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EDITOR'S CHOICE
‘Garden detention’ sparks learners’ interest in food gardening
At the foot of the scenic Tsitsikamma Mountains in the Eastern Cape, learners at Johan Hus Primary School intentionally misbehave to work in their...
Money, land is no excuse, says chicken farmer
About 30-minutes east of Pretoria sits the town of Cullinan, renowned for the discovery of the largest rough gem diamond in 1905. However, that...
Mzansi’s mopani queen has given the worms a complete facelift
Mzansi has a new queen and she’s on a mission to put mopani worms back on the map and onto South African dinner plates....
Farmers must help fix huge inequalities in SA – Agri SA
Agri SA president Dan Kriek has urged the country’s farmers to play their part in fixing the huge inequalities in South Africa. In a...
From traffic officer to successful game farmer
Just like his favourite animal – the sable antelope, which he describes as humble – Xolile Dasheka also had humble beginnings. The only thing...
Motsepe announces multi-billion rand fund for black farmers
Billionaire businessman Dr Patrice Motsepe says there are high-level discussions with, amongst others, the Motsepe Foundation and banks to launch a multi-billion rand fund...
Mzansi’s first biodegradable cup with agricultural roots
As an industrial design student at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Luvuyo Ndiki was told by one of his lecturers that people like...
Magazine legend Dorah Sitole is still cooking
“I cook to keep our food culture alive,” says 66-year-old Dorah Sitole. The former editor of True Love magazine believes her food will perish...
Farmer finally picking the fruits of his labour
Pruning fruit trees is an art and a science, and Charles Pietersen is the artist and barefoot scientist. He spent the past 40 years...
From maid to professional cook
Fikile Zungu says “it’s only by grace of God” that she went from working as a maid for 10 years to a cook. “Pinch...
RECIPE: Healthy Banting Oxtail
For most of her life, 39-year-old Fikile Zungu worked as a maid. This reality however changed when she moved to Belgium to live with...
Agri-worker goes from retrenchment to award-winning entrepreneur
When Eugene Simons was retrenched in 2004, along with her husband who worked at the same organic farm, all she thought about was her...
LIFESTYLE
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,...
Spiritual healer now champions traditional Khoe plants
There’s a river which runs through Zuurbraak, a little village just outside Swellendam in the Western Cape. The river has its source in the...
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...
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...
Nompilo Mathe may not be a pro, but she reigns in...
Nompilo Mathe is not a professional chef, but she reigns in the kitchen. Known as the queen of cooking on social media, she plans...
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 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...
Former waitress becomes a successful chef
Unaty Daniel has chased a number of careers, but in the end it was food and cooking that stole her heart. The 37-year-old from...
Chef Liziwe Matloha shares her recipe for success
Chef Liziwe Matloha’s desire to be the best in everything she does is her recipe for success. This drive has served her well, leading...
The rise (and rise!) of Mzansi’s craft beer movement
Five years ago, the term “craft beer” could easily have been mistaken for a swear word or an upper-class sangoma’s attempt at making ginger beer. Since...
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...
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...
Chef Mario promises the ultimate insect experience
The moment you find a fly in your food, you immediately throw it out in disgust. If you’re in a restaurant, you call the...
Young cook chasing her culinary and teaching dreams
Nothing can stop the fiery determination of Kamogelo Maleka. The 24-year-old has her eyes dead set on achieving both her culinary and teaching dreams....
You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted Thembeka’s chicken wings
There are many ways to communicate, and cooking is one of them, says Thembeka Sibanyoni the 28-year-old star of Tee’s Cooking Addiction, a leading...
Chef Funi succeeds despite his many naysayers
When Lufuno “Funi” Sinthumule pursued a career as a chef, many believed that he would not succeed. But he proved them all wrong. He...
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...
Wild camels a godsend for drought-stricken Kalahari farmer
A caravan of wild camels once used by the mounted police to patrol the Kalahari region in the 1950’s was a sheep farmer’s answer...
Japan gives Mzansi’s Rooibos their nod of approval
It is an understatement to say that Japanese folk love to drink tea. For them, it is more than just a hot drink. Mingwei...
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...
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...
Now the Chinese are going gaga for African foods
When he first set foot off the plane, a young Chinese boy approached him. The boy wanted to rub his finger against him to...
‘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...
Five fab herbs and how to use them
The importance of herbs in the diet is never emphasised enough. Herbs are not just pretty green sprinkles that make food taste good, they’re jam-packed...
