elves, sparkly tinsel? People dressed in pointy hats with tinkling bells?
You...
Mahlatse’s story of peppers, people and perseverance
Mahlatse Matlakana’s life's work is a love letter to peppers, her community and her ambitions. Her passion for farming took root when, at the age of 15, she began...
Lavender is changing lives in gang-ridden Lavender Hill
Marcelle Du Plessis has no airs and graces. In fact, as rare as it may sound, the 31-year-old University of Cape Town (UCT) graduate...
RECIPE: Chef Funi’s Deep Fried Tripe
Chef Lufuno ‘Funi’ Sinthumule loves South African cuisine, although he feels that it is still underrated here in Mzansi. His prepared a traditional dish...