African Salad : A Portrait of South Africans at Home – Stan Engelbrecht

Description

African Salad is the product of a series of recipe-collecting journeys around the country by Cape Town photographer Stan Engelbrecht. Each recipe appears with photographs of its creator, his / her family and home. Together with text derived from audio recordings made during each house visit and additional interviews conducted by writer Tamsen de Beer, the recipes provide real insight into the lives of a range of everyday South Africans. African Salad purports to be a recipe book. Indeed, it features the favourite dishes of 60 SA families in a typical recipe format. But food, family and the concept of home are inextricably bound together in African Salad. Be it potjiekos, boerbrood, or traditional African beer, these recipes are a key to understanding who people are and where they have come from.
Dayone Publishing, Cape Town, 2006. Hardcover. Condition: Used, Like new, Fine. No Jacket. Fine; no dust jacket as published. lavender on grey boards, patterned end papers, 264pp. Colour photos of families and people with reproductions of mostly handwritten family recipes. Over a period of a year and a half, 120 South African families open their doors to photographer Engelbrecht. The result is an honest documentation of family life with handwritten family recipes standing alongside tin-can specials., morongo or biltong. This is an appealing book exploring the real lives of South Africa, a nation of raconeurs, eccentrics and everyday people. A heavy book.