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Bongani Ndlovu and Wayne Chiridza

Last Sunday at Tin Cup Pub and Grill in Bulawayo, foodies and fun lovers gathered for the third edition of the Munch & Sip food market.

It was a hot afternoon, perfect for friends and family to meet for good food, cocktails and drinks. Even though it was RTGS$30 or US$2/R20 to enter, scores of people made their way to the venue.

What wooed some fathers and mothers to the food market was the affordable food and jungle gyms at the venue as they could watch their children run themselves to the ground within eye distance. For some, it was killing two birds with one stone as they could watch the biggest English football derby, Manchester United vs Liverpool in the Tip Cup bar, while their better halves were relaxing outside.

Apart from the family friendly environment, it was the diverse food and drinks at the venue that many gathered for. This form of entertainment where food, drink and entertainment are all provided under one roof, has started to take a hold of the city as more and more of these events are being organised at different venues.

At these food markets, a variety of foods and drinks including craft beers are served. At Tin Cup, the masses had gango, tacos, pizzas, cakes and craft beer among other foodstuffs. 

Michelle Nkomo who organised the Munch & Sip took time to explain what the whole concept is all about.

“We’ve come together to introduce a monthly food festival celebrating the foodie culture of Bulawayo. The brightest culinary minds from the city’s gastronomic scene gather and showcase their talents,” Nkomo said.

She said above all, they want to support locally owned businesses.

“Our market supports locally owned/operated businesses. It features vendors including restaurants, celebrity chefs, caterers, locally owned brands and more. This is not your ordinary food festival as we have a focus on the evolving and diverse scenes of the city’s neighbourhoods.”

Wadzanai Mashoko who had a stall at the venue said her chicken wings were sold out within two hours. 

“I went there to try out some of the recipes that I was conjuring up at home. I love cooking and at Munch & Sip, the wings that I was selling were sold out in no time. 

“By 3 o’clock the food was sold out and people were asking me if I had a shop in town and if we do deliveries,” said Mashoko.

For the next edition, Mashoko said she would have more food and a wider variety. 

For those who missed out last week’s food market, a similar event called the Soul Cookout will be held at The Barn in Hillside today. A partnership between Kwantuthu Arts, Bulawayo Live and Little Wonderful has given birth to this event which other than food, aims at promoting jazz, RnB and classical music in the city.

Event organiser Possenti Sikosana said the event that will have a summer feel, will cater for both adults and kids.

“We have a variety of food stalls which will serve meals, some from As far as West Africa, to snacks and braai. For those who have a sweet tooth, they’ll be spoilt to sweet and savoury stalls as we want to cater for everyone,” said Sikosana.

The whole idea behind this event, Sikosana said is to give people a space where they can entertain themselves. 

“We’ll also have a children’s section where water slides and jumping castles will be erected. Summer shades will also be erected so that the attendees enjoy the event in a comfortable space,” Sikosana said.

For the next edition, Sikosana said they will go the extra mile and teach people how to prepare the dishes.

Another event in the form of a mobile Tshisanyama named Shisanyama Lifestyle will be held in Burnside today. It is being organised by Cynthia Ndlovu who is based in the United Kingdom.

Explaining the Tshisanyama, Ndlovu said: “Our UK lifestyle has not been so kind to us to allow for a lot of socialising so that on its own, inspired me to create a mobile BBQ. I travelled city to city in the UK all summer with this event and my idea was to bring families together and afford children an opportunity to play while enjoying our good food, music and the great atmosphere of happy people.”

Ndlovu said she was happy to be hosting this event in Zimbabwe adding that it will coincide with her 40th birthday.