It probably comes as no surprise that South Africans celebrate Heritage Day, like many other special occasions, with a braai! We consider braaiing as a part of our culture and therefore, our heritage. Thursday, 24 September marks the holiday that is officially known as Heritage Day, and unofficially known as Braai Day.
And who better to celebrate our national heritage with, than the Earthstompers Family?! In our usual day-to-day operations (pre-2020), we would often see our fellow Stompers when handing over vehicles or when stomping along the Garden Route, so it’s been hard not seeing the team this year. We’ve all been in touch and supporting one another virtually or meeting up for a coffee here and there, but we all really appreciated being together in each other’s company again and sharing some great food & wine around the fire. Even though we’re not running many tours right now, we hope to do so soon. While we eagerly await our guests’ return, the Earthstompers Family stands strong!
The Day’s Events
Heritage Day in South Africa celebrates a cultural diversity as well as diversity in food. We combined a few different traditional foods for our Heritage day menu.
We enjoyed a venison biltong and droewors snack platter while sipping on some beers. These cured meat goodies date back to the 1800’s when the Voortrekkers preserved and stored meat for their explorations across South Africa. We still follow this tradition today when we roadtrip along the Garden Route with our guests!
A little later, Fazlin treated us to some traditional home-made samoosas and ‘dhaltjies’ dipped in the most delicious chilli chutneys. This chutney is so good that it’s become a standing order when Fazlin comes for a visit. Dhaltjies are these amazing deep fried bites made from a combination of chickpea & wheat flour, spices (& chilli -optional), chopped onion, spinach and most importantly, masala. Together with her excellent potato and mince samoosas, these Cape Malay treats were the perfect tummy-liners for our braai day.
By this time the fire was going strong, making nice coals in preparation for our chicken kebabs and beef fillets to go on the grill. Hendrik prepared the chicken kebabs the day before so they could soak in a light peri-peri marinade overnight. A big part of the day is braaiing and enjoying a variety of delicious meats.
While we were preparing the main meal of the day, we also braaied boerewors and handed out pieces to everyone chatting around the fire and sprawled out on the lawn. No braai is complete without a braaibroodjie: a cheese, tomato and onion sandwich, toasted to perfection on the fire. Add a home-made potato baked and freshly chopped salad and it’s a perfect braai.
Our Braai menu:
- Beef fillet with olive oil, chilli flakes, ground black peppercorns and malden salt flakes
- Creamy mushroom sauce
- Free range chicken & pepper kebabs / vegan mushroom & pepper kebabs
- Boerewors
- Braaibroodjies
- Green salad
- Potato & sweet potato bake
- Nicole spoiled us with a home-baked cake served with cream & fresh strawberries…
The food was great, the company even better and the venue and weather complimented the occasion perfectly. Thanks to our gracious hosts for making it a special day for all!
Earthstompers and Cape Food & Wine offer real South African home-cooking experiences. Our South African Braai is live and bookable. Let us host you in our home, with true South African hospitality and authentic South African food. Sit back and relax with a glass of fine local wine in front of our indoor fireplace, or if the weather is nice, next to our pool and fire pit in the sunshine. More “Meet The People” experiences coming soon.
