How to Incorporate Local Foods into a Wedding Menu
In this article, we explore South Africa's most popular wedding dishes and how to encorporate them into your wedding menu.
25/072023
South Africa is a smorgasbord of cultures. If
you’ve watched any of the country’s popular
reality wedding shows, you’ll see that for every
cultural wedding, there is a list of traditional
wedding dishes to be had.
A popular
traditional South African wedding gift among
many cultures is the traditional blanket. The
history behind this was that in the past,
members of a clan would slaughter an animal for
the occasion and gift the animal's hide to the
bride and groom to use as a blanket. The offal
was removed by the men and the meat was then
given to the women to cook.
In the proclaimed South African cookbook
Indian Delights’, used by generations of local
cooks to mass cater for weddings, nuptials are
spoken of as being traditional occasions to call
for the feasting of clans. The book goes on to
say ‘Near and far-flung friends and
acquaintances and the entire neighbourhood,
whatever its colours, creed, class or social
habits are invited. None are forgotten. None
dare be forgotten, for when the guest list runs
into hundreds then such overlooking is akin to
an insult.’
Visit any wedding across the
country and you will find a range of local food
dishes traditionally suited to the occasion.
Local starters and canapes
The
secret behind serving the best locally flavoured
starters at any South African wedding is to
experiment with ideas while keeping the ideas
behind the ingredients of a local dish intact.
This could mean taking favourites like
traditional bobotie or sosaties and downsizing
them into bite-size canapes or finger foods.
For a twist on traditional Indian samosas,
fill them with local tastes like samp and beans
or braai-style fire-roasted pulled chicken or
grilled crayfish.
These types of flavour
arrangements can be suited to almost any type of
canape including tartlets, wraps and mini
sandwiches. Popular on the menus of many couples
in the last year are mini versions of the actual
local dish itself with a teaspoon or miniature
fork to enjoy it with. These mini dishes can be
served in bowls about half the size of a ramekin
bowl. They are a great way for guests to taste a
full range of local dishes while leaving space
for the main meal. For this idea, think about
dishes like miniature pap and tomato smoortjies
or vegetable or meat-based curries.
Guests opting to have canapes laid out on a
table charcuterie board style have a range of
locally manufactured olives, jams and meats to
choose from. Accompany these with South African
favourites like fresh roosterkoek or steam bread
and butter from a local farm.
Local main dishes
“Our country is home to so many
flavourful dishes,” notes Chef Norman Heath,
Executive Chef at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront.
Each of them developed with unique stories
behind what made them trend before they became
set in stone as local favourites.”
A
popular traditional South African wedding gift
among many cultures is the traditional blanket.
The history behind this was that in the past,
members of a clan would slaughter an animal for
the occasion and gift the animal's hide to the
bride and groom to use as a blanket. The offal
was removed by the men and the meat was then
given to the women to cook. Women would spend
the day before the wedding cooking all sorts of
traditional dishes in large pots over an open
flame.
Mass cooking at weddings is still
incredibly popular in South Africa, particularly
among Indian and African cultures. The most
popular dishes for mass cooking across cultures
include starch-based meals like traditional
biryani, pap and phutu and soji. An assortment
of vegetables are cooked separately and main
meals consist of stews or curries.
These
dishes are then served in large bowls on each
wedding table for guests to either be served by
waitrons or self-served.
Traditional wedding desserts
South Africa shines with its array of local desserts from across all cultures. From Indian sweetmeats, to English tartlets to traditional malva and milk tart, we really are spoiled for choice.
Try this recipe for Malva Pudding with salted caramel sauce
Guests
enjoy being able to sample as many desserts as
possible, so couples would do well to choose a
selection of four to five small desserts that
guests can choose from.
These local
sweet flavours do not have to be relegated to
the dessert table alone. They can also be the
inspiration for flavouring your wedding cake.
Ideas could include milk tart fillings for
vanilla cakes, malva pudding and caramel cream
flavours and even peppermint crisp fridge tart
cake.
“This year South Africans are
looking for the most convenient and unique local
culinary experiences to cater for their
weddings, adds Chef Norman. As a result, local
wedding food trends that top the list do so
because of their cultural elements and most
importantly, their taste,” he ends
However you choose to cater for your wedding,
rest assured that South African flavours can be
added to virtually any area of your menu, big or
small.