Long before tasting menus and immersive dining dominated South Africa's restaurant scene, families were already gathering around tables loaded with pumpkin, beetroot, roast meat, and chakalaka.
Known simply as "seven colours", this cherished Sunday tradition transformed simple home cooking into a weekly celebration of culture, family, and shared memory.
Today, modern chefs are elevating the iconic feast from home kitchens to restaurant menus, proving that South Africa's most soul-satisfying dining experience has always been right on our own plates.
Chefs are giving the classic spread a modern touch while preserving the stories that have made it one of South Africa's most recognisable meals.
For many, seven colours is no longer just comfort food. It has become a celebration of culture, family and identity.
More than a Sunday lunch
The name seven colours comes from the colourful collection of dishes served on one plate. While every household has its own version, the meal usually includes a roast or fried meat, rice or another starch and a variety of vegetables such as pumpkin, beetroot, cabbage, spinach and salads.
The meal has long been associated with Sunday gatherings, where generations would come together after church to share food prepared over several hours.
Award-winning chef Nolukhanyo Dube-Cele believes those memories are central to the meal's growing popularity.
“One of my fondest childhood memories is of Sunday mornings before going to church, feeling hungry and already smelling the food being prepared for lunch,” she said.
“The spicy, fatty and sweet aromas would torment me as I waited for what felt like hours for my mom to serve lunch.”
She recalled family tables filled with potato salad, pickled beetroot, fried chicken, vegetable rice and chakalaka, dishes that transformed an ordinary Sunday into something worth looking forward to.
Today, those memories live on at Seven Colours Eatery at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, where Dube-Cele has built a restaurant around the flavours she grew up with while honouring the women who first perfected them.
Nostalgia meets modern dining
The revival of seven colours reflects a broader movement in South African food.
Rather than looking overseas for inspiration, chefs are returning to local traditions and asking how familiar dishes can be presented in fresh ways without losing their identity.
Chef Ukhonaye Mconi believes that the appeal lies in the emotions attached to the meal.
“Seven or several colours have such a rich history, and it is beyond just black homes. It exists in all South African homes,” he said.
“We are a nation that loves home, but we also celebrate the modernity of dining. This gives us a chance to break bread in a fancy setting while still enjoying the food that reminds us where we come from.”
Restaurants are increasingly treating seven colours as an experience rather than simply a meal. Diners are invited to share stories around the table while enjoying recipes that have been passed down through generations.
A recipe for culinary tourism
The growing popularity of Seven Colours is also creating new tourism opportunities.
Visitors are increasingly looking for experiences that tell the story of a destination through its food. Seven Colours offers exactly that by introducing travellers to South Africa's history, family traditions and diverse food culture on a single plate.
Mconi believes that the dish has the potential to travel far beyond South Africa's borders.
“Yes, and not just in South Africa but the world,” he said.
“When we look at the South African DNA, we are a mix-masala and highly unique. It shows in our music, how we dress and, of course, the food. The world is ready for that.”
He compared its potential with global favourites such as American barbecue and sushi, both of which started as local traditions before finding international audiences.
“For chefs, use your memory, use your emotions and stay true to what home means to you. The richness of our seven colours will pass borders.”
The rainbow on a plate
The rise of seven colours also comes as diners place greater value on meals made with fresh vegetables and seasonal ingredients.
Long before social media encouraged people to eat the rainbow, South African families were filling plates with colourful vegetables as part of their Sunday tradition.
That balance of vegetables, starches and protein has helped the meal remain relevant as eating habits evolve.
It has also become a social media favourite, with colourful plates regularly appearing on TikTok and Instagram as younger South Africans celebrate family recipes and recreate childhood favourites.
Seven or several?
No discussion about seven colours would be complete without mentioning the debate over its name.
Some South Africans argue the meal should be called several colours because every family serves a different number of side dishes. Others jokingly suggest it means serve in colours rather than seven colours.
Whatever people choose to call it, the conversation highlights how deeply the meal has become woven into everyday life.
Its ingredients may differ from one household to another, but its purpose remains unchanged.
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za