South Africa’s culinary identity is far too rich and varied to be reduced to a single headline or a seasonal tourist menu.
From slow-cooked potjie curries and fermented ting to fiery atchars and smoky xigugu, the country’s food landscape is a living archive of migration, resourcefulness, and cultural exchange.
Yet, despite its depth, much of this heritage remains sidelined or confined to once-a-year celebrations.
As chefs, food anthropologists, and producers advocate for local flavours to take their rightful place on both global stages and everyday dinner tables, the focus is shifting away from nostalgic curiosities toward recognising the country's diverse cuisines as world-class culinary contenders.
From a Durban curry and bunny chow to atchar, xigugu and koesisters, the country has a culinary vocabulary shaped by migration, memory, ingenuity and the simple pleasure of feeding people.
This Heritage Month, the question is not whether our food deserves a place on the world’s finest tables. It is why so much of it has not gotten there already.
For food anthropologist Dr Anna Trapido, the problem may be the very idea of separating heritage food from everyday eating.
South Africa has cuisines, not one cuisine
“South Africa has cuisines, not cuisine,” Trapido said, pointing to the country’s vast regional diversity.
Her list of favourites stretches from fermented sorghum ting in the North West and tshidzimba in Limpopo to Eastern Cape funeral scones, Mpumalanga’s smoky xigugu and Durban’s fiery curries.
There is also the familiar comfort of braaied boerewors, slow-cooked cabbage, pumpkin tart and Western Cape koesisters, alongside less-formal favourites such as Chappies, NikNaks and slap tjips.
For Trapido, this variety is precisely what makes South African food worth celebrating.
“Almost all of them” are underrated, she said when asked which traditional dishes deserve more recognition.
That answer is the most South African thing about the conversation. There is no shortage of food worth putting on the table. The challenge is recognising its value.
A Durban curry with global ambitions
Chef Neha Valjee has a clear contender for the international spotlight: Durban curry cooked in a traditional potjie.
“It combines two of South Africa’s strongest culinary influences: the rich spice heritage of Durban and the slow cooking traditions that are deeply rooted in our local food culture,” she said.
A potjie curry takes its time. The spices, meat and vegetables slowly develop layers of flavour, creating a dish that Valjee believes captures something fundamental about South African cooking.
“It is bold, comforting and uniquely South African,” she said.
More importantly, she sees the dish as a story of cultural exchange. A Durban curry carries the influence of the city’s Indian community while also becoming part of a broader South African food culture.
That ability to absorb different influences and make them local is one of the defining features of the country’s food.
The humble pickle deserves more attention
If curry is an obvious candidate for global recognition, Valjee believes that South African atchars and pickles deserve their own moment.
They can look humble sitting beside a plate of food, but their preparation requires precision. Fresh produce, spices, oil, vinegar or brine, acidity and maturation all have to work together.
“Atchars remain underrated, particularly internationally,” Valjee said.
Through her work at Splatoni Food & Beverage Manufacturers, she has developed products inspired by traditional flavours and preservation techniques, including sweet lime pickle, curried chillies, chunky vegetable atchar, jalapeño and garlic pickle and bor and fig pickle.
For Valjee, the point is not to turn heritage food into something unrecognisable. It is to show that traditional food can evolve without losing its identity.
Heritage should not have a season
Trapido is less interested in the idea of putting heritage food on a calendar.
“Heritage Month is a horrible concept,” she said. “Why just a month?”
Her argument is simple. Local food should not be placed in a cultural box and brought out once a year.
“Just call it food and eat it all the time,” she said.
It is a provocative idea at a time when restaurants are increasingly rediscovering indigenous ingredients and traditional dishes. Rather than treating these foods as nostalgic curiosities, Trapido believes that they should be part of what South Africans eat.
She also pointed to the practical benefits of eating locally, arguing that local food can be better for health and the environment.
Taking heritage to the next generation
For Valjee, preservation starts with understanding where the food comes from.
“Our traditional food is a living record of where we come from,” she said.
Every recipe carries something with it, whether it is a story of migration, family, resourcefulness or celebration.
That history is particularly important as younger generations encounter traditional food in new forms. A recipe passed down through a family can become a restaurant dish, a packaged product or something shared on social media. But modernisation does not have to mean abandoning tradition.
“Modernising the presentation should never mean losing the soul of the food,” Valjee said.
lutho.pasiya@nationalmg.co.za