The Saffron Pear Tree: And Other Kitchen Memories

Three generations of a South African family come to life in this warm memoir of cozy kitchens, memorable places, quirky characters and soul food.

Zuretha Roos draws on the memories of the abundant farm kitchens of her Hex River Valley childhood, happy Stellenbosch student days and the, sometimes challenging, world of marriage and young motherhood in seventies' Johannesburg to become an accomplished cook and magazine food editor. In amongst the pots and pans, busy city life is pleasantly interrupted by holidays in Kleinmond, idyllic sojourns at Keurboomstrand and weekends on an isolated farm in the Waterberg. All is blissful, if not a little chaotic, until immense tragedy strikes and her once happy family has to come to terms with a brutal twist of fate...

Woven together with trusted family recipes, these tales bring to mind a time when history was shaped over strong cups of coffee and food came from the earth, the ocean and a mother's heart.

ZURETHA ROOS started her career as a high school teacher, but quickly veered towards journalism, later becoming cookery editor for the late Darling magazine. Over the years she wrote about food for various publications. Since 1995 she has published seven books, including The Saffron Pear Tree and Sea Spray and Cherry Peppers. Zuri and her husband are now retired and living at the sea. She keeps an eye on modern food trends and loves the way traditional cookery is now evolving into fine dining dishes in many top restaurants.