Authentic Cape Malay cuisine in Manenberg

Meet Colleen and Ruth

Colleen and Ruth are sisters with over three decades of experience in the food industry. Passionate about Cape Malay cuisine, the sisters consider their unique culinary traditions a rich legacy passed down from generation to generation. Food has offered them both an opportunity to better their lives and the community they come from. Colleen and Ruth were born in Manenberg on the Cape Flats, a community that was borne out of Apartheid's spatial laws, yet rich with diverse cultures as a result. Growing up on the Flats allowed them to forge deep bonds with neighbors, and create a community based on love, kindness and food. The sisters learned to cook from their grandmothers who took nothing and made the most delicious meals, and their mother who cooked for the entire community. Colleen and Ruth are honored to share their culture and history through food with guests from around the world. The village of Manenberg rose from insurmountable odds, to become a community and not just a settlement. It is a community where love abounds in the face of hate, generosity flourishes even in poverty, and innovation lives where resources don’t. There is a unique magic that exists here, when a neighbor gives their last to someone who has less, and stretches their already stretched pot of food to feed those who don’t have food. Colleen and Ruth are eager to share their favorite childhood dishes in honor of their mother and all those whose unbreakable spirits gave them everything.

What to expect

Please note menu might vary. If there are particular dishes you are interested in trying, please include your request in the booking form.

In-home meal (1 - 6 guests) Meet your hosts Colleen and Ruth at Ruth’s home in the Manenberg neighborhood of Cape Town. Sip on a South African rooibos tea and enjoy it with Cape Malay koesisters, a traditional doughnut like sweet treat as you chat with your host about life in Cape Town. Join your host at her dining table to enjoy a traditional Cape Malay meal. Your menu includes starters, a main and dessert. Enjoy a platter of Cape Malay pastries including samosas, half-moons, and fried spring rolls served with a traditional dhanya (coriander) dipping sauce. This will be followed by a main of Cape Malay tomato bredie, a South African stew of slow-cooked meat and vegetables served with yellow rice, made from a secret family recipe.

Cooking experience (1 - 6 guests) Join your hosts Colleen and Ruth at Ruth’s home kitchen to learn to cook a Cape Malay meal from recipes that have been passed down through generations of the sisters’ family. Cape Malay cuisine is all about bold flavors and warm hugs. Your hands-on Cape Malay cooking class will last about 2 hours. You will learn to cook a three-course Cape Malay meal including samosas, tomato bredie, rice and dessert. Enjoy learning about the tips and techniques involved in Cape Malay cooking before you sit down at the table to share the meal you helped prepare with your hosts Colleen and Ruth.

PERSONALLY VETTED REVIEW

A Traveling Spoon ambassador visited this host. Here is their personal review.

Ruth and Colleen were were warm and welcoming from the minute we stepped into their home. We were greeted with two different kinds of traditional homemade doughnuts and fresh tea and coffee. Ruth and Colleen took their time to get to know us a little while we enjoyed the treat, before we headed into the kitchen for our cooking class. We loved making fresh samosas from scratch, mixing and forming our own meat (and no-meat!) balls, kneading the dough for our dessert, and learning all about our hosts’ families and traditions along the way! Ruth and Colleen were very considerate about my dietary restrictions, and created a vegan version of all their favorite dishes just for me while my boyfriend enjoyed the original version of everything. We had a wonderful time, and left with full bellies and a lot of knowledge on the history and food traditions of this wonderful local family and their community. The neighborhood is definitely a little drive away from central Cape Town and on the rougher side but we didn't feel unsafe. What was awesome was that there is great gated parking at the house making it easy to get in and out of.

Jen, Traveling Spoon Ambassador

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