Food, like sport, can help SA unite
With many people dressing in green and gold on Fridays to support the Springboks, I’m reminded of something else that can unite South Africans.
Food. It’s probabably one of the first words a child learns and is one of the most essential components of survival. It can also bring the most unlikely people together.
When I think back on my memories of food, my mind goes back to lunches at my materal grandparents’ home in Carolina. The table was always laden with some kind of roast, peas coated with onions and melted cheese, an array of other vegetables and salads and, of course, the 5 litre tub of vanilla ice cream for dessert.
My late grandfather loved ice cream. And he always found excuses to have a bowl of the frozen treat…to the delight of any nearby grandchildren.
One of my fondest memories of him involved him feeding their pet cat some ice cream.
Christmas lunches have also featured some of the more interesting dishes I’ve ever tasted, like a very delicious chicken-bacon-mushroom-puff pastry-roll, variations of the traditional trifle and even paella (mouth-watering but strange as a Christmas main).
But the thing that is clearest in my mind in all the different memories is that we all sat around the table and talked…mostly until the last slowpoke had scraped their plate or bowl clean. Family feuds, issues we had with each other, problems, it all just seemed to disappear and we’d spend a resonably peaceful hour in each other’s company.
Although sport is mostly used as a mechanism to get South Africans to unite behind a cause, I believe food can have an equally profound effect. Just look at Jan Braai’s highly popular ‘Braai Day’, also celebrated on Heritage Day (September 24).
Plan a dinner party or event involving food and you will find South Africans from all ages and races having the most interesting conversations around the table. (I’m reminded of Come Dine With Me SA.)
If policitians or two feuding parties sat at the same table for a while, I’m sure a lot of conflicts could be settled more peacefully. Even just sharing a sandwich with a friend or colleague could have a huge impact on your relationship.
Think on it a bit and try sharing some food with a stranger or that colleague you don’t know all that well or leave a treat or some candy on the desk of someone you’ve had all falling out. It could be the start of a life-long friendship or the perfect apology.
