Reuben Riffel’s Tale
To be a chef in the world today is quite exciting, to be a chef in South Africa is even more so. So many new things are happening, and many more people are experimenting. This allows chefs like me to expand our creativity. In South Africa, we are at the beginning of a boom when it comes to the restaurant scene. More chefs are opening there own restaurants and creating menus reflective of their own styles and personalities. They are cooking what they want to cook, instead of what they have to cook.
This boom is transferring to the rest of the industry. I now deal directly with producers and am observing that more and more people are cultivating herbs, vegetables and fruits and rearing livestock according to our specifications...
Anita Lo’s Tale
"Going Green," eating locally, and sustainable agriculture are very hot concepts in the food world today, and as a working chef in New York, I try to employ these ideas in my daily life. This past spring when I traveled to South Africa I witnessed all three of these concepts in action. It was a five day whirlwind tour with the founders of a culinary travel company called Tour de Forks. We were on a research and development mission to source great restaurants, vineyards, farms and hotels to feature on a future guided trip we will lead.
South Africa's history is rich and diverse, and their food and wine culture is a microcosm reflecting centuries of intermingling ethnicities and flavors. There is seamless and fantastical blending of spices, techniques, and cuisines...
Marcus Samuelsson’s Tale
I landed at OR Tambo International Airport outside Johannesburg on a Saturday afternoon for the start of a whirlwind tour of South Africa. I was there to experience the rich culinary tradition of South Africa, which includes some of the world’s best food, wine and genuine hospitality. As I began my trip, I reflected on the special place South Africa has in my heart… I was born in Ethiopia and adopted by a Swedish couple, and so I am a citizen of the world but also a son of African soil.
My first stop was surprisingly familiar. Abyssinia in Kensington, an Ethiopian restaurant, is a reflection of the incredible culinary diversity of South Africa. Epicurean entrepreneurs from across the African continent come there...
Colin Cowie’s Tale
They say that life’s not about how many moments you breathe, but how many moments take your breath away. As I watched the sun set over Johannesburg’s lush forested skyline, I had no idea how many breathtaking moments I’d experience over the next ten days, on this whirlwind tour of some of South Africa’s most exceptional locations. I was born in Zambia and raised in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa, and so this was home for me. Yet once again I realized how much more there is to explore right in my own backyard...
But let’s start at the beginning. It was on a balmy Saturday evening at Johannesburg’s Westcliff Hotel, at the invitation of South African Tourism, when I found myself in the company of a small group of impressive individuals...