Yebo go go

So the soccer world cup is actually coming to South Africa. The entire country woke up this morning to a collective sore head. After the euphoria, the celebrations, the parties, the exhuberence, today was a day for rest and reflection. The roads were strangely quiet and the shopping malls deserted. I t seemed as if the reality was sinking in and people were already at work scheming and planning.
The bid team have already arrived home and on Monday the horse trading will start in earnest. My thoughts turned to what the approximately 400,000 incoming visitors will eat in 2010 when they visit South Africa for the World Cup.
A swift perusal of the official sponsors list reveals almost certain “done deals”.
There is no doubt that they will be consuming lots of Coca Cola as opposed to Pepsi and McDonalds will feature strongly in their pre and post match meals.The beers of choice will all be from the SABMillar’s stable and accommodation will be with the Southern Sun Group so standard hotel buffets will be the order of the day.
Unfortunately what they probably won’t get to eat is the rich street food of the various regions of South Africa where the matches will be played. Wouldn’t it be great if they could enjoy a real Bunny Chow in Durban – a hollowed out half loaf of white bread filled with an authentic Natal Indian curry. Or in Cape Town a Gatsby – a whole loaf of bread filled with hot fried chips or even a salomi, the original wrap of roti or flatbread filled with your choice of curry and salad. I’m certain the new stadium in Nelspruit will not be offering grilled Mozambican prawns despite being less than 50 kilometers from the border.
The world cup offers an ideal opportunity to showcase the cooking skills and offerings of the country to an enormous audience and when the logistics team gets to work on Monday morning to start planning a memorable experience for visitors, top of their list should be culinary considerations.