The diverse roots of South African cuisine.
Euphoria Snax
I LOVE being GDM’s food consultant. It’s only just 2026 and already I know I’m the luckiest food writer in the world.
Every issue is a tick on my bucket list of foodie wonders and my latest adventures in South Africa have been a culinary wonder. While there are no restaurants in South Africa currently awarded a Michelin star- the inspectors do not currently operate within the country – I’ve discovered many world-class fine-dining establishments, and several South African chefs have earned Michelin stars at their restaurants overseas.
Top of the list is Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen who was the first South African to earn a Michelin star at his restaurant JAN in Nice France. Other chefs with international, starred experience include Jean Delport, Conor Toomey, and Hylton Espey.
However, it’s the diverse range of “rainbow cuisine” blending indigenous African, European and Asian traditions that fascinates me most. Developed over centuries, it combines Khoisan foraging and hunting, Bantu agriculture, and colonial influences from the Dutch, French, British and Southeast Asian slaves all in one amazing melting pot.
It seems to me that South African cuisine is heavily based on meat consumption. A widely observed culinary tradition is braai, a social event in which South Africans gather to cook meat over an open fire. A popular South African snack is biltong, a dried, spiced meat.
Every issue is a tick on my bucket list of foodie wonders and my latest adventures in South Africa have been a culinary wonder. While there are no restaurants in South Africa currently awarded a Michelin star- the inspectors do not currently operate within the country – I’ve discovered many world-class fine-dining establishments, and several South African chefs have earned Michelin stars at their restaurants overseas.
Top of the list is Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen who was the first South African to earn a Michelin star at his restaurant JAN in Nice France. Other chefs with international, starred experience include Jean Delport, Conor Toomey, and Hylton Espey.
However, it’s the diverse range of “rainbow cuisine” blending indigenous African, European and Asian traditions that fascinates me most. Developed over centuries, it combines Khoisan foraging and hunting, Bantu agriculture, and colonial influences from the Dutch, French, British and Southeast Asian slaves all in one amazing melting pot.
It seems to me that South African cuisine is heavily based on meat consumption. A widely observed culinary tradition is braai, a social event in which South Africans gather to cook meat over an open fire. A popular South African snack is biltong, a dried, spiced meat.
San foragers.
The history begins with the San peoples; hunter-gatherers, who mostly depended on foods like tortoises, crayfish, coconuts, and squash. Agriculture was introduced to South Africa by the Bantu peoples, who continue in the cultivation of grain, starch fruit and root tubers — in the manner of maize, squash, and sweet potatoes, following their introduction in the Columbian exchange, displacing the production of many Old-World food crops. Mabele (red sorghum) and madumbe (cocoyam, taro, or arrowroot) also continue to be widely cultivated.
By the 17th century, Dutch and British foodways, introduced through European immigration, contributed to further culinary diffusion. The Cape Malay community founded a distinctive diasporic cuisine, derived largely from Southeast Asian culinary traditions, while Afrikaner voortrekkers further inland adapted Dutch, Khoisan, Cape Malay, and Bantu foodways to accommodate their peripatetic lifestyle. In addition, French Huguenot refugees, many of whom settled in Franschhoek, played an instrumental role in developing South Africa's viticultural industry.
During the period of British colonial rule, immigrants from Asia, many of whom arrived as indentured labourers in the 19th century, further enriched South Africa's culinary repertoire. In particular, Indian South Africans introduced a wealth of spices, seasonings, and dishes, historically associated with KwaZulu-Natal. However, Indian cuisine is now widely available across South Africa and consumed by all ethnic groups.
By the 17th century, Dutch and British foodways, introduced through European immigration, contributed to further culinary diffusion. The Cape Malay community founded a distinctive diasporic cuisine, derived largely from Southeast Asian culinary traditions, while Afrikaner voortrekkers further inland adapted Dutch, Khoisan, Cape Malay, and Bantu foodways to accommodate their peripatetic lifestyle. In addition, French Huguenot refugees, many of whom settled in Franschhoek, played an instrumental role in developing South Africa's viticultural industry.
