Herman Lensing serves up the tastes and memories of his Kalahari heritage

A cucumber mould salad can instantly transport you back to a family table. The smell of meat cooking over the coals might take you somewhere else entirely: a farmyard, a long family visit or someone who always knew exactly when the food was ready.

For Herman Lensing, these connections between food, people and memories are at the heart of Herman se erfenistafel, a special Heritage Month bonus episode of Herman se halfuur.

The episode, made possible by Food Lover’s Market, airs on 19 September at 19:00 on VIA.

And while there is plenty of food on the table, the story behind it goes much further than what is being served.

Herman Lensing goes back to his Kalahari roots

“Heritage means your family, your household,” says Herman.

For him, that heritage leads back to his upbringing in the Kalahari and memories of the farmhouse, kitchen and people whose food became part of his own story.

Those memories influence the heritage table he creates for the episode, which features warm, earthy colours and a rustic farm style.

“The heritage table I set is, to me, the complete embodiment of what heritage is,” says Herman.

What’s on Herman’s heritage table?

The menu combines familiar flavours with a few fresh twists.

There is cucumber mould salad, potatoes with beer, flame-grilled leeks with cream sauce and pork and pecan nut terrine.

Toeka se tasselvleis brings a Kalahari meat tradition to the table, while a butterflied leg of lamb cooked over the fire rounds off the feast.

Even the familiar dishes get their own touches.

Green apples and nuts add extra texture to the cucumber mould salad, while beer and rosemary bring flavour to the potatoes.

Tasselvleis requires considerably more patience. The meat is cured and hung for 24 hours, like biltong, before it reaches the coals.

Together, the dishes explore how recipes and food traditions are preserved while still becoming our own.

The dish that brings everyone together

For Herman, the leg of lamb cooked over the coals captures much of what the heritage table represents.

“For me, a leg of lamb over the coals is one of those dishes that always brings people together,” he says.

That idea runs throughout the episode.

Heritage is not presented as a single recipe or tradition. Instead, the table leaves room for everyone to bring their own food, stories and memories.

As Herman puts it: “My heritage and your heritage matter.”

Herman se erfenistafel airs on VIA on 19 September at 19:00 as a special Heritage Month bonus episode of Herman se halfuur, which broadcasts three times a week.

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