It's official.  Soweto is launching it's first ever Food Festival ... and it's going to become a serious event on the annual social calendar.

It's also about time.  Because Soweto is the most famous township in the world and is finally emerging as the most exciting social and cultural centres of South Africa.

And it's going to show off the very best of eKasi food ... competing side-by-side with international cuisine.  And the result is bound to make the rest of the world sit up and take notice.

The programme promises to be an eventful and exciting one, giving stokvels  (traditional, informal savings groups) a colourful platform to present their unique cooking, while eKasi restaurants will offer visitors a taste of their most innovative and best-loved traditional dishes.

Cultural cafes will demonstrate different ways of preparing foods from the various cultural groups such as Tswanas, Xhosas, Zulus, Pedis, Vendas.  Fast-food cafes will translate the likes of vetkoek and bunny chow into what is better known as magwanya and sephatlo in the townships.

An interactive Chefs' Kitchen will demonstrate tastes and techniques from around the globe and a New Tastes Zone will feature the very latest food trends. This will enable local residents who may not have the opportunity to travel internationally, the opportunity to taste different foods of the world, without leaving Soweto. 

The idea is to have a cultural exchange, using food as the platform, between South Africa and other countries from around the globe.

Visitors will be able to compare South Africa's best beers and their international counterparts at The Beer Garden and The Wine Route will take a trip around our finest and most popular wines. The Whiskey Bar & Cigar Lounge will allow guests to kick back and network with some single malts.

As a way of giving back to the community the organisers – dynamic sister team Mavis and Refiloe Mataboge – have planned an information exchange programme of discussions around healthy eating on a budget, growing your own vegetables, managing chronic health issues and organic food.

And in keeping with the family feeling that is epitomized in eKasi living, everyone in the family is catered for – kids will be entertained by a wide range of activities in an area dedicated to their enjoyment and safety.

People with a passion for food should make a date in their diaries now.

Don't miss the Soweto Food Festival - THE opportunity to taste the cultural diversity that is proudly South African.

Tickets: R35 for adults and R10 for children, available at the entrance.