Editor’s letter
IF EVER THERE WAS A YEAR WE WANTED TO PUT BEHIND US,
it is this one. But I admit there are some days when I still feel gratitude for 2020. It feels insensitive to say this, after there has been so much suffering and loss, but there have been some unexpectedly happy outcomes, too.
Separated from them by walls and screens and masks, I have learnt more about my colleagues’ loyalty, resilience, humour and hidden talents than
I may ever have working side by side with them in an office.
On our team, there are five of us with children under the age of five. Another four have two older children each, who still live at home and were off school for months. Some have had relatives who were hospitalised, elderly parents who were cut off from their children, businesses liquidated and partners’ whose salaries were cut.
Yet this is the team that, during lockdown, produced seven issues of TASTE magazine – with a total of 317 new recipes – more than 80 videos and 18 virtual events.
We collaborated with six new video hosts, welcomed Khanya Mzongwana and Keletso Motau as regular contributors, appointed a new online editor, Annzra Naidoo, who the team has still never met in person, and signed the amazing Mogau Seshoene (a.k.a. The Lazy Makoti) for an official brand partnership. Incidentally, this is also the team that creates world-class content and experiences for Woolies’ wine club,
WCellar. If you haven’t signed up, get yourself to page 13 now.
What I’ve learned about our team is what matters most to each of them and what has kept them going. I’ve witnessed their capacity to work harder than ever and find solutions to problems we could never have anticipated. Everyone has been prepared to pick up more than their share when someone (myself included) needed help. No birthday was forgotten, no meme went unshared and whoever got their hands on each new issue of TASTE first shared it on our WhatsApp group the way people share pictures of their newborns.
Through it all, we’ve shared the highs and lows with the formidable brand team at Woolworths, watching them reinvent themselves weekly to meet customer demands, face down the critics and still put on the merriest virtual Christmas launch you ever did see.
It has been a year that has made me immensely proud of the people I work with and the brand we bring to life. Being separated meant learning to trust each other, respect the process and, sometimes, to let go.
And before we all summon the last of our reserves for the Christmas season, here is something you might need for the home stretch. I don’t know about you, but I could use five new recipes for guilt-free pancakes (p 78) right about now.
Flapjacks aside, this issue features more than 50 recipes that may look tricky, but are easier (and definitely faster) than ordering a takeaway online. And between our ingenious combos and clever hacks are the stories of people who faced the hardships of
2020 and created something new.
Because this was the year that took familiar ingredients and turned them into something extraordinary. What you choose to take from that is up to you. I’m taking 317 new recipes, even more respect for our colleagues at Woolies and a team I will be grateful to for years to come.
No birthday was forgotten, no meme went unshared”