Brett Rogers talks to Shrabasti Mallik about his show Food, Booze & Tattoos and his road trip to South Africa where he discovered the chisanyama, a unique South African BBQ
Tell us about your journey
Which partIJ Theres so much! My journey was a love story to the country of South Africa, it was a nourishing caring look at providing people with a new style of TV. TV which is a gift to the viewer, something that in some way will make them feel better.
Which meal turned out to be the best you’ve tasted during your tour across South AfricaIJ
There were no bests as the stories were more about the people than the actual dishes that I ate, however I will mention Chisanyama which you might know better as a BBQ. In South Africa, they have many styles of BBQ and one of them is Chisanyama which was made famous by my guest in the Soweto episode, mister Panyaza in the classic way. He has a secret spice that he puts on his meat, before cooking thoroughly over an open fire.
What was the funniest/ strangest/ most insightful thing a local saidIJ
I loved meeting this kid Dok in Durban. What a remarkable young man, he’s still in the beginning of his career, and he certainly has a long way to go. However he has already experienced so much and has such a wise head on his shoulders. My favourite line from him was “I’ve rushed things on impulse, knowing that I can just get a tattoo, but now I want to get good tattoos, and collect quality tattoos, from quality artists.” I love that. Not only what he said but how he said it. Watch the Durban episode!
If you would revisit, which part of South Africa would you go back toIJ
The Karoo. The Karoo is one of the desert regions of South Africa. It’s stark, quiet, and spooky. Theres a certain magic in the air in the Karoo. Its strange place full of strange people. Theres some sort of time warp there. Its beautiful and mysterious
Tell us about your career choices, what makes you switch professionsIJ
I have guided my career towards, entertainment, fashion, music, TV, sport, and a number of other directions, but I’ve always wanted to be in the arts in some way. So in the past I’ve seen something that I want to do, or I’m offered the opportunity, and I’ve jumped at it.
Have you ever visited IndiaIJ If no, which part of India would you like to visitIJ
NO!! I haven’t and its devastating. I’d love to go to Nubra Valley, Suraj Tal lake, Sandakphu. I’d love to see Mizoram, and New Delhi. Oh my goodness, I’m just naming as many places as I can think of!! Point is, I would love to come to India.
Please share your most memorable moment of this trip
Most memorable … such a tricky question. What I think most of all is that the journeys through countries inevitably lead me to understand that at the end of the day we are all inherently good people, nice people, people who just want to do their thing and be at peace. That I realised for the most part people are good, that was memorable.
Out of all the professions that you’ve got involved in, which is that one profession in which you think you fitted the bestIJ
TV presenter/interviewer, easy.
Which tattoo is your favouriteIJ
My favourite is usually the last one I got! So in this case I got a portrait of RuPaul tattoo about a month ago from Tamar Thorn from The Body Architects. Its incredible, the best portrait I’ve seen in a long time.
So, what is the relationship between food and tattoosIJ
Art is the link. Chefs, distillers, brewers, vintners, tattoo artists. They are all creators at the end of the day.