The 1860 Heritage Centre in Durban will celebrate Heritage Month with a Heritage Food Festival on Saturday, September 12, bringing together traditional food, music, storytelling and heritage experiences.
The festival will run from 9am to 4pm in Derby Street and will feature food stalls, cooking demonstrations, live radio broadcasts, entertainment and tours of the heritage centre.
Tours of the centre will take place from 9am to 11am, while a garden tour at noon will give visitors an opportunity to explore the heritage garden.
Director of the 1860 Heritage Centre, Selvan Naidoo, said the event offered families an opportunity to experience South African heritage through food and culture.
“Cooking and sharing food brings people together in every culture. It is a tribute to heritage,” said Naidoo.
The festival was first launched in 2022 and has grown over the years, with heritage tours now forming part of the programme.
Food stalls will open at 11am, with vendors serving a selection of traditional favourites, including pulisadam, khichdi, mutton biryani, fish curry with rice or pap, sour porridge with pumpkin, cabbage and mixed curry, dry fish chutney with mielie rice, tinfish with roti and rasam.
Naidoo said many of the dishes have their roots in the history of indenture.
“It is traditional meals, some dating back to indenture. There will be food cooked on open fire, as well as traditional Cape Malay koeksisters, adding diversity to the festival,” he said.
The festival will also place a modern spin on traditional cooking, with chefs demonstrating ways of preparing heritage dishes using healthier ingredients and innovative techniques.
Chef Thigam Nathoo will prepare savoury banana fritters, while Solina Naidoo will incorporate lentils into her mutton curry.
The cooking demonstrations will take place from 2pm.
Entertainment will begin earlier in the day, with musician Risa Raeanne Moodley performing from 12.30pm to 2pm.
Visitors will also have the chance to win an air fryer in a raffle.
The 1860 Heritage Centre is a South African heritage museum that showcases the diversity of South Africa's rich heritage.
Among the exhibitions housed at the Centre is the “The Story of Indenture 1860 -1911”, MGL wing: #MandelaGandhiLuthuli, and CURRIES: a living legacy of Sport, Identity and Politics.
Naidoo said the festival was intended to be a fun family day while encouraging visitors to engage with South African heritage in a meaningful way.
Entry to the festival costs R30.
taschica.pillay@nationalmg.co.za