More than recipes: The SA chefs cooking up identity, memory and home

There was a time when South African food was something travellers discovered once they landed in the country.

Now, it is travelling the world through cookbooks.

A new wave of local authors is proving that South African cuisine deserves a place alongside the world's best-known food traditions.

Their books celebrate indigenous ingredients, family recipes and regional flavours while preserving stories that have been passed from one generation to the next.

Leading the movement is chef Nokx Majozi, whose debut cookbook has become one of the year's standout releases.

A love letter to South African food

For London-based and Durban-born Majozi, “The South African Cookbook” began with a simple question. Why was it so difficult to find a cookbook dedicated to South African food overseas?

"I want the world to be able to know about South African food, our culture and our diversity, and this is why I got inspired to write this South African cookbook," Majozi said.

The result is a collection of 90 recipes that celebrate the country's food heritage while showing readers that familiar ingredients can be transformed into memorable dishes.

From lamb bunny chow and Durban curried mussels to samp and beans, bobotie, Cape Malay chicken curry and melktert, the recipes tell the story of a country whose food is shaped by many cultures.

Even amagwinya, one of South Africa's best-loved street foods, is given fresh treatment while remaining true to its roots.

For Majozi, the phrase "From Cape Town to Durban" reflects more than geography. It represents the journey that inspired the book.

"I realised that you can go abroad, but actually we have a lot of restaurants and a lot of chefs in Cape Town that you can learn from before you go overseas," she said.

Writing her first cookbook became an emotional experience because it allowed her to revisit the meals that shaped her childhood.

"It is a pure joy to write about the food from my childhood and share with the world what South African food is. This is the beginning, and I am sure there will be more chefs and authors writing about South African food."

More than recipes

One thing links many of this year's cookbooks. They are not simply collections of recipes. They are stories about identity, memory and home.

Every dish carries the history of the people who cooked it before. Every spice blend, bread recipe and family meal becomes part of a larger cultural story.

That idea runs throughout “Madame Curry: Feast Pray Love” by Yudhika Sujanani.

The cookbook celebrates South African Indian cuisine through almost 80 recipes divided into three chapters titled Feast, Pray and Love. Together they capture celebration meals, vegetarian dishes prepared for religious occasions and the comforting food that fills everyday family kitchens.

For Sujanani, writing the book changed how she viewed her own cooking.

"Every recipe carried a story, a memory or the imprint of someone who came before me." She realised that many traditional dishes were quietly disappearing from family tables.

"This book became more than a collection of recipes. It became an act of preservation." The author said she never cooks for appearances.

"I cook from memory, comfort, generosity and love."

A mother's lasting influence

Another deeply personal release comes from food creator Onezwa Mbola.

“A Food Love Story” began as a thank you to her late mother before becoming something much bigger. It honours the Eastern Cape community that raised her and celebrates the ingredients that have always been close to home.

The book follows her journey from her mother's kitchen in a small coastal village to international travel before bringing readers back to the flavours that first inspired her.

It features more than 80 recipes using seasonal produce and homegrown ingredients, including mat buns, steamed dumplings, homemade custard and granadilla cake.

For Mbola, every page is personal.

"I can't begin to describe the emotions I'm feeling. This isn't just a cookbook. It's one of the most important things I'll ever do to honour my mom's memory."

Her approach reminds readers that some of the most meaningful recipes are not found in restaurants but around family tables where techniques and traditions are passed down through conversation and practice.

Food as identity

Naqiyah Mayat continues that conversation in “The Journey”.

Known for sharing recipes online, Mayat combines traditional Indian cooking with modern South African life. Her cookbook includes comforting dishes such as mutton korma and chicken kathi rolls alongside practical baking techniques and pastry recipes.

The recipes reflect generations of knowledge while making them accessible to today's home cooks.

For Mayat, food reaches far beyond the kitchen.

"Food is identity. It's a memory. It's heritage. It's healing."

She believes that her growing community helped shape the book.

"People connected over dishes passed down through generations. They shared stories of grandmothers and family traditions."

Those experiences reinforced one important lesson.

"A cookbook isn't just instructions. It's testimony."

lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za

THE NATIONAL