Feminists will tell you that there are only two fields in which women have failed to either equal or better men: ballet and cooking. Since tutus are in short supply, there are two guys bringing the whole of Berkshire the very best of South African cooking, namely the braai (barbeque, to the English native). But you don’t know braai if you don’t know South Africans.

Braai has a very special place in South African culture and it has transcended race, creed and colour to become the country’s national pastime. So much so that Heritage Day in South Africa is now celebrated as National Braai Day to pay homage to the superior way of cooking meat. Thankfully, Berkshire has the services of Nyama Catering, the specialist braai on the spit company. Based in Reading, Nyama (isiXhosa for meat) started out in 2002 from humble beginnings to educate the English palate in the ways of the braai. Partners George Zaayman and Johannes Burger began their business out of their backyard, but soon their professionalism and popular acclaim propelled their profile to such heights that they have even served former South African president, F.W. de Klerk. Today Nyama runs a premium website, www.nyama-hogroast.co.uk, where you can order South African specialties such as boerewors (spiced SA sausage) to the delicacy that is peppermint-crisp tart for any type of event, from festivals to weddings and even large corporate functions. The beauty about having these boys doing your catering is that they use portable spit roast machines which can be used either indoors or outdoors, with no smoke or mess associated with the traditional manner of spit roasting as these machines are operated by gas.

The reputation of Nyama Catering has grown to such an extent that they now even offer their revolutionary spit-roast machines for hire or to buy if you would like to try your hand at roasting a lamb on the spit, or perhaps a hog roast for your friends and family. Time, however, is running out. With the summer looming, Nyama Catering will be fully booked before long and they urge any interested parties to enquire about their services sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment.