Interview with Justine Drake

Towards the end of last month I had the opportunity of interviewing Justine Drake for Leadership magazine.

I have to mention that it was one of the easiest interviews that I've ever had to do. Apart from the fact that I'm a huge foodie and Justine is somewhat a doyenne of South African food and food publishing, the commonality of food and what it stands for was overwhelmingly more important and part of her personality so that any awkwardness that may have arisen because of my being in awe of her, was immediately swept away by her warm and engaging personality.

And as we discussed food in all its forms and representations, this is what really came to the fore: food is more or less about personality. The very idea of putting food on the table, of being a provider, not only in bringing home the bacon (so to speak) but then preparing it with love and effort and presenting it to your family and friends, is what a true foodie is all about.

This is the approach that Justine has taken in her presentation and representation of food over the years and now more especially in Fresh Living Magazine which she is the editor of and which is Pick and Pay's consumer magazine.

In addition to her magazine work Justine has published five cookbooks and produced two tv series, Just   In Africa, which was aired internationally on the BBC.

Meeting Justine reminded me that while some of us choose to base ourselves in the kitchen, we are by no means stuck there and more importantly, that the task of providing a beautiful meal for our families is by no means a menial task but something that is all-embracing and life enhancing.

Monbonne at the Harfield Carnival 2012

For the first time this year I decided to hold a stall at the Harfield Street Carnival. Harfield Villiage is a quaint little place that is between Kenilworth and Claremont just over the railway tracks.

Despite the rather crazy weather ( rain, extreme heat, hail (!) and then more wind and cold between hot bouts) and the severe lack of sleep (remember confection is not my day job) I had a great time setting up my stall and meeting all sorts of wonderful people.

Funny how there are always some people who are jealous of others' industry and will put you down, despite the time and effort and financial layout that one puts into something. But on the whole people were extremely complimentary and enthusiastic about what I was presenting to them. And well, I have to say that I am a stickler for doing things the traditional way so that my petit fours are not, as one lady remarked about the quality of petit fours that you get elsewhere today, a blob of sponge cake that has been iced!

No indeed, these are the real thing. Almond paste and all!










The macarons and petit fours were a treat and sold well - I was especially surprised at how excited my 11-16 year old female clientele got about the them until someone told me that macarons had been a favourite of one of the characters on Gossip Girl . So thank you Gossip Girl for expanding my market to the teenage bracket.

Are we breeding a new age of Marie Antoinettes? If we are, I will happily supply them with all the macarons and petit fours that their hearts could desire! 

 

The Franschhoek Cap Classique Festival 2012

Sunday saw me at the Franschhoek Cap Classique Festival. Always bound to be a sparkling affair, most patrons showed up in high style.

As Cap Classique suggests, these are a compilation of traditionally French style produced sparkling wines that mimic Champagne in all but nomenclature. Combinations of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay abounded, with the odd addition of Pinot Mineur. I only tasted one sparkling wine that was made with Semillion.

However, as one learns by tasting, that there is something more intrinsic about  the taste that you are left with than the mere combination of base wines that make up the bubbly.  And there seemed to be two sides of the camps. Those that were more "French" tasting and those that were perhaps a bit more familiar to our palates.

 But champagne tasting is more of an experience than it is a mechanism and the style of champagne more a testimony to the fact that Cap Classique is method more than it is a result. And so while the resulting style of wine may seem to be something specific it is no more universal than two people are the same. 

Take the guys at GH and Ahrens, for example who in two years have completely reversed their blend of base wines. Their 2009 is a blend of 78% Pinot Noir and 22% Chardonnay, a complete reverse of their 2008 vintage, which if I remember correctly was something like 71% Chardonnay and 29% Pinot Noir. Now, I never actually tasted the 2008 vintage but I do believe the charming ex-lawyer in the beret (see pic below) when he said that it is not so much about the base wines as it is about the mousse and the finish that the sparkly produces. And I dare say that as much as there is a science to wine, like a work of art or a piece of music it is also a sensation. 

La Motte, whose Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc I particularly enjoy, I was pleased to see, was also present with their MCC. And I often feel that if a house spends more time on making one very good cuveé that that is preferable to having several options that are not as well attended to.

However, one must allow for differences in taste and taking the market into account. And of course, there are some farms that cross a spectrum well: Labourie and Graham Beck being two such farms. Graham Beck's bubbly I know from reviewing their bubbly bar at Steenberg called, Gorgeous where you can also have a tasting of their variously tiered wines. The Cuveé Clive is worth a mention here.

One of the pities about the festival is that when you taste credits are taken off per glass rather than for tasting across a range of a few from a farm to compare. But let's be honest here, there was no spitoon in sight, so it is probably just as well.

Constantia Uitsig and Plesir de Merle are other such farms that only had one vintage present on the "French" side of the tent.


Simon Back, from Backsberg very kindly answered our somewhat demanding questions after a long day at the festival - but one can never talk too much of MCC.

