Get ready for a globe-trotting explosion of sounds, street food and high fashion while fighting hunger by donating to Chefs with Compassion!

Sweet, umami and spice – and everything that’s nice! The flavours and sounds of the globe will meet in South Africa on 24 and 25 September 2022, when the DStv Delicious International Food and Music Festival returns to Joburg’s Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit with the latest in gourmet street food trends and a mouth-watering buffet of musical talent – plus the opportunity to take home an exclusive recipe book and contribute to the fight against hunger.

More names will soon be announced to add to the scorching local and international musicline-up already unveiled – including international acts Burna Boy, Stereo MCs, Digable Planets and Babyface, as well as local music superstars such as Simphiwe Dana, Zenzi Makeba Lee and Msaki and spoken-word maestro Lebo Mashile.

In the meantime, foodies have lots to look forward to over this Heritage Day weekend, when local celebrity chef and Siba’s Table presenter Siba Mtongana will be sizzling and sautéing up a storm in the Ambassador Lounge. 

Gauteng is certainly gearing up for a festive weekend of good times, great music, spectacular food, cutting-edge fashion (don’t forget to dress to impress) and a hearty helping of ubuntu – thanks to the festival’s partnership with Chefs with Compassion, a volunteer-based food rescue and hunger relief non-profit organisation.

Why not take the festival home with you and get some great cooking inspo from a unique recipe book that’s launching at the event – DStv Delicious Festival: Our Story & Recipes (available to pre-order at www.thatfoodguyshop.co.za). Try your hand at Lorna Maseko’s Stuffed Leg of Lamb with Spinach, Tomato, Chilli and Biltong Jam; J’Something’s Crispy Korean Cauliflower and Toasted Cashew and Cauliflower Stem Salsa; and the festival’s very own Delicious Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Crammed with delectable recipes from leading chefs, local celebrities and musicians, this must-have book tells the story of the festival from its inception, through Covid-19 up until its fresh rebrand in 2022. You’ll also learn more about the stars, musicians, traders and everyone involved in South Africa’s most iconic food, lifestyle and music festival. Simply irresistible!

Globe-trotting feast of flavours awaits

Of course, after a two-year absence all the stallholders on the Delicious Food Mile are eager to pull out all the stops to tempt festival-goers with bold taste sensations from around the world. Prime your palate, come hungry and prepare for an explosion of global street food trends – it’s like taking a round-the-world gastronomic trip in your own backyard!

How about some “wings, ribs and dope vibes” from Wing Republic? Or “accessible world-inspired food with a Balkan twist” from Balkan Burger? Maybe a serving of “Rastafari vegan bowls of deliciousness” from Exotically Divine Ital or scrumptious Nigerian cuisine from BLD African Cookhouse? Or let Griekse Boertjie tempt your tastebuds with their shawarmas and salad bowls – “delicious Greek food with a South African twist”.

These and so many other food stalls are ready to tantalise your taste buds this year. From Mozambican prawns to the local flavours of shisanyama, kotas and mogudu, from gourmet burgers to Italian wood-fired pizzas, Korean dumplings to Japanese ramen and poke bowls, from Greek meze to Lebanese souvlaki wraps, from Spanish paella and churros to Belgian waffles – a cosmopolitan feast awaits!

A festival with heart

For the first time in the history of the DStv Delicious International Food and Music Festival, tickets for Saturday have sold out within six weeks of going on sale – signalling South Africans’ voracious appetite for fine food and music after the festival’s Covid-enforced two-year absence.

However, there is more to the festival than just being a celebration of food and music – it’s got a whole lot of heart, too. Times are tough for many people in Joburg, and festival-goers have the opportunity to give something back and help to fight hunger thanks to the festival’s partnership with NGO Chefs with Compassion.

Since its inception as a response to the first lockdown in 2020, which left many people out of work and vulnerable, Chefs with Compassion has served more than 3.3-million meals through its network of more than 30 community kitchens, by rescuing 1.5-million kilograms of food that would otherwise have gone to waste. More recently, in July this year, the chefs provided almost 350 000 people with a hearty cup of soup in commemoration of Mandela Day.

In the spirit of ubuntu, the DStv Delicious International Food and Music Festival and its partners hope to raise money to help Chefs with Compassion continue feeding those who have fallen on hard times. Festival-goers can do their part by buying a “care pack” to donate to the cause at participating Sasol Delight stores, or at the Sasol Delight pop-up store at the event itself. Come and see the stellar line-up of chefs who, for a small donation, will also be autographing plates for festival-goers.

In addition to headline sponsor DStv, this year the festival extends its thanks to partners Samsung, Sasol Rewards, Sanlam, Mercedes-Benz, Windhoek Beer, Tanqueray, Smirnoff Infusions, Fitch & Leeds, Proudly South African, Flight Centre and Gauteng Tourism Authority, who are all helping to make this sensory celebration happen.

Visit www.deliciousfestival.com for more details about the festival.  A limited amount of Delicious Picnic Lawn tickets are available on Howler at R890-00 for Sunday, 25th September.  To find out where to purchase DStv Delicious Festival: Our Story & Recipes (R390 incl. VAT), visit www.thatfoodguyshop.co.za or email publishing@thatfoodguy.co.za.