During the period of British colonial rule, immigrants from Asia, many of whom arrived as indentured labourers in the 19th century, further enriched South Africa's culinary repertoire. In particular, Indian South Africans introduced a wealth of spices, seasonings, and dishes, historically associated with KwaZulu-Natal. However, Indian cuisine is now widely available across South Africa and consumed by all ethnic groups.
The 'rainbow' cuisine of South Africa.
We’ve all learned about the disinvestments and sanctions imposed on South Africa during apartheid and it stifled the country's culinary output. At this time, shebeens (in South Africa it’s an informal licensed drinking place in a township), became very popular and often served as non-formal community centres, especially for black South Africans who maintained their cultural and culinary traditions.
Thankfully, following the end of apartheid, South African cuisine witnessed a renaissance, with diverse culinary options available in most of the country's major cities catering to tourists, expatriates, and residents. In addition, South African ingredients and dishes have attained greater visibility worldwide, owing to the burgeoning South African diaspora.
Beer has been an essential beverage in South Africa for hundreds of years, among indigenous peoples long before colonisation and the arrival of Europeans, who brought their own beer-drinking traditions. Traditional beer was brewed from local grains, especially sorghum. Beer was so prized that it became central to many ceremonies, such as betrothals and weddings, in which one family ceremoniously offered beer to the other.
Today, most urban dwellers buy beer manufactured by industrial breweries that make beer that is like beer one would buy in Europe and America, but rural people and recent immigrants to the city still enjoy the cloudy, unfiltered traditional beer.
Thankfully, following the end of apartheid, South African cuisine witnessed a renaissance, with diverse culinary options available in most of the country's major cities catering to tourists, expatriates, and residents. In addition, South African ingredients and dishes have attained greater visibility worldwide, owing to the burgeoning South African diaspora.
Beer has been an essential beverage in South Africa for hundreds of years, among indigenous peoples long before colonisation and the arrival of Europeans, who brought their own beer-drinking traditions. Traditional beer was brewed from local grains, especially sorghum. Beer was so prized that it became central to many ceremonies, such as betrothals and weddings, in which one family ceremoniously offered beer to the other.
Today, most urban dwellers buy beer manufactured by industrial breweries that make beer that is like beer one would buy in Europe and America, but rural people and recent immigrants to the city still enjoy the cloudy, unfiltered traditional beer.
Comparable to an American or western European diet, milk and milk products are very prominent in the traditional Black South African diet. As cows were considered extremely desirable domestic animals in precolonial times, milk was abundant. In the absence of refrigeration, various kinds of soured milk, somewhat like yogurt, were a dietary mainstay. A visitor to any African village in the 1800s would have been offered a large calabash of cool fermented milk as a greeting.
In the precolonial period, indigenous cuisine was characterised by the use of a very wide range of foods including fruits, nuts, bulbs, leaves and other products gathered from wild plants and by the hunting of wild game. The introduction of domestic cattle and grain crops by Bantu speakers who arrived in the southern regions from north-east Africa since 200 AD and the spread of cattle keeping to Khoisan groups enabled products and the availability of fresh meat on demand.
People also kept sheep and goats, and communities often organised vast hunts for the abundant game, but beef was considered the most important and high-status meat. The ribs of any cattle that were slaughtered in many communities were so prized that they were offered to the chief of the village.
Vegetables used are often some sort of pumpkin, varieties of which are indigenous to South Africa, although now many people eat pumpkins that originated in other countries. Rice and beans are also very popular although they are not indigenous. Another common vegetable dish, which arrived in South Africa with its many Irish immigrants, but which has been adopted by South Africans, is shredded cabbage and white potatoes cooked with butter.
In the precolonial period, indigenous cuisine was characterised by the use of a very wide range of foods including fruits, nuts, bulbs, leaves and other products gathered from wild plants and by the hunting of wild game. The introduction of domestic cattle and grain crops by Bantu speakers who arrived in the southern regions from north-east Africa since 200 AD and the spread of cattle keeping to Khoisan groups enabled products and the availability of fresh meat on demand.
