From Cape Malay cuisine to traditional Afrikaans and Zulu dishes …. Warren Mendes shows off SA’s vibrant flavours and diverse dishes.
“My earliest memories of food don’t actually involve dishes, they involve people,” says Warren Mendes. “Memories of Mum crafting an endless banquet for family and friends and Dad proudly manning the braai.” It was after he and his family left Sandton in South Africa, moving to Australia, that food became a great way ‘to hold onto our roots, to quell the moments of homesickness and bond us together during early solitary holiday moments’. After school, Warren studied accounting and economics, but realising food was his passion, applied for cooking school at Le Cordon Bleu, training in Sydney, Paris and London. Then there was a jump from freelancer to food editor of Delicious magazine, as well as writing recipes, styling food, creating content and collaborating with foodies like Matt Preston. And then, after a serendipitous conversation on the back of an open-air safari vehicle in Kruger while on a media jaunt, came the dream of The Food Trail South Africa … which turned into a ten-part series showcasing the food of South Africa. During the second season, he decided on creating a book too … a collection of dishes that pull at the heartstrings of South Africans wherever they are in the world. “When I take my first bite of a silky slice of milk tart, I am suddenly standing at my favourite bakery in Johannesburg as a child,” he says. The book opens with his favourite recipes … bobotie, bunny chow, koeksisters, and then it’s just page after magnificently illustrated page of Joburg tempura and Durban fattoush and Kalahari pistachio and honey tart, samp and mushroom risotto, pampoenkoekies with salted caramel. Sublime photographs taken while filming complete the appeal.
