A shisanyama – a braai where people come together to grill meat on an open fire – has been essential to South African townships.
Shisanyama joints have fast become the gathering place for up-and-coming urban professionals, tourists, and local township residents looking to eat braaied meat, have their car washed, and either sip a fine single malt or knock down a cold beer before hitting the dance floor.
Talk about shisanyama being essential to South African townships – in November Hinds Spices went on a search to find Soweto’s best shisanyama place. The proudly South African spice brand turned up the heat this summer as shisanyama joints in Soweto township competed for the title of Hinds Spices Chesa Champion.
The spice brand and its agency partners selected 10 shisanyama places to form part of the Hinds Spices Chesa Championship and encouraged consumers to vote for their favourite to stand a chance to win a share of R10 000 cash vouchers.
After all the judging, Meat Meet, a family-run business in Soweto's Diepkloof Zone 3, has been crowned the Chesa Champion for 2021 and walked away with a grand prize worth R50 000.
Brand manager for Hinds Spices at RFG Foods, Shevani Singh said the campaign aimed to discover Mzansi’s best shisanyama and allow them to showcase their flavours in partnership with Hinds Spices and claim the title of Hinds Spices Chesa Champion.
“Activated across 10 outlets over the two-month summer period, with activations allowing consumers to come and taste the bold flavours of Hinds Spices used in authentic South African dishes, consumers could vote for their favourite shisanyama via WhatsApp and then stand a chance to win their share of R10 000,” said Singh.
“As a brand, we always aim to give our valuable consumers something extra to be excited about, while adding flavour to their lives, therefore this campaign was perfectly aligned to us giving our consumers and the community where they live more,” she added.
The owner of Meat Meet Khunou Nyakale said they are so happy and excited to be the first Hinds Spices Chesa Champion.
“We love the quality of the spices and what they have done for us here in Soweto. My mother, Homi Nyakale started the business, and both my sister, Khothatso Mokhele, and I try very hard to continue her legacy,” said Nyakale.