In the wake of the drought and Covid-19 pandemic, while facing loadshedding and climate change, Food Dialogues is reframing our thinking about food through a diverse programme crammed full of interactive events set to light the proverbial braai fire under adults and kids alike.
Here are five experiences at this year’s Food Dialogues that will expand the mind and taste buds:
Whether it’s samoosas, vetkoek or sorghum popcorn, the story behind Cape Town’s multi-faceted food culture and current food reality is in the streets.
This three-hour guided intimate walking tour of the inner city, with local tasting pitstops along the way, offers a meaningful gaze at the city’s history by looking at where and what it eats, placing participants in the vibrant here and now while pondering the future.
Cape Town CBD Food Systems Walking Tour. Wednesday 5 July. Riebeeck Square, CBD.
Food is about so much more than what’s on the plate. At Seven Colours Eatery, Chef Nolu Dube-Cele has created a popular brand incorporating creativity, nostalgia and diversity, with a vision to inspire a more positive South African identity through food.
In a multi-course meal of heartfelt comfort food, Dube-Cele will share her against-all-odds stories (as well as hard-won lessons learned) as a chef and business owner aiming to create a supply chain for her restaurant entirely comprised of Black-owned local small business suppliers.
Chef Nolu and the Business of Dinner. Saturday 8 July, Seven Colours Eatery.
When storytelling meets whisks and wooden spoons, there’s bound to be simultaneous fun and learning. For five to 10-year-olds, Food Dialogues hosts a chef-guided food adventure (with parents along for the ride but in the back seat) that will wake up young palates with the introduction of flavour profiles and ingredient origins, before getting stuck into food prep.
Kids and parents guided food adventure, Sunday 9 July, Makers Landing.
Fine art meets veggies in the vibrant heart of the Langa Cultural Heritage Precinct at 16 on Lerotholi, a unique community gallery and garden space. This indoor-outdoor creative hub and venue will host a special exhibition of food-related art works by South African artists, including Mongezi Gum, Lady Skollie, Ignatius Mekong, Philemon Hlungwani and the late Velaphi Mzimba, among others.
Also on show is Lerotholi’s 2000 square metre food garden of indigenous plants, herbs and vegetables. Wander through this important green resource and educational space, which is being transformed from a site for seasonal, opportunistic food gardening to a place for all to develop their green thumbs and learn about growing healthy food.
Tuesday 4 July, 16 Lerotholi Avenue, Langa.
Baking is the stuff of teen dreams, and no one throws a baking extravaganza for today’s teens better than Jade de Waal of interactive cooking company Food Jams. Along with community school Cooktastic, Jade will lead an afternoon of flour, fermentation, frosting and fun. Teens will learn how to make bread and cake, and how they ended up as staples of our food environments.
Teens food journey - Bread and cake, Sunday 9 July, Makers Landing.
