LETSTALKFOOD

SOUTH AFRICA’S NEXT BEST RESTAURATEUR

Hailing from the beautiful KZN province is Lwandile Mkhwanazi, who is studying towards a career in the food and hospitality industry at the International Hotel School in Pretoria.

The bubbly 21-year old shares her dreams and aspirations with me, describing herself as an individual that is always happy and determined to succeed, despite the challenges she may face.

When asked whether working towards a career in this industry is what she always knew she would go for, she says “never in my dreams” and goes on to add that she has always seen herself as an actress, highlighting that a theater production she watched in her Grade 9 year, got her emotional and made her picture herself on stage.

Lwandile is currently doing her second year and completing her degree at IHS. Along with her practicals, she has catered for various events including events as huge as the Presidential Inauguration, which took place on the 25th of May this year.

(Far left: Lwandile Mkhwanazi, together with collegues at the 2019 Presidential Inauguration)

Though the career choice was not her first choice, she has grown to love the career and sees herself as a restaurateur stating, “I want to start my own business” and with a laugh, adding that “You will come and eat at my restaurant.”

Along with working in the food industry, though contradictory, the ever -smiling individual states that she would also love to run a salon.

In closing, Lwandile urges people to support her endeavors, with the statement, “Umuntu NguMuntu NgaBantu” which means: “A person is a person through other people.”

To get into contact with her, send her a direct message on Instagram at Ivy_Mandie.

SOWETO KOTA FESTIVAL BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

(The winning kota, Courtesy Soweto Kota Festival Facebook Page)

After the success of the previous festivals, came the 3rd Annual Soweto Kota Festival, which once again surpassed expectations and became a success. The event took place on the 7th and 8th September 2019, at the Soweto Cricket Oval Elkah Stadium in Rockville, Soweto.

The event boasted various activities such as competitions, give-aways as well as a children’s entertainment area, which ensured that the children were included and had fun.

Festival goers enjoyed a large variety of kotas, each with a different filling. There was also a variety of craft beer and cocktails for people to enjoy.

The Festival was once more sponsored by SASKO and the company lived up to its promise, made previously by Sasko Brand Manager, Jackie Pillay, which stated that the company would award the top three vendors R45 000 worth of marketing support.

According to an article by JustNje, the organizers promised festival goers loads of entertainment, including 15 live performances by various artists. The concert saw performances from artists such as Gigi Lamayne and Roks Matchbox as well as various DJ’s, including DJ Njelic and PrinceSA, who kept the crowd entertained throughout the day.

One festival goer, Florence Mhlanga stated that she felt that the event was a success and that “It was fun and entertaining, with so many different kotas to choose from.”

The event once again succeeded and lived up to people’s expectations. According to the Festival’s Facebook Page, next year’s event is set to occur on the 5th and 6th of September. Whether it will be a success as all the previous ones, we’ll have to wait and see.

See some of the performances here: https://www.facebook.com/sowetokotafest/videos/498476120733707/

The Banting Debate: Should you really?

The issue of Banting has been a longstanding one, sparking debate on whether it is a good way to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. Banting was made popular by Professor Tim Noakes, in his book, The Real Meal Revolution.

Now, the Banting Plan is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, which maintains that people who follow it, eat more meat over carbohydrates and in this way, energy is produced through the burning of fat instead of carbohydrates.

There have been many success stories of people sharing their journeys and how they have managed to lose weight faster than all the methods they had previously tried. As much as the diet offers individuals suffering from obesity a “solution” , it still destroys the idea of eating a balanced diet as it completely stops people from consuming carbohydrates and sweets.

The Banting Diet is not just a temporary diet that one can stop following once they have achieved their desired weight, it is a lifestyle that an individual should follow for the rest of their life. This means that the person has to commit to this for life. This is risky as questions such as: “what happens when the lifestyle becomes too expensive to continue?” and “what happens when an individual ends up consuming items found on the diet’s Red List?”, pop up.

The diet has been under scrutiny, receiving backlash from medical doctors as well as scientists. Nevertheless, it still is quite a popular form of losing weight faster, despite this backlash.