Dorah sithole biography for kids

I grew up eating spinach cooked on its own with a little butter or margarine and seasoning, or spinach mashed together with potatoes. The potato and spinach curry in 40 Years of Iconic Food is a twist on this old favourite. (See recipe below.)

Growing up in apartheid South Africa, most people I knew had jobs such as teachers, nurses, policemen, clerks or domestic workers. Many of these jobs did not accurately reflect the person's interests or abilities, but were rather a practical choice, just to be employed. I, on the other hand, was having the surreal experience of following my passion. The more I learnt about food, the more I wanted to learn.

I travelled to 19 countries across our incredible continent, and to all the provinces within South Africa, in order to capture the essence of our indigenous food. The result was Cooking from Cape to Cairo, published by Tafelberg Publishers in

The recipes in the My Notebook chapter of 40 Years of Iconic Food remind me of the days when I enthusiastically experimented with the cut-and-paste recipes in my notebook, and also the years when I pushed boundaries and successfully cooked meals that were out of my comfort zone.

The culinary world is mourning the loss of Dorah Sitole, a legendary food editor, travel writer and author who died last night. Her death, aged 67, was confirmed by True Love magazine, her former employer.

While details of her death is still unknown, hundreds of South Africans and government have taken to social media to express their shock and condolences. Journalist Ferial Haffajee described it as “a gut-punch” while photographer and books editor Phyllis Green said Sithole “was one of the warmest and most genuine people I have worked with in my magazine career.&#;

Well-known radio host Thabo “Tbose” Mokwele thanked Sitole for “opening doors, paving the way and inspiring others to make their culinary passion a career.”

In a tweet, Leloe’s Kitchen said he remembered meeting Sitole in his days as a waiter at a Johannesburg coffee shop. “She later introduced me to her daughter. We would have big, fat chats about food and everything in-between.” Physician and radio host Dr Sindi van Zyl also expressed her sadness following the news of Sitole&#;s death.

Sitole’s illustrious food career included her three cookbooks. Dorah Sitole: 40 years of iconic food was published last year to celebrate her year culinary journey. The former True Love magazine editor and a trained Cordon Bleu chef cooked South African cuisine at global cooking shows in, among others, Memphis, Tokyo and Rome.

A champion for African cuisine

“I cook to keep our food culture alive,” Sitole told Food For Mzansi during her last interview. She was pleased by what she described as a food revolution among up-and-coming chefs.

“It’s almost like all of a sudden people have woken up to food, and I’m talking about the black community, because for a long time it was just me alone in this industry. I am in my encore years and I plan to work for as long as my body will allow me to.”

Sithole said it was a life mission to keep traditional African cuisine on the international food agenda. Her late mo

Reading her obituaries and the reviews of the book which just appeared, I felt very sad that I had never heard of her or read her work; I have searched for available copies of her books, but have not found a good source so that I can obtain them. I will persist!

From one of the obituaries:

"In a foreword to her book [40 Years of Iconic Food], Sitole wrote that she&#;d also included the two decades that prepared her for the 'path I was to walk'. 'I truly believe my relationship with food was formed by my childhood experiences. And with my encore years, this story spans six-and-a-half decades!'

"It should not be glossed over that the racial divide was present in the food writing and publishing industry, and those of us who were exposed only to the white food writers were the poorer for it; also missed was the opportunity to unite us through shared culinary heritages. Heritage Day, for instance, had everything to do with food for Sitole, as she wrote: &#;Marked by a kaleidoscope of colours and flavours, Heritage Day is a day many South Africans proudly celebrate. Across the country, tables will groan with food for friends and families. The base ingredients are often the same: meat, starches and vegetables. But cuisine isn&#;t fixed: every individual brings their history and themselves to the kitchen." (source)

I'm hoping that her new book will be released in the US so that I can read it. Ordering it from South Africa is prohibitively expensive.