FEEL SOUTH AFRICA event by OUTLOOK project and RSA Embassy took place in Kyiv

FEEL SOUTH AFRICA has become the second culture event within the framework of OWCF 2019 aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation between the states and comprehensive presentation of the RSA in Ukraine within the framework of our annual festival. This time the format was the venue for communication. We have made it our goal to hold events that will facilitate the exchange of experience and the extending of professional contacts. Students of the Kyiv National Culture and Arts University became the target audience of the FEEL South Africa.

The base of the program was the show of the outfits by modern designers Siyabonga Sikhakhane (Brand: SiyaDelela) and Serge (Brand: MAD) from the Republic of South Africa and culinary workshops from special guests of our events, chef for Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki Andile Somdaka and Mahlomola Thamae.

Lecturing stuff of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts greeted Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the RSA to Ukraine Andre Johannes Groenewald, the diplomats and the guests of honor from the RSA with the hospitable bread and salt.

Official opening of the event – acquaintance with the great Mzansi country – began with a speech of the deputy Director General of the OUTLOOK Project Arina Sira, who welcomed everyone on behalf of the management and sent greetings from the mastermind of our festival, Dariia Kariiakina.

“The OUTLOOK Project is very glad today to implement one of its initiatives, Feel South Africa, together with the Embassy of the RSA in Ukraine within the framework of the OWCF festival. The festival of the cultures of the peoples of the world OUTLOOK WORLD CULTURE FESTIVAL aims to facilitate development of the dialogue and bilateral cooperation between the states.

Therefore we are sincerely grateful to the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts for giving the students of your institution the opportunity to participate in such projects. We believe that culture initiatives of this kind not only bring peoples together but also give the incentive for new contacts and inter-state cooperation”, Arina Sira said.

Lyudmyla Polishchuk, the Dean of the Event Management and Show Business Faculty emphasized the importance of such events for the students of the university, seeing in it not just the learning about another state and a better understanding of a different culture but also a galaxy of practical knowledge and the enablement for beginners of the profession.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the RSA to Ukraine Andre Johannes Groenewald stated: “Our peoples do indeed have much more in common than any of us could imagine. I am grateful that we together with the OUTLOOK overcome geographical distances and bring our states closer for future cooperation in all kinds of areas”.

Students of Event Management, Leisure Industry and Fashion Business Departments served as models during the show of the costumes. The students demonstrated outfits by the designers from the RSA Siyabonga Sikhakhane (Brand: SiyaDelela) and Serge (Brand: M A D). Stylish hairdos and makeup for the models were the courtesy of the students of the Fashion Business Department.

Siya Delela brand was represented by an urbanistic dungaree (overalls made of thick cotton fabric) that united elements of city and country styles.

M A D brand harmoniously united modern style and national motives in its clothes. The designer has made an emphasis on colors and paid attention to the bright prints.

Second part of the FEEL SOUTH AFRICA event was professional workshops for the students of the hotel and restaurant business department from our special guests – chefs from the RSA, Andile Somdaka and Mahlomola Thamae.

They have specially arrived to Ukraine to demonstrate their culinary skills; they taught future Ukrainian cooks to make national dishes of their country and also shared their professional and life experience during the workshop.

Andile Somdaka is a chef who originated in Huhulesu, the Republic of South Africa. It would be wrong to think that cooking traditional dishes is within everyone’s powers. The approach of Chef Andile Somdaki is that he carefully preserves traditions of the national cuisine and is very cautious about any kind of interpretations and innovations in order not to spoil the time-tested dishes.

He believes his mother, who instilled love to national cuisine in him, to be his first teacher. He began his professional career at Protea Hotels group by Marriott. This job allowed the young expert to perfect his culinary skills in European cuisine dishes.

In 1994 he became the personal chef for the President Nelson Mandela who returned after 27 years of imprisonment and missed dishes of his childhood a lot. Under Madiba’s keen guidance chef Andile excelled in cooking traditional dishes. As a sign of his respect to the culinary skills of the chef, Nelson Mandela recommended him to the next President, Thabo Mbeki. This is how Andile Somdaka once again became in charge of the presidential kitchen in the residence in Cape Town.

In 1999 he opened a restaurant of his own, Eziko Caterers. Paying enormous attention to quality, freshness and naturalness of the products, the chef opened his ‘garden of the greens’ right in the yard of the restaurant.

Within the framework of the Feel South Africa Andile Somdaka shared the secrets and practical advice of cooking traditional national cuisine dishes. He had an open discussion with the students on the importance of the naturalness of the products, selection of kitchen utensils, running your own business and tried to motivate the students for future accomplishments, emphasizing on his major professional credo.

“Cooking is love. You have to enter the kitchen with passion or not enter it at all”.

Mahlomola Thamae is a famous chef, the owner of his own restaurant, expert in planning and organizing hotel and restaurant business; while cooking a fish dish he sincerely shred his experience, told about the features and the differences of the cuisine of the Republic of South Africa and emphasized more than once:

“It doesn’t matter if you cook in your own kitchen or at a friend’s, what kind of products and how many of them you have, what kind of utensils there are; if you are a professional you will manage to make a nice, tasty dish anywhere using anything”.

Besides, chef Andile and chef Mahlomola gave the students unique local spices from the RSA as a present for them to use during future learning.

Mykhailo Poplavsky, the Rector of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, also attended the workshop. He emphasized that such a project is a chance for the students to get unique experience and that events of this kind promote opening new mutual opportunities.

It is worth mentioning that within the framework of the visit of the chefs, a meeting with a Ukrainian chef Ievgen Klopotenko was organized to exchange professional experience and establishing professional connections.

You may find it interesting: FEEL SLOVENIA project

We would like to thank once again the partners who supported Feel South Africa project for their contribution into the development of bilateral relations between Ukraine and the RSA:

The Embassy of the Republic of South Africa in Ukraine and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the RSA to Ukraine Andre Johannes Groenewald in person as well as the employees of the Embassy

Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts in the person of the Rector Mykhailo Poplavsky

Dean of the Event Management and Show Business Faculty Lyudmyla Polishchuk

Assistant Professor at Event Management and Leisure Industry Department Svitlana Oborska

Candidate of Engineering Science and Assistant Professor at the Hotel and Restaurant Business Department Halyna Tolok

Head of the Fashion Industry Department Lyudmyla Dykhnych

the students of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts.