Engaging in a culinary experience is always a delight, but when that journey involves meeting and learning from a renowed chef and personality, the experience becomes truly exceptional. Recently, I had the privilege of attending a cooking class led by Chef Xoliswa Ndoyiya, who served as Nelson Mandela’s private and family chef for 22 years. […]
UBUNTU MUNDO is a network of small scale projects created by wife and husband Cecilya Bravo and Roland Oosterhout since 2016. Their work begins with food at their base camp set in the rural area of Rooiboklaagte in Mpumalanga, feeding more than 450 kids from their 2 kitchens, providing a nutritious hot meal on a […]
One of the things I love and cherish about living in South Africa is that I have the opportunity to meet and befriend people from all around the world, with so many different backgrounds and cultures. My very good friend and ‘Compadre’ Herman, AKA ‘Dino’, is from Durban and throughout our years of friendship has […]
It’s prickly pear season and after almost 2 decades my mexican ‘nopales’ finally bore fruit for the first time! But, how did I get my Mexican cactus in SA? Here is the story…. About 20 years ago the Mexican embassy together with the South African government joined forces in a very unique, interesting and special project: a […]
Traditionally, the Epiphany in the catholic religion is celebrated on 6th January and commemorates the visit of The Three Wise Men to baby Jesus in Bethlehem. In Mexico, the day is celebrated in a family gathering with gifts and a very special orange water flavour bread known as ‘Rosca de Reyes’ which is decorated with crystallized fruits, […]
Although this was my first time in Mexico, I felt at home almost immediately. It felt like home even though it was a completely new place filled with different people, sights and sounds. I think it’s because Mexican culture evolved in a similar way to ours here in South Africa. Mexico, like South Africa, is […]
For those of you that haven’t had the chance to do a bit of reading about Mexico’s history and culture; Teotihuacan is a UNESCO world heritage site about 50km out of Mexico City. It is one of many archaeological sites in Mexico that includes the ruins of an ancient civilization and some magnificent pyramids. We […]
In my experience, street food can be hit and miss – sometimes it is luscious, cheap food on the go and other times it’s just food poisoning waiting to happen. This was less the case in Mexico City. The majority of stalls were simple and clean with some very tasty options along the way. The […]
In early March 2019, Hector Sr. and I (Megan – Azteca’s operations manager), headed to Mexico for a conference with La Costeña – one of the main suppliers of our imported Mexican food products. While it was a great opportunity to build relationships with the La Costeña team and our European counterparts, it was also […]
For those of you that don’t know, Saturday, 16 September is Mexican Independence Day. Every year, the Embassy of Mexico in Pretoria throws a special celebration for the Mexican community and some specially-invited local guests. This year, Hector decided to contribute with a special dish for the event – a fresh Nopales salad!!! Nopales are […]
