Why go
This food history helps you choose dishes by region and origin. Cape Dutch cooking uses spices brought through the Dutch East India Company’s world, while Cape Malay traditions shaped curries and fish dishes. Durban’s bunny chow points to the distinct influence of South Africa’s Indian communities.
The full story
The Cape’s food developed through unequal encounters among settlers, enslaved people and local communities. Dutch and other European arrivals brought recipes and ingredients, but enslaved people brought from Asia were also central to the flavours now associated with Cape cooking. Spices, sambals, pickled fish and curries reflect that history. Bobotie, spiced minced meat baked beneath an egg topping, is one dish that carries it into a recognisable form. Biltong, dried sausage and rusks developed as preserved or durable foods in settler life. In the nineteenth century, Indian workers and traders brought further culinary practices to South Africa. Samosas and other snacks became familiar well beyond their original communities. Bunny chow, curry served inside a hollowed loaf, is particularly associated with Durban. These foods are not one blended tradition. Trying a Cape dish and a Durban one side by side reveals different histories of movement, labour and adaptation.