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There are cities you visit, and then there are cities you taste. Durban is firmly in the second category.
And few people understand that better than award-winning Durban chef Thuladu Mngadi, owner of Fresh Food With Thuladu.
Mngadi's food business began in 2015 after she was retrenched. What started as a canteen-style restaurant at Durban Station evolved into Fresh Food With Thuladu, now based at one of Durban's most recognisable landmarks, Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Chef Mngadi is also a Durban Tourism Emerging Restaurant Award winner and has catered for major events including Hollywoodbets Durban July marquees. As a self-taught chef, she has built her business around South African flavours while finding contemporary ways to present them.
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So, what does Durban taste like?
Ask Thuladu about her favourite Durban flavours and prepare for a hungry answer.
“Durban has such a unique flavour identity, and I love the boldness and warmth of our food,” she says. “Some of my favourites include Durban-style curry, bunny chow, inyama yangaphakathi (cow's insides), breyani, sambals and steamed bread, as well as dishes that incorporate spices such as special curry powders, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fresh chilli and chilli flakes.
“I also love the way Durban food brings together different cultural influences. You can taste Indian, African, Portuguese and other influences within our food culture, and that diversity is what makes Durban's culinary identity so special.”
The city's flavours are layered, aromatic, sometimes fiery… and often deeply nostalgic. They are the kind of flavours that can transport you straight back to a family kitchen, a Sunday lunch or a table surrounded by people you love.
“You can travel all over the world, but there is something about a Durban curry, how they cook and serve different parts of cow meat, a bunny chow, or a proper Durban-style breyani that immediately takes you home.”
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Heritage doesn't have to stand still
“My heritage is at the heart of everything I do. Growing up in KwaZulu-Natal, food was never simply about eating; it was about family, community, celebration and bringing people together,” she says.
Her cooking approach connects with Culinary Roots, one of the trends identified in Unilever Food Solutions' Future Menus 2026 report. Of the trends highlighted, Mngadi says Culinary Roots most closely reflects her own approach: “It speaks more to my kitchen and what I do, since I'm more into traditional South African food in terms of our menu.”
Her lamb biryani is one example of how traditional flavours can remain at the heart of a contemporary restaurant menu.
The idea is simple: hold onto the roots while allowing the food to evolve.
“We are still using the same ingredients that we did before, but we are tapping into current trends. So, we will always go back to our ‘bible’ and check things out.”
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Don't overlook what's growing here
For Thuladu, celebrating Durban's food heritage also means looking closer to home.
“Maize, amadumbe, sweet potatoes, indigenous leafy greens, beans, butternut, pumpkin, local chillies, herbs and seasonal fruits are all wonderful ingredients to work with.
“I also love using locally produced spices and incorporating seasonal produce into my cooking. We have such incredible agricultural diversity in KwaZulu-Natal, and I believe chefs have an important role to play in supporting local farmers and producers.
“Sometimes the most exciting ingredient isn't something exotic that has travelled thousands of kilometres; it is something that has been growing right on our doorstep.”
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Heritage is best served together
This Heritage Month, Fresh Food With Thuladu is giving its celebration a new format. Rather than its traditional buffet, the restaurant will introduce Izithebe zethu, inspired by the way meat is served on wooden boards at traditional events.
The platter-style experience is designed for groups to share, accompanied by music, while the restaurant's usual menu will also remain available.
For Thuladu, that communal element is important.
“Durban is famous for traditional South African ingredients and dishes that remind us of home, and at Fresh Food with Thuladu, we remind people of home,” she says.
Some of the dishes, ingredients and flavours she associates with Durban's food heritage include:
- Lamb biryani – a celebration of Durban's layered spice heritage.
- Durban-style curry – aromatic, complex and unapologetically local.
- Inhloko and cow tongue – traditional ingredients that can take on contemporary forms.
- Vetkoek and mince – a street-food favourite given a restaurant setting.
- Amadumbe, maize and indigenous greens – local ingredients with plenty of culinary potential.
- Sambals, fresh chilli and locally produced spices – the finishing touches that bring a Durban plate to life.
“For me, Heritage Month isn't just about one particular dish. It is about celebrating our stories, our people, our cultures and the food that connects us.”
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