Some like it hot
Durban lights the fires for Shisanyama fest
DURBAN’S second shisanyama lights the fires this weekend in a celebration of township food and culture that sees top local outlets going head to head in a giant cook-off. About 2.5 tons of meat will be braaied.
Involved in today’s cook-off are Mashamplanez, Artizen Restaurant and Shisanyama, Comfort Zone Jazz Lounge, The Joint, Nsimbini Lifestyle and up-and-coming street vendor Take It Easy Chicken Dust and township caterer, Ningi’s Corner.
Five top township KZN butchers, many of who sell more than 70 tons of meat a month, will be honoured. The butchers are Izwelethu Butchery, Hlope Butchery, Nkomose Butchery, Umlazi Plaza Butchery Group, and Kenterton Butchery.
The evening is hosted by Pearl Thusi with top entertainers including Riky Rick, Big Nuz, and Unathi.
TJ Zama, the man who put uMlazi’s Eyadini Lounge on Durban’s entertainment map, is one of the backers of the festival, and he has high hopes of it going national, and even international, in future.
One of the contestants in today’s cook-off is Mlu (Patrick) Makhanya who started Nsimbini Lifestyle as a car wash in uMbumbulu in 2006.
“People are hungry for this thing,” he said.
“We were pushed by our customers. First it was a small restaurant and a little later something to drink and somewhere they could call home. And then a proper restaurant and a VIP area.”
Finally, last year, came a new purpose-designed building.
His team will be braaiing T-bones, lamb ribs and steaks. Chicken wings and drumsticks with different spicing will also hit the coals.
The man who lives in eManzimtoti and studied at the old ML Sultan (DUT) credits his father for his business vision.
“He said, ‘you need to open something. Start small and we can upgrade this thing’,” Makhanya said.
Today his customers come from as far afield as Pietermaritzburg and Port Shepstone. Even Gautengers on holiday in Durban will visit, although giving locals a place of their own is important.
“It’s also important to build your own area. And to express ourselves. It’s also important to drink next to your home,” he said.
For Bonga Shange, of finalist Mushamplanez Lounge in Chesterville, it started with a small shisanyama in Che Guevara (Moore) Road. But he tells how city by-laws forced him to close.
Two years ago he found a good venue in Chesterville and opened Mashamplanez.
Born in Ixopo and growing up in uMlazi, he said he’s a people’s person and a socialite.
“Twenty years ago I went out a lot, so why not open my own place to chill,” Shange said.
He chose Chesterville because he saw the township was starved of entertainment.
“And I’m creating employment for local people. Plus, the people of Chesterville now have their own place to chill, to be with themselves. It’s not more than 2km from home so no-one has to drive after a big party,” he said.
His meat offerings include lamb, liver and kidneys, with home-made sauces that can be “normal” or “spiced”. Chicken feet too are a speciality.
“They take the babalaas out of customers,” Shange said.
New kid on the block, Nkule Sithole, last month opened Berea’s first shisanyama on King Dinizulu (Berea) Road. Called 031 Shisanyama, he is dreaming big with hopes of franchising the concept.
“We’ve got it in the townships, so why not a township experience in the suburbs,” he said.
“We’re surrounded by students who want to see their celebrities and the politicians.”
The pictures of the VIPS soon flick through his camera roll.
“It encourages students to do something with their lives,” he adds.
The venue – the old KFC – was previously seen as a crime area, but now, “with 24 hour security and people coming to the area we’ve improved things”.
In addition to regular offerings, his kitchen offers burgers and bunnies and wants to be seen as a venue where a variety of African cuisines can flourish and the quality of the meat is everything.
“We don’t want to be seen as a place for events. We don’t want to be DJ dependent. We’re open Sunday to Sunday with specials every day and something for everyone,” Sithole said.
One of the giants behind many of the the smaller shisanyama outlets is the iZwelethu Butchery in uMlazi. It was started 35 years ago by Welcome Dube and today not only boasts a shisanyama, but also supplies more than 80 tons of meat a month.
His grandson, Siya Dube, tells of an operation that has diversified further with an outlet and shisanyama in KwaDukuza on the North Coast
“We’ve grown into the industry with knowledge and experience,” he said.
“Today we can offer mentorship to many individual operators.”
His grandfather, now retired, started working in a butchery in his holidays in the early ’80s. He opened a small outlet in Glebelands and then moved on to a proper establishment in uMlazi.
“His success was a beacon of hope for many,” Siya said.
The festival is sponsored by Durban Tourism, Ukhozi FM, Bluff Meat Supply and Spiritual Vodka, a new premium seven-times distilled brand from New Zealand.
This year’s festival features an enormous VIP deck and tent, and 1 000-seat communal dining experience. Tickets are R120 from Computicket or R150 at the door.
VIP tickets are R300 and include a welcome drink from Spiritual Vodka. The event starts at noon and continues until late.