Eat up with Eat In

Jars upon jars of homemade jams, beautifully cured meats done lovingly in back garden sheds, local cheese made using good old Daisy’s milk, carefully pressed olive oils, honey from your own hive… you name it, on Thursday 17 March, you’ll be able to try it and best of all, it hails from all 11 corners of South Africa.

Artisan producers and speciality food stores are being celebrated by Eat In — South Africa’s leading foodie products magazine — at the annual Eat In Awards.

Anelde Greeff, editor of Eat In, tells us what it’s like to taste your way through South Africa’s delicious food ideas.

It’s your first awards show as the editor of Eat In, what’s it been like?
So amazing! When I joined the team last year, I had a vision of making this brand warmer and friendlier and more about the community of passionate people that it serves. So instead of having an intimate, media-focused awards lunch (as has happened for the past four years) I decided to have an event where we bring together all sides of the foodie community.

And isn’t a food market the perfect way to do it? This way, producers get to bring their stories and their produce and consumers get to meet (and eat with!) them. Plus, my team gets to engage with all parties involved, which ultimately helps us to deliver better content to our readers, and support to our producers and outlets.
What’s so good about eating local?
It’s not just about reducing our carbon footprint, it’s also about supporting the local economy. I believe in making the best of and contributing to the place where you live – and for me that means supporting the baker around the corner that gets up at 3am to bake my beloved buttermilk rye.
Why is a magazine and awards like this necessary?
It’s important to recognise and uplift the little guys. In the magazine, we list over 850 speciality food stores and artisan producers (from bakeries and butcheries to farm stalls and fishmongers). Many of these people and places are tiny industries that are not that well known or supported, and with our help their beautiful stories and fabulous produce are brought to the foodie community.

Along a similar vein, the awards acknowledge and celebrate outstanding independent local producers and outlets for their integrity, passion and innovation. It’s not the products you’ll find lining the shelves in supermarkets – often it’s the produce sold (by the producers themselves) at the food markets we visit on weekends.
How do you choose what to showcase in the mag and awards?
I work with a team of talented judges and reviewers from across the country (all knowledgeable and passionate foodies) that make suggestions as to whom should be included in the magazine.

As for the awards, there’s a big public call to action and then people get the opportunity to nominate their favourite products and producers in 11 categories. From the hundreds and hundreds of entries, we draw up a shortlist for judging. And yes, the final judging does include two full days of eating through all 11 categories…
What can we expect at this year’s market?

It’s the first time we’re inviting the public to be part of the festivities. We’re having a night market at the Old Biscuit Mill (a favourite Cape Town foodie hangout) where a selection of Eat In nominated producers and stores from across the country will be selling their wares. Alongside them will be sold two craft beers produced by SAB especially for the event. SAB’s master brewer, Denis da Silva, will also be on hand to chat about food and beer pairing.

Somewhere during the course of the evening (between filling our shopping baskets with great local produce, grabbing dinner and enjoying a few beers), we’ll announce the winners of the awards. And then we’ll carry on eating and drinking and making merry.

What do you envision Eat In to become in years to come?
I wish for everyone’s experience with the brand to be like my relationship with my mother’s old recipe b