Rosen launches Botswana traditional cookbook
Larona Makhaiza | Tuesday March 28, 2023 06:00
The launch for the book titled, ‘Taste of Botswana’ took place at Botswana Craft on Friday. Rosen said it all started with an idea of producing her own cuisine book of traditional food.
She said Botswana’s very own traditional recipes have not been preserved and patented. She further said the project took up a lot of time because she had to do research. “’Taste of Botswana’ is a project that has been ongoing for 10 years and this included countless hours of test cooking, styling and photo shoots, which demanded a lot of time from me,” said the author.
Rosen also said ‘Taste of Botswana’ should be something of great importance to Batswana who like to be in the kitchen particularly for Setswana cuisine. The book will also serve as a marketing tool to sell Botswana traditional food to other international countries that yearn for Botswana cuisine foods. “The purpose of ‘Taste of Botswana’ is to protect, preserve and promote our cultural heritage through food,” she said. It is about time we tell our cultural stories because if we do not tell them, who would tell them? This book is a storytelling through cuisine since food is the most direct and immediate way to share culture,” Rosen further added.
Asked what ‘Taste of Botswana’ really comprise, Rosen said the cookbook is a mixture and match of traditional and new recipes. The recipes from the book range from authentic traditional ones that pay homage to rich Setswana heritage, to hearty vegan dishes that have tantalising taste of home and comfort. Furthermore, Rosen said people who will use the book will also get to view food from a social perspective, like how people are brought together around an open fire for preparation and cooking of some of the traditional food. Also, how food can bring people together and turn those moments into ever lasting memories that people will forever cherish.
In addition, Rosen said the book could also be used by school going children for educational purposes and she would like to see it being included in the school curriculum. For her part, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Philda Kereng took up Rosen on her wish of seeing her book being used as an educational tool. “I also wish to see the book in the school curriculum of Botswana for students in Home Economics (HE) and for this I will go and engage the Ministry of Education to work around it and include ‘Taste Of Botswana’ in the school curriculum,” the minister said. The minister further implored Batswana to follow in the footsteps of Rosen.
“We need to invest more in ourselves and see more of these books including digital ones. We also need documentation of these cultural activities and I feel Botswana has greater potential and we can even open Botswana cuisine in other international countries,” she added.