Walking tour explores Cape Town’s food culture

Tour guides Keith Sparks, of Plumstead, and Adeola Oyebade, of Ndabeni, will be running walking tours exploring Cape Town’s food culture and history as part of Food Indaba 2024.

The Food Indaba, formerly known as the Food Dialogues, was founded by the South African Urban Food and Farming Trust in 2014. It brings together a range of speakers involved in shaping the food system and is a chance to examine issues related to the food we eat and the future of food.

The indaba will be held from Monday July 22 to Sunday August 4 with various events across Cape Town, including the V&A Waterfront precinct, Mowbray, Langa, Philippi, Lynedoch and Stellenbosch. This year’s theme is Oikonomos, the Greek root of the word Economics, literally meaning “home management”.

The tour by Mr Sparks and Mr Oyebade will shed light on how history shapes the modern-day food system and how the contemporary city shapes our interactions with food.

The walk will take participants on a loop through the city starting at Heritage Square and taking in Greenmarket Square, the station deck, the Golden Acre and the Company’s Garden, and they will get to taste classic Cape Town street food along the way.

Keith Sparks grew up in the politically-turbulent 1970s and 80s in Crawford on the Cape Flats. He has travelled to England, Ireland, Cuba and Brazil and believes embracing walking and public transport while travelling allows for deeper sensory experiences and meaningful interactions.

Adeola Oyebade is the CEO of Kalesanwa, a co-operative founded to help immigrants in Cape Town. Partly as a result of this work, Mr Oyebade has inside knowledge of the Cape Town CBD and, in particular, of the food systems there.

Cape Town CBD Food Systems Walking Tour takes places on Saturday, July 27 and Saturday, August 3. Tickets from R1 400 are available on Quicket.