Durban University of Technology celebrates African cuisine at Annual Food Festival

Making a statement about authentic local cuisine is one of the key elements of the Durban University of Technology’s Annual African Food Festival that got cooking this week.

The one-day event at DUT's Ritson Campus Hall on Tuesday was testament to Africa’s wide array of cuisine, a celebration of different cultures. Second-year students from DUT's Hospitality, Tourism and Catering Management faculty got flavourful with their various servings, which was a part of their study on international cuisine.

The event was an integrated project where the students' ability to pull off quantity cooking came to the fore and their event management and marketing skills were tested.

Durban was the ideal destination for this culinary coming together as it is known to be a city rich in indigenous culture and also been a hub for the convergence of cultures from all over Africa, serving a unique taste that allows locals and even tourists a peek into the authenticity of African culture.

Attendees varied with representatives from the student population, DUT staff, dignitaries, lecturers, and entrepreneurs, who all got to sample the food offerings that were on display.

Students from Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) were also invited guests and they brought along their servings of samp and beans dish with peanuts at their stall.

Other treats include the Mozambican prawn peri-peri dish that left guests diving in for seconds and thirds, the tender tripe dish of “mogodu”, which was boiled to perfection, and gave a nostalgic taste of home for many in the audience.

The Kenyan dish Irio, consisting of familiar combinations of mashed sweet potatoes, corn, and beans, was another delight that was lapped up.

For washdowns, there were traditional African beer (Umqombothi) and Gemere as well as Mahewu on offer.

“What I liked most about this event was the variety of foods. As a Xhosa person, there are different dishes that are similar to the Zulu culture that I didn’t get to experience growing up like Isijingi; it was my first time sampling it here. Overall, it was a great function,” said Nhliziyo Ndokweni, a DUT student.

Snegugu Ngubane, also a student, said it was important to preserve the uniqueness of each cultural dish. For her, the cooking of Jollof rice and its taste was Ngubane's favourite of the day. “We learnt more about Nigeria, and Nigerian cuisine,” added Ngubane.

Program Organiser, Dr Sasi Gangiah, said the idea for the festival was inspired by the executive dean in the faculty of Management Sciences, Professor Fulufhelo Netswera. What drove Netswera's concept was the desire to decolonise the long-standing recipes that had a typical French flavour, but instead to pave the way for African cuisine to rise to the top of the culinary curriculum.

“So he said, why don’t we celebrate it as an African food festival? So from 2022, we have been running this programme once a year, in September, and it has been a success,” said Dr Gangiah. “The basic idea of running this concept was for students to understand, value, and make an effort to revive their own culture and cuisines, and celebrate the African way of life,” said Dr Gangiah."

DAILY NEWS