Online Reporter
Gift Moyo, [email protected]
AFTER earning widespread acclaim for its debut season, Zimbabwean traditional cuisine and culture platform Magriza Made Me Cook is preparing for an even more ambitious return.
Creator Prince Sivalo has revealed that a second season of the documentary series is on the way, with the official release date expected to be announced soon.
The inaugural season established the brand as a distinctive voice in Zimbabwean culinary storytelling, combining food, culture and tourism through visually compelling documentaries. Episodes showcased Bulawayo’s historic communities, including Mzilikazi Township and Cowdray Park, while exploring the traditional dishes, heritage and stories that shape the city’s cultural identity.
The series also extended beyond urban communities, documenting cultural gatherings such as this year’s Chief Dakamela Cultural Festival and highlighting the role of traditional cuisine in preserving Zimbabwe’s rich cultural heritage.
Reflecting on the first season, Sivalo said the production journey provided valuable lessons in documentary storytelling and cultural documentation.
“We learnt that creating impactful documentaries is an intricate, deliberate process. It taught us the importance of being as articulate and precise as possible when delivering historical and cultural narrative threads to ensure they are well received by our audience.
“Furthermore, we realised that shifting to a seasonal release schedule for Magriza Made Me Cook is vastly superior to the scattered weekly episodes we produced in the past. Adopting a structured season format allows us to guarantee our viewers a consistent, high-quality stream of content spanning an unbroken 12-week block,” he said.
According to Sivalo, the shift to a seasonal format not only enhanced the quality of production but also strengthened the brand’s visibility and audience engagement across digital platforms. He said the overwhelmingly positive response from viewers demonstrated a growing appetite for content that celebrates Zimbabwean heritage through food and storytelling.
“Judging by the continuous wave of positive feedback we still receive online, season one was an undeniable success. By centring our exploration on Bulawayo’s historic townships alongside our immersive nature documentaries, we successfully unpacked how food serves as a vital anchor in safeguarding our heritage and culture.”
Sivalo also attributed part of the series’ success to the team’s investment in improved production standards, which helped elevate the viewing experience.
“From a technical and cinematic perspective, transitioning our production standard to full 4K resolution was a game-changer. It unlocked a new level of creative freedom for our production team, allowing us to capture the vivid, breathtaking beauty of our traditions with absolute visual clarity.”
Looking ahead, Sivalo said the upcoming season will broaden its reach through the expansion of the Taste of Zimbabwe series, taking viewers on a culinary journey across the country. The new season will examine the links between food, culture and geography while documenting regional cuisines and the communities that have preserved them across generations.
“For the upcoming season, we’re significantly expanding our Taste of Zimbabwe series, which aims to map, document and celebrate our country’s incredibly diverse regional culinary traditions. Viewers can look forward to an expansive journey exploring the deep intersections of food, landscape and identity. We’ll be taking our cameras to magnificent, culturally rich locales including the Matobo Hills, Masvingo, Binga, Chipinge, Tsholotsho and Chiredzi, among several other hidden gems.”
