South Africa’s indigenous ingredients are undergoing a powerful resurgence across culinary and cultural landscapes.
After centuries of being overlooked in favour of Westernised diets and agriculture – due to the country’s repressive history and the march of urbanisation – local produce is once again sparking curiosity and innovation among chefs and food entrepreneurs.
As many of these chefs garner international acclaim, there’s a growing need to cook in a way that reflects who they are and where they come from – subsequently reshaping the essence of South African and broader African cuisine.
In a post-pandemic world facing climate change, sustainability together with the medicinal and nutritional value of indigenous ingredients makes them vital for contemporary living.
This renaissance also aligns with the current redefinition of luxury – where meaningful experiences, cultural authenticity, and deeper connections are favoured over excess.
Part of this reawakening stems from the broader food industry’s alignment with what some pioneers have championed for years. One such example is the 2016 book, Eat Ting, by dietician and African food researcher Mpho Tshukudu and food anthropologist Anna Trapido – now considered a treasured resource when it comes to cooking with South African superfoods.
Indigenous Ingredients in Action
The culinary alchemy at fine-dining restaurant The LivingRoom, led by this year’s Eat Out Chef of the Year Johannes Richter, is another standout example.
Located at the family-run Summerhill Guest Estate in Cowies Hill, KwaZulu-Natal, the restaurant’s ethos is shaped by Johannes’ authentic, sustainable approach and his passion to showcase Durban’s culinary heritage and diversity.
Since its establishment in 2017, The LivingRoom has had sustainability at its heart and was a recipient of the 2025 Eat Out Woolworths Green Star Award.
Driven by a seasonal and endemic approach to cooking, the restaurant operates entirely off-grid using 90 solar panels. A custom wood-fired oven adds flavour dimensions while reducing electricity consumption and ecological impact by using black wattle – an invasive species – as firewood.
Summerhill’s on-site garden eliminates the need for plastic packaging and features a range of indigenous plants and herbs including umsobo berries, imbuya, amatungulu, amadumbe, rose geranium, ukhova banana, marula, and umdoni (see glossary).
The menus are faithful to these ingredients and the natural rhythm of the seasons, showcasing Johannes’ technical precision and poetic mastery.
“We ferment umdoni into wine or vinegar because we don’t use balsamic, for instance. As a substitute, umdoni is good because it is similar to a grape with a bit of tannin and sugar in the fruit,” he explains. “Working with foraged, indigenous produce that is completely acclimatised to the conditions really sets us apart. Additionally, no herbicides, pesticides or fungicides need to be used as the plant has developed a natural resistance to pests.”
Johannes’ wife, Johanna, is a brilliant sommelier, whose non-alcoholic pairings – like kombuchas, juices, and tonics – are made in-house, illustrating an artisanal touch that favours locality.
Armed with a deep knowledge of these indigenous ingredients that he’s continuously acquiring, Johannes believes what we know is just the tip of the iceberg.
Elsewhere, Chef Wandile Mabaso refines and elevates indigenous flavours through his Afrique Moderne approach at his restaurant Les Créatifs in Johannesburg.
Michelin-starred Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen is reimagining the food and beverage offering at The Palace Hotel at Sun City with his ‘Lost Ingredients’ concept, celebrating forgotten South African ingredients. Next month, he opens his new restaurant at the Intercontinental Table Bay Cape Town.
Farming Indigenous Crops Sustainably
Small-scale farmer Siphiwe Sithole is another driving force of this movement.
Through her organic farming business African Marmalade, she has championed indigenous crops since 2018 – producing heirloom and heritage seeds, training farmers in sustainable farming, and engaging with the culinary industry.
African Marmalade produces a variety of indigenous grains such as sorghum, foxtail, and pearl millet; wild leafy greens including amaranth and spider flower; tubers such as cassava and cocoyams; as well as beans, Bambara nuts, African watermelon, cucumbers, and pumpkin.
“Sustainable agriculture and indigenous farming methods prioritise soil care,” she says. “We intercrop and interplant to support plants. Mung beans, Bambara nuts, amaranth, and sorghum add nitrogen and phosphorus to the soil. African crops are drought-resistant. This can help with food insecurity. Indigenous plants have a longer shelf life, and the food is nutrient-dense.”
Now relocating her operations from Gauteng to her home province of Mpumalanga, Siphiwe is preparing to better equip herself with more education – and advocates for the correct documentation and labelling of the ingredients.
Turning Indigenous Ingredients into Luxury Products
Across the country, local brands and artisans are turning indigenous ingredients into premium retail products that combine tradition with luxury.
Caterer and entrepreneur Noni Masombuka, through her company Black Olive House and its pre-packaged food range BOH at Home, has created popular products such as Impepho Granola, Umhlonyane Butter, and Wild Garlic Pesto.
These celebrate the healing properties of traditional ingredients for modern wellbeing. For Noni, it’s important to exploit the ingredients’ versatility and flavour dynamics and rebrand them from the outdated ‘poverty food’ narrative.
There’s a wider consumer shift towards “clean” labels, ancestral knowledge, and functional luxury – especially in wellness and beauty spaces. Brands like Skoon and Lelive are part of the A-Beauty (African Beauty) movement, drawing on botanical powerhouses such as buchu, green rooibos, Lesotho rosehip oil, and marula.
In Limpopo, Retang Phaahla – winner of the prestigious 2025 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award – produces indigenous, herbal tea infusions made with Tepane leaves and Diya root through her agri-business, Setšong Tea Crafters. Not only is Retang preserving traditional Bapedi health knowledge, but she’s creating sustainable income for rural women.
From fine-dining restaurants to regenerative farms, a new generation of chefs, producers, and food entrepreneurs are reimagining luxury as something deeply rooted in place, people, and purpose.
Glossary of Indigenous Ingredients
- Amadumbe: A starchy root vegetable, commonly known as taro.
- Amatungulu: Natal plum, also called big num-num.
- Imbuya: Amaranth or pigweed – a nutritious leafy green – also known as thepe in Setswana, Sepedi, and Sesotho.
- Impepho: African sage, used with spiritual significance.
- Ukhova: KwaZulu-Natal’s heritage banana, known to be King Shaka’s favourite fruit and often referred to as banana ka shaka.
- Umdoni: Water berry, a small fruit used in fermentation, also known as umswi or umjomi in isiXhosa.
- Umhlonyane: African wormwood, a herb used medicinally, or lengana in Setswana and wilde-als in Afrikaans.
- Umsobo: Black nightshade, a fruit.
