Conversations with Writers

Barbara Magara-Nkosana lives in Leeds in the United Kingdom. She is the author of the Traditional Zimbabwean Cookbook (Lion Press, 2011). In this interview, Barbara Magara-Nkosana talks about why she wrote the cookbook: How would you describe the Traditional Zimbabwean Cookbook ? It is all about Zimbabwean cooking . The book comprises of over 100 recipes of dishes that make Zimbabwe’s fascinating and diverse cuisine. The cookbook invites food lovers to taste the delicacies and flavours of Zimbabwean food. How many books have you written so far? This is the first cookbook that I have written, published by Lion Press . My next book will talk all about contemporary Zimbabwean cooking, fusing the classic favourite Zimbabwean dishes with world cuisines. I am hoping to invite food lovers to experiment with the fused tastes, hopefully bring Zimbabwean cuisine to the level that it deserves. Why did you decide to write the Traditional Zimbabwean Cookbook ? I believe that...

Zimbabwean writer, Ellah Kandi is a chef, a wedding and events planner, and a basic worship sign language and performing arts teacher. She is also secretary and choir coordinator of the Emmanu’-El Apostolic Gospel Academy aka De Montfort University Gospel Choir which is based in Leicester in the United Kingdom. She is the author of El-Ellah Multi-Cultural Cuisines: Heavenly Recipes (Xlibris, 2011) and is currently working on a children’s book. In this interview, Ellah Kandi talks about her concerns as a writer: When did you start writing? I started writing and producing short reports when l was still in high school in Zimbabwe. I remember using exercise books and arranging my work to make it look like a magazine and saying, “One day l will publish a church magazine or a book”. When l moved to Leicester, there was a project called “As Is” that encouraged us to write. I remember a Mr Higgins asking me to translate Shona writings into English and to write what l did durin...