South Africans are well known for their love of all things food-related. At their most comfortable in the kitchen, food lovers of all ages, genders, and creeds can be found whipping up a storm of culinary delight. A highly competitive nation, we love a challenge, and nothing represents a challenge more than seeing who can make the tastiest versions of Ouma’s bobotie or Oom’s oxtail stew.
This deep-seated appreciation for great food and competitiveness probably stems right back to the days of the Settlers when campfire cooking was the norm and people would share a communal cooking area. Shared recipes, company, and time were their way of socialising and relaxing. Not much has changed. South Africans today still enjoy sharing their clever tips and twists on recipes using our braais and family get-togethers to share our latest variations on braaibroodjies and roosterkoek recipes.Â
However, family cooking has now evolved into greater things. South Africans have taken the bright lights of Masterchef and claimed it for themselves. Our Master chef judges include South African Executive chefs like Andrew Atkinson who’s culinary expertise includes cooking for Nelson Mandela and Queen Elizabeth. It just goes to show we South Africans know our whisks from our spoons!
But, it has to be said that Foodies Of SA is undoubtedly the sweetheart of cooking channels in South Africa. Every South African loves this popular channel that allows South Africans to showcase their ‘foodie creations’. It’s also a great way of keeping the South African community spirit and traditional foods alive.
South Africans can’t get enough of Foodies SA
Foodies SA has taken South African communities across the globe by storm. You can find this popular channel on Foodies of SA Youtube and Foodies of SA Facebook. With over 30 million views on Youtube and a further 1.4 million followers on Facebook, including some local celebrities like Dineo Ranaka and Lorna Maseko, it’s easy to see just how popular this foodie’ channel has become. With hundreds of South African recipes to choose from, this channel is a veritable mix of traditional recipes and tasty, vibrant adaptations of cultural meals. And now Foodies SA has compiled a recipe book called ‘The Most Viral Recipes Ever.’ This super handy book means you can keep these recipes permanently to hand, right next to Ouma’s hand-written koeksister recipe!
It’s bound to become a family heirloom passed down to the next generation of South African foodies! Bursting with fantastic recipes South Africans have shared online, this book is the ‘must have’ of every kitchen. Its creative authors Chantal Botha, Julie Brown, Hayley Murison, and Jon Ratcliffe, are avid foodies with a great passion for food and South African culture. This book is available to buy via Woolworths online; pop one in your basket today.
Foodies of SA recipes
As South Africans, we are never truly happy with one variation of our favourite dish. We are culturally known to be spice happy in the kitchen and are not afraid of experimenting with different flavours and food textures. Taking a recipe and adapting it to suit your tastes is definitely a South African tradition!
Check out our top 3 favourite Foodie SA recipes below.
Top 3 favourite recipes
- Pap in a Pumpkin (Pap in Pampoen)
This recipe combines two favourite South African Foods. Mieliepap and Pampoen, creating a mouth-watering fusion of flavours. The Pampoen is kept whole and hollowed out and then literally stuffed with a mielie pap filling. The filling contains a delicious sauce made of onion, green pepper, garlic, and ginger. Topped with bacon bits and mozzarella cheese, the whole Pampoen is put onto the weber to cook before slicing and serving as either a main meal or a side dish. Now that’s one-pot cooking on an advanced level!
- Loaded Boerie Vetkoek Burger
Vetkoek is an all-time favourite in South African households no matter where you live in the world. This traditional fried dough bread has been upskilled to burger status using traditional boerewors as the burger pattie and loaded with a gorgeous tomato and onion relish. Heaped with cheese and served with ‘slap’ chips, this traditional ingredient-filled recipe is the new kid on the foodie block.
- Dessert Roosterkoek
Traditionally this South African bread is cooked on the braai grid and eaten with butter. However, this recipe has taken the roosterkoek and given it a whole new face-lift. When preparing the dough balls for the roosterkoek, melted chocolate, cream and marshmallows are added to the centers. The Roosterkoek is then rolled up, sealed, and dusted with flour before being cooked on the braai grid until brown and crispy. It’s a little piece of carb and chocolate heaven.
Foodies of SA focus on promoting South Africans’ diverse cultures and traditions through their love of great food. With a sense of community needed now more than ever with the global pandemic and loved ones separated across the globe, this channel is vital in keeping our South African traditions of family alive. And as the Foodies of SA say, ‘Food means family. It means friends. And it means memories, and that’s what it’s all about, right?!’
Now that’s taking ‘Local is Lekker’ to a whole new level!
Choose a ‘Local is Lekker’ emigration service – choose FinGlobal
While there are many emigration assistance companies out there all claiming to be the best, we at FinGlobal know we are. We’re a local service provider taking the confusion and stress out of tax and financial emigration, retirement annuity acquisition and FOREX when emigrating. We understand that your head is spinning with all the things to do and we cannot stress enough how important it is to ensure that your tax and finances are in order when exiting the country. To discuss your unique needs with our team, simply get in touch with us. Give us a call on +27 28 312 2764 or send us an email at info@finglobal.com, and we will assist you promptly.