I was born to live here
This epiphany came to me late one afternoon after receiving one of those let’s-get-to-know-each-other-better emails where you get asked 101 questions about your favourite food, movies, hobbies, loo habits and much more.
When I had to enter my favourite foods, I really wanted to impress with dishes like Crêpe Suzette’s, Lobster Thermidor and Escargot. This will make me seem more normal, I thought. And normal is good. But the small little voice of conviction kept on prompting, urging… Yeah, okay, dammit!
I’ll choose pap and braaivleis. And real boerekos. Any day. There you have it! Fancy food just doesn’t tickle my taste buds. Give me Vetkoek, Boerebeskuit, Potjiekos, Samoosas, Melkkos, Durban curries, Koeksisters and Milk tart. Any day.
If I had to live anywhere but here, I would get seriously homesick for real food. It has dawned upon me that I was born to live in South Africa. I don’t want to be fancy; I just want to be free to be me. And I love plain ‘ol South African cooking!