Summer Entertaining – SA Home Owner Magazine
Director and founder of Conceptspark, Marc Hirschowitz appreciates our South African summers.
I once heard in conversation that the richness of a nation can be measured by its art output. I tend to believe that it can also be measured by its food and civility towards fellow citizens.
I have recently returned from Japan and thought it interesting how such an advanced society entertains. It is, after all, a society compulsively hygienic, which even disallows smoking in the streets, barring designated sparse areas. South Africans are renowned for informal entertainers, braais, easy eating, as well as long and relaxing slow cooking potjies.
The Japanese don’t and aren’t. They have neither the space nor the time to indulge in our style of summers. What they do though, they do with flair and with style, and with a precision to make outsiders envious.
Us South Africans are lucky. We have more personal space than many other nations, and a welcoming, laid back attitude that others are envious of. The pretence and formality of Japanese entertaining would be stifling to most South Africans. The Japanese traditional culture, stemming from the home, sees multiple families in single dwellings, with multifunctional rooms: the dining area often doubles up as the bedroom with the removal of the low-seating furniture and the replacement with futons at bed time.
The formality of societal rank, and the complexity of eating and drinking etiquette, makes informal dinner virtually impossible. The rotation of the green tea cup of 90° – that the embedded pattern on the cup faces away from you – the order of serving of guests, and the minefield in the process of the order of what to eat first and onwards on your plate, are stressful and mind boggling.
So, both space and formality are an issue. Leisure time and leisure space are both extremely limited – neither applicable to the same degree to South Africans.
Tokyo is a fascinating capital, with property prices, although currently down on highest levels, excruciatingly expensive. This is carried through to all aspects of life in Japan. Gut-wrenching is the expense of the place, making my return to SA more welcoming and life more affordable. What is really fascinating about Japan though is its trend-setting persona: an uplifting experience seeing unrecognisable fonts and products, where English is not understood beyond your concierge desk. The trends I discovered there will be integrated into our upcoming events over the next few months. Their simplicity and purity of ingredients, and a natural aesthetic of space, create a calm so suited to the relaxed South African way.
What we are really enjoying now for the summer ahead, is simple stylish entertaining. Guest participation makes eating more than just that: it adds an element of entertainment. Working well for the next season, try fajitas with the various accompaniments, which gives an interactive element to eating. We are also proposing the concept of DIY for food, where the guests participate in the final stages of preparation of the meal. The concept of Indian Summer, with bright colourful parasols, and picnic blankets, with coloured fabrics in amber, damson and Nile blue lining the picnic baskets, are all relaxed and outdoor.
So next time you fire up the braai, crack open an affordable yet outstanding SA wine, and laugh with friends in our warm sunshine, and take a moment to reflect on the ease and comfort in which we relaxingly live our leisure time. I know the Japanese would certainly want to.