I personally like a blanc de blanc cap classique with something that has been left on the lease for a long time (more than three years).

 But I'd have to say that I tasted several very excellent vintages and sometimes it is a pleasure to compare something that is crisp and apple-y to something that is buttery - and something that is pink and dry to something that is pink and sweet to something. Each has it's charm. And with unlimited combinations  - more than I got to taste - I think that I can comfortably say that in South Africa we produce a range of bubbles for every taste and occasion.

Colourful Italian Vegetable strudel

Italy and Inspiration:
After a recent trip to Italy, I was inspired to do an Italian-themed cooking demo. One of the things that you find in Bella Italia is that the Italians are very proud of their produce. Some of the best vegetables come from Piedemont where they especially have fantastic peppers. The Italians also love to layer vegetables in pies with crusts that are either buttery and flakey (think the richer and colder Northern Italian region) or made with pasta dough. Pasta pie anyone? Often these will be filled with various meats and eggs as well as vegetables.

However, I keep my cooking demonstrations vegetarian because well, one of my devoted attendees is vegetarian (It also cuts out the hassels of kosher / halaal requirements - we are a diverse crew indeed but happily bond over the food we create.)

This recipe then, is a layered inspiration which I constructed from my most recent experience in that wonderful land that celebrates food, colour and family. But most of all, Italian cooking respects the ancient ritual of seasonality.

This recipe is reminiscent not only of a time and place (late summer and a wonderful dash into the northern countryside sampling Montepulciano wines and a bit of prosecco). It also, very strongly, reminds me of something that mother may have presented to her guests at a 70's dinner party (and very presentable it is with it's braided pastry). The nostalgia of this dish goes deeper back in time to the Renaissance. Pies at the time were not only a display of wealth but they were also a way to use up the close of the season's produce. I would not be half annoyed should this appear at the Duke of Milan's table.

But before I get carried away down the annals of history of the humble pie, let me give you the recipe so that you can add it to your very own special occasion. This dish also looks great so you can deliver this show-stopper to the table.  And it looks equally fantastic as you cut it open.

Ingredients:
   
You can use any veg really, but for the colours and effect, I like to use:

• carrots,
• aubergine  
• zuchinni

(Cut all these lengthways about 3mm (1/2 inch) thick)

You can cut your carrots  at an angle so that they are long and thin, but not is strips. (see them in the pic above). Parboil them  because they are harder than the other veg and will not cook as quickly when they are in the pastry.

Then cut your aubergine and your marrows into the same thickness, lengthwise.

If you want to degorge your aubergine to make it less bitter, this is a good idea but then do that a couple of hours a head.

You'll also need:

• 2 red peppers
• half a bulb of garlic
• 250g ricotta cheese (about half a round)
• leaks
• A decent bunch of fresh basil
• A packet of puff pastry

So what you do, is you roast two large peppers with garlic so they get the garlic flavour but cut them in half and cover them with olive oil. Then put them skin side up with the garlic indeneath them - so that they are covering the garlic. Then pop them under the grill for 20 mins or so until their skins go black. Remove from oven and peel the skins off the peppers.

 Then, in a pan, sweat down some leaks with salt and pepper.

Assembling the strudel:

Lay out the puff pastry on the baking tin that has been lined with baking paper. (Once the strudel is assembled, it will be extremely difficult to move in it's raw state. So what you want is to be able to pop it directly into the oven whatever container it is on.)

I like to do this first, but it doesn't matter : Cut 4-5cm strips into the pastry with a sharp knife roughly a quarter of the way in then repeat, mirrored on the other side you should be left with about a 10 -12 cm strip in the middle this is where you are going to layer your veg.

 Start with the wilted leaks and then pop on peppers which you have torn into longish and thinnish (5cm) strips then pop on your aubergine, then your zucchini and then your carrots and crumble on a third of the ricotta. Grind salt and pepper over and drizzle with olive oil. Line with fresh basil leaves (be fairly generous). 
Then start again with the leaks and the peppers and carry on ending with a layer of basel and a final layer of peppers.

Close up the strudel:

Starting at the one end, take the first strip of puff pastry from the top left and pull it across to the right

then take one from the top right and pull it over and across to the left. Repeat until you get to the end.

Tuck the last bit under the bottom of the pie when you get to the end of the plaiting and then wash with a beaten egg.

Cook for a good 30 - 40 mins on about 180 degrees Celsius, making sure that the pastry doesn't get burned but it shouldn't

you only really need to check on it in the last ten mins.

Make sure the veg are quite soft by popping a knife through it. The pastry will be crispy at the bottom and flakey and golden on top,

Cut and server at table in two and a 3cm thick slices.

Wine suggestion: I would drink a nice viognier, a crisp chenin or with a nice chianti style wine.

Beuno Appetito

Winter-warmer chili con carne

I have a confession to make. This morning when I woke up it was cold and grey, and quite frankly, I wasn't feeling great. So I took a personal day. This doesn't happen often but sometimes it is necessary. Weekends are busy and the week is manic. Sometimes it is not so much that one is incapacitated but the day can be used to get all those things we neglect and put off because you can't do them in the week if you are working from 8:30 until 6:30 pm, done. Other times it is merely to take much-needed time for one's self.

