What happens when one of South Africa’s best-known indigenous ingredients meets one of Cape Town’s most cherished food traditions?
At the 2026 World Koesister Day Competition, the answer was a Rooibos-infused celebration of heritage, creativity and the next generation of South African culinary talent.
Held on 6 September at Makers Landing at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, this year’s competition challenged chefs and aspiring young cooks to reinterpret the traditional Cape Malay koesister using Rooibos as its heritage ingredient.
The winning creation came from 24-year-old Cape Town chef Huwitt Strydom, who incorporated Rooibos into the warm spices and sweetness traditionally associated with the koesister.
The result brought together two distinctly South African food stories in one creation.
When Rooibos Meets A Cape Favourite
Rooibos, the indigenous plant Aspalathus linearis, is cultivated primarily in the Cederberg region and has become one of South Africa’s best-known agricultural products.
It is enjoyed both locally and internationally.
For the SA Rooibos Council, the competition offered an opportunity to demonstrate how a familiar South African ingredient can take on a new role without losing its identity.
Adele du Toit, spokesperson for the SA Rooibos Council, says Rooibos provides plenty of room for reinterpretation.
“Rooibos is one of those ingredients that is unmistakably South African, yet its versatility gives us so many ways to reinterpret how we use it.”
She says seeing it paired with a traditional koesister during Heritage Month demonstrates how South Africans can celebrate food heritage while giving familiar ingredients and traditions a fresh expression.
Koesister Or Koeksister?
The names may sound similar, but the two pastries are different.
A koesister is the soft, spiced, doughnut-like pastry associated with Cape Malay cooking. It is fried, dipped in syrup and traditionally coated with coconut.
A koeksister, meanwhile, is a plaited pastry with a crisp texture that is soaked in syrup.
The distinction matters because the World Koesister Day Competition is specifically rooted in the Cape Malay koesister and the heritage surrounding it.
A New Ingredient, An Old Story
This year’s choice of Rooibos follows spekboom, which was used as the heritage ingredient in the previous year’s competition.
For Mark Jacobs, creator of World Koesister Day, Rooibos was a natural progression.
“Rooibos is proudly South African, internationally recognised and already familiar in our homes,” says Jacobs.
The challenge, however, was not simply to add Rooibos to a recipe.
Contestants were asked to use it creatively while respecting the traditional taste and character of the Cape koesister.
That balance became central to Strydom’s winning creation.
Finding The Balance
Strydom says Rooibos immediately felt like a natural ingredient because of its South African identity and distinctive flavour.
His approach was to complement the koesister’s spices and sweetness rather than overpower them.
For him, the competition also revealed how versatile Rooibos can be in the kitchen.
“Rooibos is one of those ingredients that can add depth without overpowering other flavours.”
Strydom says the ingredient adds another layer of South African identity to the koesister.
He also believes South African food heritage has a place in modern kitchens, with opportunities for the next generation of chefs to explore the country’s flavours and stories.
That connection between tradition and contemporary cooking is at the heart of what the competition is trying to achieve.
More Than A Winning Recipe
World Koesister Day has always been about more than finding a winning recipe.
The initiative celebrates the Malay community, its recipes and the stories that have kept the koesister alive.
At the same time, it creates space for young participants to develop culinary and entrepreneurial skills.
Jacobs believes heritage food should not be confined to the past.
“Heritage food does not have to remain in the past. It can be respected, developed and presented in new ways.”
That philosophy is reflected in the competition itself.
Rather than treating heritage as something fixed, World Koesister Day creates a space where young culinary talent can engage with traditional food while exploring new possibilities.
A Win That Meant More To Strydom
Strydom has worked in kitchens in Cape Town and France, making his victory particularly meaningful.
For him, the koesister represents far more than a sweet treat.
“Koesisters are so much more than just a sweet treat – they are connected to Cape Town, our history, our culture and memories shared around food.”
That connection between food and memory is precisely what makes the competition significant during Heritage Month.
A recipe can carry history.
A flavour can carry identity.
And a familiar dish can provide a starting point for a new generation to tell its own story.
The Young Talent Behind The Competition
Strydom took the top position, while Kiare Arendse placed second and Amber Williams placed third.
Chelsea Hendricks, representing False Bay College, was among the other finalists.
The 2026 competition also marked a new chapter through collaboration with the Culinary & Service Professionals of South Africa (CSP-SA), weRproudly NPC and Makers Landing.
The collaboration brought young culinary talent, heritage and the professional hospitality environment into the same space.
It is a direction World Koesister Day intends to continue developing.
The goal is to give young people opportunities to do more than compete for one day. It is also about creating opportunities for heritage food and indigenous ingredients to continue finding a place in contemporary South African hospitality.
A Taste Of Heritage You Can Make At Home
For anyone wanting to experience Strydom’s winning creation, the Rooibos Heritage Koesister recipe provides a chance to bring the competition into the kitchen.
Rooibos Heritage Koesisters
Koesister Dough — 12 Portions
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Cake flour | 500 g |
| Fine caster sugar | 50 g |
| Instant yeast | 7 g |
| Ground cinnamon | 4 g |
| Ground cardamom | 2 g |
| Ground ginger | 3 g |
| Ground aniseed | 1 g |
| Fine salt | 6 g |
| Whole milk | 220 g |
| Water | 80 g |
| Unsalted butter, melted | 40 g |
| Egg | 50 g |
| Vanilla | 3 g |
Method: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the milk, water, egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gradually incorporate the butter.
Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest at 25–27°C for 60–75 minutes.
Knock back the dough. Divide it into 12 pieces of approximately 75 g each, shape into ovals and rest for 15 minutes.
Fry at 170–175°C until deeply golden, turning regularly. Drain on a rack.
Rooibos Syrup
| Ingredient | Weight |
|---|---|
| Water | 300 g |
| Rooibos | 12 g |
| Caster sugar | 220 g |
| Glucose | 30 g |
| Lemon juice | 12 g |
| Orange peel | 3 g |
| Cinnamon stick | 1 |
| Cardamom pods, crushed | 3 |
Method: Steep the Rooibos in 300 g of water at approximately 95°C for 8 minutes, then strain.
Combine 250 g of the infusion with the sugar, glucose, orange peel, cinnamon and cardamom.
Simmer to 106–107°C.
Add the lemon juice, strain and cool.
Brush lightly over the fried koesisters. Do not soak.
Heritage That Keeps Evolving
The winning Rooibos Heritage Koesister captures the central idea behind this year’s competition.
Heritage can be honoured without being frozen in time.
The traditional character of the Cape Malay koesister remains at the centre, while Rooibos introduces another distinctly South African ingredient to the story.
For Heritage Month, it is a fitting reminder that some of the country’s most familiar flavours still have room to surprise us.
Because sometimes, preserving a food tradition does not mean leaving it untouched.
Sometimes, it means giving the next generation the opportunity to make it their own.
