Christmas in South Africa is all about summer fun and good times together. Our festive season is mostly relaxed and quite informal, with al fresco dining a favoured option and a braai likely to feature more than once!
Before we check out how some of South Africa’s foodies put their own spin on Christmas, here are a few ways you can add a local touch to your festive menu and table.
Serve visitors from overseas a hearty South African venison pie as part of your feast – but buy it in so you can literally just ‘heat and eat’. It’s even nicer with a big dollop of that favourite Christmas staple, cranberry sauce;
Give your Christmas table a fun twist by cutting green and red shweshwe fabric into squares and using these as serviettes;
Make big pitchers of ice tea from scratch for the kids and holiday visitors, but use rooibos for a healthy antioxidant – and proudly SA – boost;
Biltong and snoek patés are delicious additions to a festive table and easy enough to make… or buy it in to save time and effort;
Foodie gift ideas with a local flavour might include a beautiful artisan gin from an SA distillery – there are so many fine gins being made here nowadays; a tin of best-quality extra-virgin olive oil from the Karoo; a basket of choice farmstall finds or a selection of Nomu spices, prettily packaged.