#HeritageDay: Uber Eats unveils Mzansi's favourite flavours

Here in the land of amapiano, basic does not cut it. What does get cut (into eight), is a flame-grilled chicken, with the most requested is the thigh and breast piece, even if the wing remains the most popular single-order on the Uber Eats app.

Local cuisine on the rise 

While traditional starch like rice was commonly swapped out for pap, the app has seen a growing demand for the daily staple. Achar remains the most ordered traditional extra with orders including russians, viennas, braaied meat and kotas.

Being a global app, Uber Eats understands its duty to local restaurants and onboarding traditional, local and kasi-styled eateries has always been a priority. While the app was the first-of-its-kind to launch in Soweto, it provided a key opportunity to give traditional flavours an international platform.

With a growing demand from South Africans to have their favourite local eateries available, Uber Eats has been actively increasing the availability of these restaurants on the app. Magodu was ordered three times more than last year. Bunny chows and curries reigned supreme in traditional cuisine, followed by Chinese stir-fries and Thai-infused woks.

Spice is nice 

What is curry without its masala or a chakalaka minus the chilli? If it's one thing that gets a dis lekker response is anything with spice. Hot was again the most requested flavour for any meal-type, while medium to mild was less loved but still appreciated.

Quite a few South Africans requested extra hot, with one eater going as far as requesting “Please make sure it is extra hot with extra chilli. Also, please add in extra serviettes as I’m going to be wiping my forehead with this!”

Throughout the nationwide lockdown, Uber Eats reports that there has been a stark increase in those who are ordering healthier meals and alternatives. The keyword ‘healthy’ grew by 82% and healthy orders have increased by 71% locally.

Respectfully South African 

While food flavours may differ from culture to culture, everyone knows that respect is the local language spoken. No home is without love and common courtesy as South Africans pride themselves on being warm and welcoming. So much so, the country placed at number three, globally, on the app’s statistics when it comes to using ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ on any special order requests.

Heritage Day is about honouring homegrown roots in cuisine, clothing and celebrations. It's a day where the country embodies what it is to be a rainbow nation.