Local chef preserves African cuisine through his cooking
This heritage month we catch up with local self thought chef on importance of preserving heritage food culture.
Thalwukanyo Tshisonga preserves culinary heritage and his Venda culture through cooking and serving African cuisine in the Germiston CBD.
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Born in Venda, Thalwukanyo grew up among boys.
He quickly found his way to the kitchen to look after his siblings.
Little did he know that one day life would lead him to cooking up a storm and feeding people, one dish at a time.
The self-taught chef cooks and serves customers in the Germiston CBD in hopes of preserving African dishes.
“The identification and safeguarding of food heritage is slowly being embraced around the country.
“Chefs and home cooks are making it fashionable to cook indigenous food again,” said Thalwukanyo.
“By preserving and safeguarding our dishes, I hope to protect traditional dishes and practices because of the value they add to our culture as South Africans,” said Thalwukanyo.
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He believes that in a city where there is a diversity of African and European ethnic groups, food can help people to find a common ground.
“Keeping South African culinary culture is the only thing that can propel us forward. In my culture it is believed that food is the healer of all pains.
“To get someone to talk, you first feed them. When someone visits, the first thing we offer is food and a glass of water,” he said.
“Hunger causes anger and frustration. Someone who just had a meal is more less likely to be aggressive, hence beer has to go along with food,” said Thalwukanyo.
“We cannot only learn about our roots from museums and Google. We need to make food a living legacy,” he said.
“We need to respect our food culture by telling its story, documenting it through books and making food to create that appreciation for it.”
“Our African recipes keep getting diluted. We are loosing the base of our culture,” added Thalwukanyo.
“People are reminded of where they come from when they eat my food. They buy mopane worms (matomani, masonja, mashonzha, amasonja) which reminds them of home – the villages,” said Thalwukanyo.
