IN CONVERSATION WITH JAN SCANNEL

Jan Braai, whose real name is Jan Scannell, is a South African television presenter, food writer, author and the founder of the National Braai Day initiative. Since establishing the initiative in 2005, he has encouraged South Africans to gather around fires every 24 September, using the braai as a shared tradition that brings people together across cultures and backgrounds. He is also the presenter and producer of the popular kykNET travel and food series Jan Braai vir Erfenis, now in its 15th season, where he combines food, travel, humour and South African heritage. Jan is the author of multiple bestselling braai cookbooks, with his work celebrating the braai not simply as a way of preparing food, but as a space for family, friendship, storytelling and connection. His work has also been associated with the legacy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who served as patron of the initiative