“That Looks So Good”: Mzansi Reacts as Cape Town Mayor Learns To Make Pickled Fish for Easter
- Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis swapped his office for an apron and learned to make pickled fish from a beloved Salt River community matriarch this Easter season
- Aunty Radia, based in Salt River, is known for feeding her large family and cooking meals for people in need around her neighbourhood every single week
- Pickled fish dates back to Cape Malay kitchens in the 1600s and has since crossed ever every cultural and religious line the Cape has ever drawn to become a shared tradition
Forget the boardrooms and budget meetings this Easter season in Cape Town. The city’s mayor traded his official duties for an apron and a pot of spices.
Source: Instagram
On 3 March 2026, Hill-Lewis shared an Instagram post of himself learning to make pickled fish. His teacher was a Salt River community matriarch whom the neighbourhood simply knows as Aunty Radia. The lesson happened in Salt River, Cape Town, where Aunty Radia has fed her family and neighbours for years.
Hill-Lewis wanted to learn the dish with his own two hands from scratch. Easter in Cape Town without pickled fish is simply not Easter at all. And there was nobody better to teach him than this particular woman from Salt River.
A woman the community calls a legend
Aunty Radia is far more than just a devoted home cook. She is the kind of person who holds an entire community together. Her kitchen in Salt River is always open to family, neighbours, and people who are struggling. She also cooks meals regularly for people in need throughout the Salt River area. That is not a small thing in a city where hunger is still very real. She does all of this without asking for recognition.
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See the cooking lesson in the Instagram clip below:
Mzansi reacts to the clip
Briefly News compiled some comments from the post below.
@mrs_jamiecollins commented:
“One thing about our mayor is that he's going to step foot in our communities and make himself at home. ❤️”
@jonee5 wrote:
“If our Mr Mayor doesn't roll up his sleeve and grab a spade, he puts on an apron and cuts onions without shedding a tear. Our own Chuck Norris. 💙”
@_delicious_muffin_ noted:
“That looks so good! I've tried to make pickled fish before, but it always ends up a disaster. 😂”
@julia_14021973 said:
“How utterly blessed are we to have this wonderful man as our mayor. ❤️”
@celeste_steegmans commented:
“The Malay aunties make the best food, no doubt. The best. So, how is this a Malay traditional dish for Good Friday? I am just asking, I may be slow.”
Source: Instagram
More stories about Geordin Hill-Lewis
- Briefly News previously reported that Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced his candidacy for the Democratic Alliance (DA) leadership.
- Geordin Hill-Lewis weighed in on the possibility of running to be the new leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA).
- The City of Cape Town’s plans to build a “security wall” along a section of the N2 highway near the Cape Town International Airport.
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Source: Briefly News