People also kept sheep and goats, and communities often organised vast hunts for the abundant game, but beef was considered the most important and high-status meat. The ribs of any cattle that were slaughtered in many communities were so prized that they were offered to the chief of the village.
Vegetables used are often some sort of pumpkin, varieties of which are indigenous to South Africa, although now many people eat pumpkins that originated in other countries. Rice and beans are also very popular although they are not indigenous. Another common vegetable dish, which arrived in South Africa with its many Irish immigrants, but which has been adopted by South Africans, is shredded cabbage and white potatoes cooked with butter.
Bobotie
South Africa was a colony of the British Empire and thus has strong influences from United Kingdom. As British people settled in South Africa, they brought their cuisine, which influenced South African cuisine.
Sunday roast is as popular in South Africa as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand where there are influences from the UK. In South Africa, Yorkshire pudding is replaced by gravy sauce and rice.
A very distinctive regional style of South African cooking is often referred to as "Cape Dutch". This cuisine is characterised mainly by the usage of spices such as nutmeg, allspice and chili peppers. The Cape Dutch cookery style owes at least as much to the cookery of the slaves brought by the Dutch East India Company to the Cape from Bengal, Java and Malaysia as it does to the European styles of cookery imported by settlers from the Netherlands, and this is reflected in the use of eastern spices and the names given to many of these dishes.
The Cape Malay influence has brought spicy curries, sambals, pickled fish, and a variety of fish stews.
Bobotie is a famous South African dish that has Cape Malay origins. It consists of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. We featured this recipe in our last edition and you can find it in our Previous Recipes section. Of the many dishes common to South Africa, bobotie is perhaps closest to being the national dish, because it is not commonly found in any other country. The recipe originates from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia, with the name derived from the Indonesian bobotok. It is also made with curry powder, leaving it with a slight tang. It is often served with sambal, a hint of its origins from the Malay Archipelago.
Other influences were created by French Huguenot refugees who brought wines as well as their traditional recipes from France, Indian indentured labourers and now restaurants throughout South Africa include Moroccan, Chinese, West African, Congolese, and Japanese cuisines.
The list (and spelling!) of foods and dishes are impossible to include in my South African journey, but as always, I hope I’ve whetted your appetite just enough to encourage your own exploration of this fascinating country!
To get you started, we’ve published some very special recipes to try for yourself. You can find them HERE.
Sunday roast is as popular in South Africa as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand where there are influences from the UK. In South Africa, Yorkshire pudding is replaced by gravy sauce and rice.
A very distinctive regional style of South African cooking is often referred to as "Cape Dutch". This cuisine is characterised mainly by the usage of spices such as nutmeg, allspice and chili peppers. The Cape Dutch cookery style owes at least as much to the cookery of the slaves brought by the Dutch East India Company to the Cape from Bengal, Java and Malaysia as it does to the European styles of cookery imported by settlers from the Netherlands, and this is reflected in the use of eastern spices and the names given to many of these dishes.
The Cape Malay influence has brought spicy curries, sambals, pickled fish, and a variety of fish stews.
Bobotie is a famous South African dish that has Cape Malay origins. It consists of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. We featured this recipe in our last edition and you can find it in our Previous Recipes section. Of the many dishes common to South Africa, bobotie is perhaps closest to being the national dish, because it is not commonly found in any other country. The recipe originates from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia, with the name derived from the Indonesian bobotok. It is also made with curry powder, leaving it with a slight tang. It is often served with sambal, a hint of its origins from the Malay Archipelago.
Other influences were created by French Huguenot refugees who brought wines as well as their traditional recipes from France, Indian indentured labourers and now restaurants throughout South Africa include Moroccan, Chinese, West African, Congolese, and Japanese cuisines.
The list (and spelling!) of foods and dishes are impossible to include in my South African journey, but as always, I hope I’ve whetted your appetite just enough to encourage your own exploration of this fascinating country!
To get you started, we’ve published some very special recipes to try for yourself. You can find them HERE.
