Culinary diplomacy in Rotary

Responsibility for organising the Second Forum was entrusted to the newly elected ICC EC President-elect Annemarie Mostert, who will take office on 1 July 2026. Annemarie lives in Johannesburg, but Districts 9350 and 9400, covering Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, became co-organisers. The initiative to hold the forum came from Mohamed Ghammam, a former ICC EC President from Tunisia. Annemarie invited me in autumn 2024 as a former ICC EC President, without specifying the subject of my address. I could only guess that it would draw on my many years of experience in ICCs. After my book ‘Świat zup André’ (The World of André’s Soups) was presented in Istanbul during the official regional peace conference organised by RI President Stephanie Urchick, and dedicated copies were given to President Stephanie and RI General Secretary John Hewko, Annemarie asked me to prepare a presentation on ‘How can cooking together help people of different nationalities, religions and cultures understand one another?’ She also suggested organising a related cooking workshop at the home of her daughter Nadii, who lives in Cape Town. More than 150 delegates from 18 countries attended the conference.

Even before the official opening, participants had an opportunity to learn about South Africa’s history, including by visiting the museum managed by the De Klerka Foundation. The forum began with a formal reception and the opening of an exhibition entitled ‘African Queens’ by local graphic artist and painter Chantal Coetzee. The deputy premier of the local administration and district Governors from South Africa took part in the opening and the introduction of guests.

The main conference day offered a distinctive approach to peace, beginning with global questions about frameworks for reconciliation, including diplomacy. A block of presentations devoted to digital trends in peacebuilding was particularly interesting.

The final session was devoted to environmental protection, health and peace.

My presentation was included in this session. I ended it with adapted words from a well-known song by Lenona, which in my version began: ‘Imagine peace thru cooking’.

The highlight of the conference was a formal dinner with a special guest who addressed the participants. This was Joaquim Chissano, the charismatic former President of Mozambique, renowned for bringing peace and implementing a series of social and economic reforms during his presidency. What made these achievements exceptional was that they all took place peacefully and without conflict, something that cannot be taken for granted in African countries. As I was one of the conference’s more senior guests, the Governor asked me to thank President Chissano on behalf of all the participants, which I was delighted to do. I mentioned our guest’s achievements and spoke about an honorary member of my club, President Lecha Wałęsy, and his contribution to peaceful change in Poland and Europe. Immediately after my speech, Mrs De Klerk, widow of President De Klerku, who received the Nobel Peace Prize together with Nelsonem Mandelą, came up to me, embraced me and said that Lech Wałęsa and her husband had been great friends and very fond of each other. Both were recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize and the Philadelphia Liberty Medal.

Alongside the many gifts from the hosts, the guest of honour from Mozambique also received my book with a special dedication.

The third day marked the grand finale of the forum, with the opening of the Rotary peace garden and the unveiling of a Peace Pole bearing the inscription ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’. This all took place at Century City, beside the unique exhibition of 101 bronze figures of African freedom leaders: ‘The Long March to Freedom’, a symbol of heritage and hope.

The promised cooking workshop took place in the late afternoon. I chose a soup that was not the simplest, but had been tried and tested on many continents and offered plenty of interesting flavours. Despite the abundance of many ingredients, it turned out that not everything was straightforward. To replace the fish stock that I normally prepare myself, I had to use a local semi-prepared product: fish stock concentrate to be mixed with water.

Annemarie had carefully selected the workshop participants to represent different countries. Indeed, there were participants from Canada, Austria, Tunisia, the USA, Egypt, Italy, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa and, of course, Poland.

Through Annemarie’s contacts and a recommendation from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I met a leader of the local Polish community, Ms Danutę Cieślę. Inspired by the forum’s atmosphere and the friendship of Rotarians, she expressed her willingness to help establish a Polish-speaking club in Cape Town. Danuta was a great help in organising the cooking workshop. Her contribution of a large pot, celeriac and culinary experience brought from Poland proved invaluable. As always, André’s fish soup did not disappoint, and almost every participant asked for seconds. The renowned wines from South Africa’s finest local vineyards, known around the world and served by our hosts Nadię and her husband, were a perfect complement to the evening.

This showed how cooking together and discovering culinary traditions, as well as new and sophisticated flavours, can help create and strengthen peaceful ties and friendships between people from very different parts of the world.