Johannesburg – There was a time when your grandmother’s vetkoek recipe was just… well, your grandmother’s vetkoek recipe.
The method she used for making delicious, deep-fried dough bread you couldn’t wait to smother with syrup or her savoury mince.
But definitely not something you’d expect to find on a modern menu.
Those days are changing fast.
Welcome to the Culinary Roots movement, tipped as one of the defining global food trends of 2025, where chefs and food professionals are reviving time-honoured cuisine and techniques to reconnect with their culinary heritage.
This is highlighted as one of four megatrends in the Unilever Food Solutions Future Menus 2025 report, based on insights from over 250 chefs across 75 countries.
“The most exciting plates aren’t necessarily showcasing the latest molecular gastronomy or imported superfoods – they’re bringing back cuisine that was nearly forgotten, and doing it with serious style,” says Yonela Motloung, Marketing Lead at Unilever Food Solutions South Africa.
So, what is driving the trend towards traditional?
- Desire for Authenticity: Instead of another pasta dish or poke bowl, many diners are looking for food that reflects local identity and connection, the kind of richness ancestral recipes provide.
- Rooted in Sustainability: Long before sustainability became a buzzword, ancestral cooking nailed it – using what was local, seasonal, and available – no waste, no fuss.
- The Health Factor: While modern processed foods are loaded with preservatives, traditional cooking typically focuses on whole, fresh ingredients and simple preparation techniques.
South Africa has a culinary heritage that is a rich mosaic of indigenous traditions, colonial influences, and cultural fusion, with recipes that date back centuries.
We’re talking about cuisine that once formed the backbone of our food culture, but some have slowly been lost in favour of convenience and global food trends.
Indigenous fare like Isijingi (pumpkin and maize porridge), Mogodu (tripe), Umngqusho (samp and beans), and heritage specialities like Skilpadjies (liver wrapped in caul fat) or Mosbolletjies (aniseed rusks made with fermented grapes) are slowly disappearing from our tables.
The irony is that often we get excited about ‘imported heritage foods’, yet we’ve been letting some of our own culinary treasures slip away.
But the Culinary Roots movement is changing that.
“It’s about taking the ingredients and dishes we know – the ones rooted in our culture – and modernising them,” says Chef Pinky Maruping from Unilever Food Solutions South Africa.
“We’re not just preserving tradition; we’re evolving it for today’s kitchens in a way that still honours where we come from.”
Imagine Umngqusho (famously loved by Nelson Mandela), infused with indigenous herbs and truffle oil, plated alongside smoked brisket – gourmet but still rooted in ancestral comfort.
Picture vetkoek reimagined as artisanal sliders with gourmet fillings.
But here’s where the “race to revive” aspect becomes crucial. Many traditional food practices live in the memories of older generations.
As those voices fade, we risk losing not just recipes, but cultural context.
Rural communities are becoming urbanised, and younger cooks aren’t always taught the value of what’s come before.
Fortunately, efforts are being made to preserve our culinary legacy that goes beyond families.
Food tours now highlight ancestral methods to audiences, while workshops offer hands-on learning experiences.
Culinary schools are embracing local ingredients, modern restaurants are breathing new life into heritage fare, and food personalities are using cookbooks and media to spark renewed interest among younger generations.
And there’s also opportunity. Food tourism is booming. Diners – local and international – are actively seeking out real, rooted experiences.
Social media makes it easier to reintroduce culinary classics in exciting new ways, while brands like Unilever Food Solutions are supporting the foodservice industry with tools, insights and products to help bridge the gap between heritage and innovation.
The race to revive forgotten food traditions is heating up, and the country has everything it needs to succeed.
“The cuisine that tells uniquely South African stories is starting to find its voice again. Every recipe saved is a piece of our history that lives on,” concludes Motloung.
“And that’s a heritage worth fighting for – one vetkoek at a time.”
FEATURED RECIPE
DEEP-FRIED SLICED FISH WITH PERI-PERI OIL
Ingredients
For the Fish Brine
- 200 g hake fillets
- 10 g spring onion
- 10 g sliced ginger
- 500 g water (with 2% salt)
- 10 g Knorr Professional Chicken Stock Granules
For the Fish Seasoning
- 3 g Knorr Professional Chicken Stock Granules
- 1 g Knorr Aromat Original
- 2 g sugar
- 512 g peri-peri oil
For the Sweet Potato
- 200 g sweet potato, sliced into 5 mm rounds
- 3 g honey
- 2 g white sesame seeds, roasted
For the Spicy Seasoning
- 3 g roasted chilli powder (with seasoning)
- 10 g Robertsons Peri-Peri Spice
- 3 g Knorr Professional Chicken Stock Granules
- 1 g Knorr Aromat Original
Method
1. Prepare the Fish
- Mix water and stock granules to make the brine.
- Add hake fillets, spring onion, and ginger. Brine for 2 hours.
- Remove, rinse, pat dry, quick-freeze, then shave into 5 mm slices.
- Dehydrate the slices for 4 hours.
2. Deep-Fry & Season the Fish
- Heat peri-peri oil to 110 °C.
- Fry fish slices for 2–3 minutes until slightly golden and transparent.
- Remove and toss with fish seasoning.
- Soak in peri-peri oil until ready to use (longer = more transparent).
3. Cook the Sweet Potato
- Rinse and drain the sliced sweet potato.
- Heat oil to 175 °C.
- Fry until crispy and golden. Remove and set aside.
4. Finish & Assemble
- Mix the spicy seasoning ingredients.
- In a pan with a little spicy oil, stir-fry honey until bubbling.
- Add crispy sweet potato and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with spicy seasoning and sesame seeds.
- Plate the sweet potatoes and top with soaked fish slices.
- Garnish with micro herbs.
