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Editor’s Thoughts

Editor’s Thoughts

A Shot To Embracing Equity

EDITOR'S NOTE - A Shot To Embracing Equity

Full disclosure, I haven’t always believed in many of the special days we choose to commemorate on the global human calendar, especially those that seek to shine a light on the deeper issues that form the fabric of our existence. Gender disparities are one of them. In a world that, on the one hand, has for centuries pushed the agenda that women belong in the kitchen and that cooking is a woman’s job, while at the same time, it’s clear to see that men dominate the actual paid work of professional cooking, it’s often difficult to imagine a world where these issues are resolved.

But this March, as we commemorate International Women’s Month under the theme EmbraceEquity, I am reminded of the heavy lifting that both women and men have done and continue to do to move us ahead and create spaces where women can excel in the food and lifestyle space.

In recent years, women have carved out new paths within the food industry. For example, food and restaurant photography which has become a make-or-break necessity in the success of all food bloggers, publishers, authors, chefs and restaurants worldwide, is dominated by women who make up 62.8% of food photographers globally (insert applause). Not only that, but women are also stepping into territory ordinarily unknown to them, like Nikki Gomes, the Scotch Whiskey connoisseur, redefining the art of Whiskey and pushing for gender Equity within the alcohol industry and Kesego Moeng, leading the way for women mixologists owning their greatness. We celebrate these women and all those supporting the charge!

Bottoms Up,

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Editor’s Note – Tastes Like Home

EDITOR'S NOTE - Tastes like home

Perhaps the most memorable food memory I have are the words, “there’s rice at home”. The phrase came in many variations, “we’ll cook when we get home,” or my least favourite one, “There’s tiing in the kitchen”. Much to my younger self’s annoyance, she knew all that; when there is tiing in the house, you will know. And while there may have been rice at home, the obvious was that I wanted no part in it. Words I often find myself mulling over today, with limited time and so much easy access to instant food through apps and great dining experiences from restaurants, sometimes I wish there was rice at home. The same rice I dreaded in yesteryears, precisely as they would make it at home.

Something about time makes for a refined palate. It appreciates the simplicity and beauty of food in its most authentic state, which is what home cooking is all about. Today, like Queen Finxa, who introduces us to the Sorghum Agenda on page 16, nothing excites me quite like the smell of fermented sorghum or the smell of fresh bread, which reminds me of the days my older sister would make diphaphatha for breakfast and how we’d spread butter on them while they were still warm. The butter would gloriously melt into the bread. An English muffin just doesn’t cut it, and the Avo toasts and salmon bagels are great, but when the warm phaphatha and butter craving hits, only it can do the job.

The irreplaceable taste of home and the nostalgia that comes with it is a feeling we can all relate to. Chef Wezi shares fond food memories from his childhood on page 3; we spend a beautiful summer afternoon in Maria Kathurima Selemogwe’s home (page 18); Chef Lee takes it up a notch with the launch of Good Food, Good Business for all our foodiepreneurs, and then we head to Eswatini, where our perfect guest Michaela Jacobsz tells us all about TheHungryHun (page 29).

What does home taste like to you? Let me know; editor@theperfectservemag.com.

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Editor’s Thoughts – September 2022

EDITOR'S THOUGHTS - Tradition or Innovation?

“Florals for spring? Groundbreaking!” an iconic quote by Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. It essentially speaks to the predictability of the human nature. With every celebration, there’s a symbolic food to mark the occasion. In the US, it’s Turkey for Thanksgiving, in Cape Malay homes it’s pickled fish for Easter and in many Southern African countries, and all around the world really, nothing marks the Festive Christmas season quite like a trifle, it’s an ongoing debate, a divisive one. One group shares Miranda’s sentiments and begs us to do something new, something fresh and innovative. “Excite my palate!”, they beg. And on the other end of the divide, the question is why should we change or refresh something that works? So, tradition or Innovation? It’s a fine line to tread, but one worth exploring. The debate even extends as far as the gentrification of traditional food, mala mogodu plated with tweezers on a fine dining menu? Why not! But then again, why? Like I said fine line! Both sides of the debate matter, and here’s why. We absolutely must preserve our food traditions. The OG mala mogodu style of chucking it all in a cast iron pot with a pinch of salt and leaving it on an open flame for hours on end produces a fine result that you could possibly never replicate in the world’s top Michelin Star restaurants, and why would you? In the same breath, the theatrics of mala mogodu plated with tweezers, presented under a cloche that beautifully lets up smoke when lifted is something I find extremely appealing. It is also a special way of honouring the OG. It says, “You’re so great, I’m putting my own twist on you.” It happens with sampling in music and remakes in television. It doesn’t always turn out right, but when it does, it’s magic. So, do something different and order the Michelin take on chicken feet on your next fine dining adventure, or don’t. Save the experience for the street food serving where they’re authentically African, or don’t eat it at all and rather opt for chicken wings. None is better than the other. As for me, the OG trifle will be making its annual appearance at Christmas.

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Editor’s Thoughts  – To New Beginnings July/August Issue

Editor’s Thoughts – To New Beginnings

EDITOR'S THOUGHTS To New Beginnings

Starting anything is always daunting. Starting something new in a place where it’s never been done before is even scarier. Now, starting something new, in a place where it’s never been done, off the back of a pandemic, at a time when budgets have never been tighter, is a monster of its own. But here we are, monsters slain, drinks in hand, magic ahead.

So, allow me to introduce us to you, THE PERFECT SERVE. We are convivialists of note. We love to eat good; better yet, we love being in good company, eating and drinking good. If there is a gathering of humans, with good vibes and exceptional food, we’re probably there, fully indulging, or behind the scenes curating those special moments for your enjoyment.

Now that introductions are out of the way, a toast! Firstly, to the magic of newness. The undertaking of a new venture and diving into the unknown is as scary as it is exhilarating.  This publication is a first for Botswana, and collecting these moments for you has been nothing but a labour of love, with more love still to be poured into all that’s still to come. This is our gift to you.

Secondly, to all our amazing contributors who are an embodiment of the magic that follows when you ‘just start’; our foodies – Tayla Naika, Chef Lee Mokonyane and Christine Okello; Natasha Siku for being the perfect lunch host and the food snob Mmule Setati for inviting us into her kitchen.

And lastly, to friendship, the bonds forged over the breaking of bread around a literal dinner table or through the pages of a food and lifestyle guide called The Perfect Serve. Here’s to us journeying together, to MOMENTS REDEFINED.

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