From waiter to celebrity chef
Pete Goffe-Wood, widely known as Mzansi’s Kitchen Cowboy, started his brilliantly crafted career as a waiter 33 years ago and never looked back.
Today the...
Former MasterChef contestant finds peace in the kitchen
As a young girl, Khayakazi Kepe (35) started “cooking” during play time with her friends. Back then, she had no idea that she would...
LesDaChef: Big man in the kitchen
Lesego Semenya (37) can easily be mistaken for a wrestler or rugby player with his buff physique. But the only thing this chef is...
HIGHLIGHTS
From wine beer to Japanese rice wine, ProWein is a local...
So, there I was, on my way to Düsseldorf in Germany for the 25th edition of the ProWein trade fair, trying my best to...
RECIPE: Koketso Khule’s Samp and Beans
Geography educator and cook Koketso Khule uses VAT-Free items almost daily in his cooking. As a student he regularly used VAT-exempt products as they...
10 Ways to Eat Organic on a budget
Choosing to buy organic can seem out of reach for most people, but this is not always the case. If you haven’t made a...
Can a South African feast on fried snakes on a stick?
Lindsay Jefthas is a mathematics teacher who lives and works in Beijing, China. After graduating university with a bachelor’s degree in education he taught...
‘Humble spud can go a long way to improve food security’
Born with green fingers and a twin brother, Louis Pretorius (61) fondly reminisces growing vegetables at the budding age of eight. He produced pumpkins...
Tree farm manager gives agriculture his undivided attention
12 years ago, a bus traveling from Zimbabwe to Cape Town arrived in Bellville at around 07h45 in the morning. On this bus was...
#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...
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...
‘Treevolution’ has started across Sub-Saharan Africa
Imagine a world where green spaces and green living is popular and accessible to everyone. That is exactly what Greenpop envisions, and this Western...
From ‘dispatch guy’ to director after chance convo
Meet Themba Kumatana. Less than a decade ago he was a trolley-pushing “dispatch guy” on a wine farm. Now he is the co-owner of...
‘Let us all grow big,’ says Jozi’s first Nigerian farmer
Edward Wisdom (48) is originally from the southeast of Nigeria. Since coming to South Africa in 1994 he has carved out a niche for...
Memories of my late mother in the month of May
It’s the month of May. The month of labour. The last month of autumn. The first month after the Easter holidays. The month of...
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...
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...
Agri-preneur changes lives through organic veggies
Solly Tladi dodged a bullet. Literally. As a young law student at the University of Limpopo an assassin was sent to put a bullet...
Urban food gardener is aiming for #NewLevels
Ask farm manager Thabang Makoloi if he always had an interest in farming, and he’ll say: “The only thing that interested me growing up was soccer and nothing else. I think I was tricked into falling...
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...
Farming is a woman’s world, after all
Alfreda Mars (50) fulfilled her father's legacy by running her own flourishing farm in the Swartland region of the Western Cape. All she knew...
RECIPE: Lamb Potjie
Methoa Zitha may not be a qualified chef yet, but he is already rubbing shoulders with one of Mzansi’s award-winning culinarians, David Higgs. His...
Successful herb farmer knows no boundaries
Nestled between the slopes of the Simonsberg mountain in Stellenbosch and the Haweqwa Nature Reserve next to Groenberg, you’ll find the ever busy agripreneur...
Social entrepreneur brings hope for Limpopo youth
When Mosa Hope Mapheto came face to face with the socio-economic issues burdening her community, she was determined to find solutions. The 26-year-old social...
‘I was destined for this,’ believes aspiring dairy farmer
Kireshni Naiker believes to prosper in life, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets. This aspiring dairy farmer...
Siphokazi’s hard work transforms her into a well-known cook
The life of Siphokazi Mdlankomo is a testament to those who believe you are never too old to reach your goals. In 2014 her...
Nutrition tips for women’s health
South African women today fulfil multiple roles in society as mothers, wives, caregivers, businesswomen, and those with the instinct to nurture, it comes as...
Businessman turned farmer is building generational wealth
Tsabello Mapupa (46) watches his livestock with disbelief as it comes out of the kraal. “l can’t believe these are mine. I wake up...
KZN child herders now play key role in livestock and animal...
For the past 44 years Mdukatshani, a non-profit organisation, has been working with women and youth in Weenen and Msinga in KwaZulu-Natal. In these...
Methoa Zitha wears his love for food on his sleeve
He is not a qualified chef, but Methoa Zitha wears his love for food on his sleeve. Zitha’s willpower to move past the circumstances...