Fayruza Abrahams
Tuesday 6 September
Fayruza Abrahams describes life growing up in the Bo-Kaap as “colourful” and “very exciting”.
“Obviously food plays such a big part in the Cape-Malay culture. Each and every opportunity – whether it is a baptism, engagement party, wedding, funeral – we’ve got food. It’s the one thing that keeps the community together,” she says.
The Cape Malay Chef and Cultural Experience Host started learning her way around the kitchen at a young age. Fayruza spent many afternoons in the kitchen with her grandmother, grandfather and great-grandmother where she learnt all the basics of Cape Malay cooking.
“I hated it, to be honest! I was a kid and I wanted to be playing outside. But we had the role that when my mom and dad got home in the afternoon, that there was a meal for the whole family,” she explains.
After school Fayruza worked as a flight attendant for 14 years. “I travelled to almost every destination you can think of. I naturally gravitated towards food. Seeking out different food experiences, different cultures, learning different techniques.” She incorporated what she had learnt into her own cooking.
After being diagnosed with an auto-immune disease in 2017, Fayruza was left “very sick and very unemployed”. She started doing catering and teaching cooking classes. “I thought it was going to be a temporary thing, but I just fell in love with it!” she says.
Her business ‘Taste Malay’ was born. She now offers 4 different in-person experiences, each one teaching her guests the basics of Cape Malay cooking with a twist.
She has recently published her second cookbook, ‘Experience Bo-Kaap’. Fayruza explains that the idea behind her cooking classes is “to pay homage to our culture and teach people how to cook Cape-Malay food. We all love samosas, we all love roti’s, but nobody knows how to make it.”
“What I’ve done is put all the recipes that I teach in a little handbook. There’s also information about the Bo-Kaap, a little bit about the history, where to shop, what to do… So anybody can pick it up and cook a delicious three-course meal,” she says.
Check out our giveaway, where one lucky viewer can win a copy of ‘Experience Bo-Kaap’!
