Wanted Online: Making space at your table is way easier than building bridges

Wine glass in hand, apron fastened around my waist, you will find me happiest in my kitchen, standing over a chopping board. Throw into the mix a few friends hanging out snacking on samosas and I’m positively buzzing. That’s the power of food.

Like music and art, food has the power to make us experience intense emotions … in this case, warm, fuzzy memories of delicious aromas wafting from pots stirred by mothers and grandmas, tastes associated with first experiences or lessons learnt standing around a fire, braai tongs in hand.

But even more than emotions and memories, food shared has the power to foster social change. If that idea throws you, stick with me, I promise there’ll be a recipe parcelled in here. 

An important lessons I’ve learnt as an adult, and indeed am still learning, is the art of being OK with others who disagree with me — be that a political view, a question of faith, or which is the greatest hip-hop album — Illmatic by Nas (fight me in the comments section).