One of Zimbabwe’s leading culinary platforms, Magriza Made Me Cook, will be heading to the Kingdom of Eswatini for the Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival, scheduled for August 1 to 2.
Considered to be one of the leading food and fashion events in Southern Africa, Luju celebrates the sophistication and elegance of African style, cultures, creative design and delicacies.
This year the festival celebrates Nguni Foodways, a living culinary landscape shaped by the people, places, practices and flavours that connect Nguni communities across Southern Africa.
More than a cuisine, Nguni foodways offer a lens through which we understand the evolution of society itself: from hunter-gatherer traditions and nomadic pastoralism to contemporary food cultures. Food has always been at the centre of this journey, revealing an enduring relationship between people and place, where it serves as both sustenance and cultural archive.
This theme is a perfect for Prince Sivalo's Magriza Made Me Cook. "Magriza," means "grandmother" in isiNdebele, and just like countless others, Prince's love for cooking was ignited by his grandmother's guidance in the kitchen.
"Magriza Made Me Cook" captures this heartwarming sentiment, honoring the legacy of grandmothers who nurture our love for food and culture. The show celebrates the rich tapestry of Zimbabwean and African food culture, making both educational and entertaining.
"I am incredibly honoured and excited to be taking the culinary stage at this year’s Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival in the Kingdom of Eswatini," wrote Sivalo on X.
"Standing alongside the brilliant Chef Mmabatho Molefe and Chef Sive Bhembe, we are diving deep into this year's powerful theme: 'Nguni Foodways – A return to the African future.' For my live cooking demonstration, we are stepping back to move forward. I’ll be exploring the beauty, resilience, and depth of our ancestral forage and preservation techniques..."
Sivalo's presentation will bring together the tastes of the past with flavours from the present.
In addition to the culinary showcases, Luju Festival will also feature fashion runways and music performances from artists that includeNasty C, Liquideep, Shwi Mantombazane, Emagugu and Bholoja.
Last year Zimbabwe's Marcus Zvinavashe was a participating designer at the festival with his brand Icatha.