“Times are tough and there are struggles a’plenty living under a pandemic. We chat about coping, keeping positive and creative actions taken by four amazing South African women in food – TV chef and cookbook author Zola Nene, cook and activist Parusha Naidoo, chef and author Khanya Mzongwana and PhD candidate and seed historian Pralini Naidoo. Interviewed by journalist and SA POC founder Ishay Govender”

www.sapoctable.com

Feature image by Jess Wright

Wild Food Innovator Roushanna Gray on coastal foraging:

For more information visit: Fieldsmag

At first, I did it just for fun. Then people loved it and I loved it. So it continued. It started with bunny chows and then it exploded…

I saw it as a way to play with the idea of multiculturalism on a plate. It evolved from a single plate to a buffet of different traditional South African dishes, from Indian to Zulu to Jewish to Afrikaans to Cape Malay… And more sometimes.

This is roughly what I wrote and would give to my guests as a way to explain what they were eating:

Food is a way of preserving history. And a way of playing with history. It is tasty material evidence of the past’s influence on the present. This pop up dinner can be seen as a living archeological site. Gastro-historical. Post-colonial cuisine. A story of migration, occupation, slavery and cheap/free labour. It is one of the many stories of South Africa. And of the colonised world. Of trade and power. “Desegrate the plate”… is one of Chakalaka Tuesday’s themes. You are invited to curate your own cultural melting pot, a post-apartheid “new South Africa” on your plate. This is the spirit of South Africa but it is rare to find this sort of mixing of cuisines in South Africa itself. You don’t find pap (black African) with curry (Indian), bobotie (Cape Malay) and potjiekos (white Afrikaans) at the same table. Experience a mixing of cultures here through your senses of taste, touch and smell.

Below are a few snaps (unfortunately mostly low quality but they give you a feel of these events which occured bi-monthly for a year and then weekly for the last 6 months) from early 2014 to the late 2015:

Written by Roberta Thatcher

“One of the most festive times of year is here, and party food is on the menu. In the spirit of celebration, we chat to a few formidable chefs and food bloggers — Ming-Cheau Lin, Khanya Mzongwana, Parusha Naidoo, and Cape Town-based duo Tamzyn La Gorce and Kaeli Justus — about their festive food traditions.”

For the full article, check it out 10and5.

Here is the final program for the talks.

MC: Nyiko Chauke

11:00 – 11:20 – CHIPS! Lightning Talks feat Lee-Ann Orton & Uno de Waal | OSTERIA VINCENZO

Words:
“Eat less meat. Eat more plants. Try new things. Be adventurous. Be curious. And learn to cook if you can’t.”

These are the words plant-based chef and designer Parusha Naidoo left me with after our interview about her vegan cooking classes and pop up events. Johannesburg-based Parusha has taken the vegan diet and lifestyle and elevated it to an intersectional consciousness that filters into how to think about food consumption.
Her cooking and vegan journey began in the ten years that she spent away from South Africa in London and Berlin. Missing home, she started to cook meals that reminded her of the comforts of home. Like many of us, Parusha grew up eating meat. In 2013 she started to think about how eating meat was not a conscious decision for her. “As creative people I think we don’t question the norms of our societies enough and interrogate why we are doing things. I decided that I needed to look at everything in my life and consciously choose what I’m doing,” Parusha explained, “And after some research into it, it made sense to me to try it out veganism for the planet, the animals and the earth.”.

She describes her approach to veganism as intersectional. This is informed by her philosophy that everything in life is connected. For her this goes beyond simply removing the suffering of animals from our plates. The exploitation of people and the damage to the environment caused by the meat and dairy industries need to be taken into account as well. Included in her intersectional approach to veganism is a broadened definition of intersectional feminism. Here Parusha includes the afflictions we place on the bodies of females of other species. “Speciesism makes no sense… All inequality makes no sense,” Parusha emphasized, “[We can] begin with eating as activism and continue that desire to do no harm with your other choices.”.
Parusha is encouraging people to reevaluate their relationships with food by becoming conscious of the type of food that we buy and what this food does to our bodies. “I want people to be empowered to nourish themselves and learn that making delicious food is easy. I don’t want people to think of vegan food as whack or not tasty,” Parusha explained. She does this through her cooking classes and pop up events. She has also managed to blend her passion for food with art by including art making in some of her classes. In July she will be taking part in the Berlin Food Art Week by creating an artwork that comments on the dumping of American chicken in South Africa. Her plan for 2017 is to create artwork that promotes critical thinking about food consumption and promote plant-based living.

