revolutionaries at the table
a poem by Toni Giselle Stuart
come in, sit here, feel free
smell. taste. touch
you cannot refuse what is offered
here, a spoonful of ice-cream invites you
to listen, to understand who we are
we come from a long line of revolutionaries
here, meet the Mothers of Sauces, Mam’Dora and Aunty Cass
we are grown from the heat in their kitchens
and moulded from the steam sweating their brows
from our ash heaps, pumpkins grow
and we make the most beautiful stews
with no pretension to be anything else
but who we are
here,
meet a chef slow-cooked over 85 years in a DRC family kitchen
meet a chef slow-roasted through apartheid’s fire
taking her township cuisine to the world
meet a bush doctor, whose herbal tea will heal you before you grow ill
and a sommelier who cultivated a crate of wine from his backpack of certificates
meet the Lazy Makoti, whose books fill the kitchens of wives who are proud of who they are
come in, sit here, feel free.
smell. taste. touch. listen…
we are listening to the land,
asking: what would you like us to do?
did you get a fair deal before we plucked and picked you?
now, we’re learning to plant as we pluck
and sow as we ferment
we clothe our children spiritually
and feed them more than just food
here, mint is medicine for a tummy ache
and diamonds and pearls grow generations
come in, sit here, feel free
smell. taste. touch
you cannot refused what’s offered to you
there is hurt here too
because they ate our foods
and with the same tongue taught us to shun
and shame our roots and pulses
they closed their kitchen doors to us
and refused to tell our stories
but every pot of samp and beans
is a salute to our grandmothers’ strengths
and those ash heaps still sprout pumpkins
and the soil in our backyards still remember our grandfathers’ seeds
see,
we can feed ourselves
we always absolutely have
when we hide what we eat, we hide who we are
and we refuse to hide
so,
we cook what we love
and we cook with conviction
we plant new seeds as we stand our ground
we reclaim our histories as we speak our truth
we claim our space for the generations of growers, chefs, stylists, herbalists, photographers, sommeliers, and writers to come
we do not whisper. we lift as we rise
we do not whisper. we lift as we rise
come in, sit here, feel free
smell. taste. touch
the revolution is here: we welcome you in.
This is a poem by Toni Giselle Stuart that uses words, phrases and ideas shared by all the chefs, sommeliers, farmers, writers, environmentalists, bush doctors, entrepreneurs, and allies at the first South African People of Colour at the Table Conference, in February 2019. It was the first-ever gathering of people of colour who work in South Africa’s food and related industries.