Here are just a selection of wonderful stories from the growing Wonderbag community that show how people are embracing Wonderbag cooking and loving the food it creates.
Pretoria, South Africa
Catering Wonderbags were recently donated to charities in the Pretoria area. One of the recipients was Boschkop Primary School. Here’s what their head teacher, Mariette, had to say:
“I wish you were a fly on the wall to see all the excitement about the wonderful Wonderbag! My people can just not believe that this is possible. I didn’t believe that pap can be cooked like this, but the results were unbelievable – lovely tasting, hot, fully cooked pap after just 90 minutes! Thank you once again for blessing us with this very special gift. You can be sure that we will use it very often.”
Western Cape, South Africa
Feeding in Action provides around 3,300 people in the area of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, with either one cooked meal per day or regular food parcels. In May 2010 Natural Balance donated two catering Wonderbags to Feeding in Action. Liesel Koen, food manager at Feeding in Action, picks up the story:
“We boil 5kg of samp and 1kg of beans in about 20 litres of water for 30 minutes on the stovetop. The pot then goes into the Wonderbag and cooks overnight to serve our beneficiaries a lovely, appetising meal the next day. We view the Wonderbag as an integral and critical part of our daily activities and it is my goal to eventually have a catering Wonderbag at each of our feeding points.”
Wonderbag trés bon!
Wonderbag and the French business association have hosted a fundraising evening at Chez Gerard – a French restaurant in Johannesburg. All the dishes were prepared in Wonderbags and all the funds raised will be donated to the Thuthuzela Aid Community in Alexandra. We hope it will lead to many more successful collaborations.
Wonderbag has also been championed by Margot Janse, head chef at the world-renowned Quartier Francaise restaurant – and the only female chef in the world’s top 50. Margot has even introduced a Wonderbag dish onto the restaurant’s signature nine-course menu. “Our guests simply love it”, she said. “The waiters tell the story of the Wonderbag when they serve the ragout.” The restaurant has since ordered more Wonderbags as guests have started asking to buy bags to take home with them.
Wonderbag in Ireland
Wonderbag’s first community partnership project started in June 2011. Initiated by Chris Uys, who lives in the historic town of Abbeyleix in Ireland, the project involves the making and selling of Wonderbags by the local Women’s Development Group. The proceeds are then donated to Natural Balance, enabling us to provide Wonderbags to families in poor communities in South Africa.