Parusha will be hosting a Vegan Basics Cooking Class this month at Conscious 108 and will be doing other classes there throughout the year. She will also be helping them with recipe development and hopes to do that for other restaurants with the vision of improving vegan menu options.

For other events and developments check out her website or check out her Facebook page.

Words:
Parusha Naidoo is a vegan chef and designer based in Johannesburg who combines her love for food and art in her creative projects. She tells us more

A vegan is someone who does not eat meat, fish or poultry and does not use any animal by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, or any cosmetics and soaps derived from animal products.

My vegan journey began in December 2013, I was living in Berlin when I broke my ankle. Because I had a lot of time on my hands, I watched several documentaries, including a few recommended to me by a vegan friend, such as Earthlings, Cowspiracy, Forks Over Knives and Food Matters. After learning more about the effects of animal agriculture on the planet, on human life and on animals, I went from eating a lot of meat, dairy and eggs to following a vegan diet.
There was no in-between stage. I tried it out for a month in January 2014 and just kept on going.

I started doing pop-up dinners in Berlin shortly after I became vegan. It was initially just a once-off thing for fun, but I liked it so much that I kept doing it until I became known as a vegan chef. I had friends in different cities, so it was relatively easy to organise the pop-ups. They are a nice way for people to see and taste what I’m doing.

I like the idea that how we eat is how we live – variety, adventure, learning, growing, quality over quantity, least effort, most reward, kindness, freedom and compassion for all living beings, both humans and animals – these are things I value.

I teach vegan cooking classes because I think everyone needs to learn to cook and enjoy food.

People have a preconception that vegan food is bland and I try to change that with my cooking classes.

Being a vegan offers many rewards. Every vegan meal saves the planet and lives. Following a vegan diet is cheaper than one that includes meat, dairy and eggs.

My biggest challenge is convenience. South Africa is a meat-loving country and people find it hard to think outside of that box. Vegan options need to be accessible in supermarkets.

My go-to comfort food is a pizza with vegan cheese.

In my pantry you will find many staples like lentils and beans (including some canned) for quick curries. Then there’s rice, pasta, couscous, nori paper for sushi, rice paper for summer rolls, and different condiments such as Sriracha hot sauce.

If you are thinking about transitioning to a vegan diet, variety is key. Don’t allow yourself to feel deprived. Try out as many different vegan foods as you can, including vegan junk food and meat substitutes. Experiment with herbs and spices.

My goal is to combine my love of food, art and story into what I do. I am currently making a sculpture for Berlin Food Art Week in July that comments on the US dumping of chicken in South Africa. The work will be accompanied by the facts about the effects of this dumped chicken on South African jobs and health.

For more information visit parusha.com
This article was originally published in The Times.

The class will have both a demonstration and a hands-on element.

There will be 3 dishes demonstrated and 3 dishes that you will get to make yourselves, plus at the end you will have time to eat and relax.

The class will also include advice on how to improve digestion with ingredients used in the class …

Price: R350 per person.

(Drinks will be available throughout the class but are not included in the cost)

To book please email parushanaidoo@gmail.com

For more information check out the event on Facebook here.

Experience palettes of colour, plates of flavour, in a magical art gallery cum wild garden setting…

Parusha is a local vegan chef and designer who spent over a decade in London and Berlin. She lives in Johannesburg and combines her love for food and art in her pop up events and cooking classes. She’ll be making a delicious African-Indian inspired lunch at Spaza Art Gallery using organic ingredients from Bertrams Inner City Farm, A Bambanani Food and Herb Cooperative Project.

The afternoon will also include soulful music by Davina Satori (https://soundcloud.com/satori-moon) and a bar by Kommunitea (https://www.facebook.com/thepolitepoliceman/) selling locally brewed craft beers, cocktails, kombucha and other botanical inspired drinks.

Come join us from 1pm to 4pm on the first Sunday 6th November.

Cost: R150 to support the space, enjoy a meal and music in the Spaza Art Gallery’s wild garden (Drinks sold separately).

For more information contact parushanaidoo@gmail.com or emp@intekom.co.za or visit the Facebook page here.

The pictures below are unfortunately low quality but give you a sense of what they involve: