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The African Gourmet

The African Gourmet: Explore African Culture & Recipes

One bowl of fufu can explain a war. One proverb can outsmart a drought.
Welcome to the real Africa—told through food, memory, and truth.

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Diverse hands placing food on shared table

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South African Childhood Staples on Elon Musk's Table

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📁 Elon Recipes

Popular in This Category

South African Childhood Staples on Elon Musk's Table

South African Childhood Staples
on Elon Musk’s Table

1970s–80s Pretoria: subsidized brown bread, bean stews, roasted chicken, and braai. Simple, everyday foods documented from the Musk family’s South African years.

Subsidized brown bread – a South African staple
South African brown bread – subsidized and on every table in the 1970s–80s.

Documented Foods from Elon Musk’s Childhood

Subsidized whole-wheat brown bread
“We only ate brown bread” – Maye Musk, 2024 interview (Times of India).
Government-subsidized loaves were the daily staple across white South African households.
Bean and vegetable stews
Maye Musk’s go-to budget meal, detailed in *A Woman Makes a Plan* (2019).
Lentils or mixed beans simmered with onion, carrot, and basic seasoning.
Roasted chicken and simple maize porridge (pap)
Standard family meals mentioned by both Maye and Errol Musk in interviews.
Braai (barbecue) meats
Errol Musk on South African food being “better” than American (2022 NDTV interview).
Grilled boerewors or chicken — weekend ritual in Pretoria homes.

Classic South African Brown Bread Recipe

The exact subsidized loaf recipe is lost to industrial baking, but this is the closest home version — still baked across South Africa today.

  • 500 g whole-wheat flour
  • 10 g instant yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 350 ml lukewarm water
  • 1 tbsp oil
  1. Mix dry ingredients. Add water and oil. Knead 10 min.
  2. Rise 1 hour. Shape into loaf tin.
  3. Rise 30 min. Bake 200°C / 390°F for 35–40 min.
  4. Cool on rack. Slice thick. Eat with butter or stew.
Read more on Elon Musk's African recipesmore South African staples breads and Elon's fathers favorite food.
More Everyday African Recipes →
© 2025 The African Gourmet – Documenting everyday African food
Published under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
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For 19 years, The African Gourmet has preserved Africa's stories is currently selected for expert consideration by the Library of Congress Web Archives, the world's premier guardian of cultural heritage.

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Recipes as Revolution

Recipes as Revolution

When food becomes protest and meals carry political meaning

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African woman farmer

She Feeds Africa

Before sunrise, after sunset, seven days a week — she grows the food that keeps the continent alive.

60–80 % of Africa’s calories come from her hands.
Yet the land, the credit, and the recognition still belong to someone else.

Read her story →

To every mother of millet and miracles —
thank you.

Working Hands of Africa

The labor and love that feeds a continent

Hands holding African fruit

African Culture & Traditions

Harvest & Heritage
Hands preparing fufu

How Fufu Explains Politics

Food & Power
Farming hands in Africa

Slow Food Disappearance

Farming & Tradition
Hands with plantains

The Universal Plantain

Cooking & Community

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African Gourmet FAQ

Archive Inquiries

Why "The African Gourmet" if you're an archive?

The name reflects our origin in 2006 as a culinary anthropology project. Over 18 years, we've evolved into a comprehensive digital archive preserving Africa's cultural narratives. "Gourmet" now signifies our curated approach to cultural preservation—each entry carefully selected and contextualized.

What distinguishes this archive from other cultural resources?

We maintain 18 years of continuous cultural documentation—a living timeline of African expression. Unlike static repositories, our archive connects historical traditions with contemporary developments, showing cultural evolution in real time.

How is content selected for the archive?

Our curation follows archival principles: significance, context, and enduring value. We preserve both foundational cultural elements and timely analyses, ensuring future generations understand Africa's complex cultural landscape.

What geographic scope does the archive cover?

The archive spans all 54 African nations, with particular attention to preserving underrepresented cultural narratives. Our mission is comprehensive cultural preservation across the entire continent.

Can researchers access the full archive?

Yes. As a digital archive, we're committed to accessibility. Our 18-year collection is fully searchable and organized for both public education and academic research.

How does this archive ensure cultural preservation?

Through consistent documentation since 2006, we've created an irreplaceable cultural record. Each entry is contextualized within broader African cultural frameworks, preserving not just content but meaning.