My sister and I have a joke that the first is called a personal hygiene day, you know: get your hair cut, your nails done, that kind of thing that you would otherwise wait three months of weekends before the beauty therapist can fit you in for. The aforementioned, we call a sanity day. Which can be spent in a very similar way but is dedicated to soothing the soul so that the next day you can greet your colleagues with a smile and a wave and do your job without the accompanying feeling of a breakdown - aren't all of our jobs stressful?

It would come as no surprise then, that on my day off I like to cook. (There was a lingering coffee at a cafeteria while reading the paper, much reading- some of it to expand my knowledge that would assist in my job - so I'm really helping the company, am I not by taking this well-timed day off - and then there was plenty of napping, helping me to catch up on that much-needed and restorative sleep.)



So it being that kind of day, there is nothing nicer to make than something heartwarming and body warming: a nice pot of chili. I started early in the morning and let the chili sit the whole day which allows the flavours to develop. It is even better if you decide to make this a night or two before and let it sit in the fridge. Flavour-wise there is nothing to beat sitting time for those notes of deliciousness to infuse. If you are vegetarian, simply increase the amount of red kidney beans. Also, this is not a traditional-traditional chili, I like to add the odd bit of veg: pour quoi non? But the important thing is that the spicing is correct for chili ( which will distinguish it from a curry (Thai / madras / North Indian or otherwise).

A note on the beans. If you are using dried beans, let them sit one or two nights in water which will soften them and then bring them to the boil on the stove. Then let them simmer for about an hour and a half.

So without further ado, except to mention that this is best made with love and best intentions, here is my recipe:

Ingredients
300g lean beef mince
1 1/2 cups red kidney beans or a tin of red kidney beans
1 onion ( medium sized and chopped into small cubes)
1 large clove of garlic (crushed)
1 medium sized red chili (dried and crushed)
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp dried oregano
2 fresh chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato puree
2 grated zucchini or a grated carrot
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1tspn ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste

To serve:
Fresh lettuce
brown rice / taco / tortilla
sour cream or plain yogurt
fresh corriander
fresh tomato and onion salsa
a pinch of grated cheddar, if you're really feeling indulgent

To make:
Lightly sweat the onions and the garlic along with the coriander and cumin seeds, the chili and oregano. Do not let this burn. Then add the tomatoes. Add the mince and the beans and turn up the heat and allow the mince to brown.

Add the veg, if you wish, and then add the can of tomato puree along with the remaining spices.

Mix well and lower the heat and allow to simmer for an hour or two.

Serve with brown rice or in a taco. Add freshly chopped iceburg lettuce, a dollop of sour cream (or plain yogurt) some fresh coriander and tomato salsa.  For the salsa  use a chopped fresh tomato that has been salt-and peppered, mixed with a finely cut shallot or half an onion and had a little vinegar added to it.

Recipe For Love by Katie Fforde

I'm reading a delightful book at the moment: Recipe for Love, by Katie Fforde. The book revolves around Zoe, a contestant in a Masterchef-type competition and one of the gorgeous judges, Gideon.

The contestants all stay on site at Somerby, an old country estate owned by Fanella and Rupert in the English countryside. A lovely couple who are in the midsts of renovating. And Fenella is very pregnant.  Zoe, the first to arrive quickly makes friends with Fen and Rupert and when there is a disaster with the wedding cake that Somerby hosts, Zoe steps in and rescues it with cupcakes!

At the same time her association with the owners of the old house gives her refuge from her sabotaging roommate and fellow contestant Cher. Since Gideon stays in the house this also gives her plenty of time  to fall properly in love with him.

But Zoe has her doubts about Gideon, however much she likes him. And of course there are several twists and turns before a happy ending.

Great summer reading that's as light and fluffy as a souffle. Also a good book to curl up with under the covers and a cuppa tea. And, of course there is plenty of food in there to keep you turning the pages.

Cooking Demo Evening: Warm Leek and Zucchini salad with Sauce Vierge

It was my pleasure to host a cooking demonstration on this tuesday evening. The idea came about when a friend of mine asked if I had any “official” training and if I could point her in the direction of a course to take.

Unfortunately I could not help her there. All the food that I made has been as a result of simply diving in and getting my hands dirty in the kitchen. And finding that since I had been doing this for as long as I can could stand on a chair and reach the stove (it still boggles my mind that my somewhat astute and protective mother gave me free reign in the kitchen – she must have trusted me!) that I probably had accumulated a bit of experience. So the thought crossed my mind, that I should share this with others.

Since I was lucky enough to have an open-plan kitchen in my flat, with the stove in the counter I could demonstrate how to make some of the dishes that make a really delicious dinner, but which people are often too worried to make.

Then it came to me that what I would do is three dishes, as if we were having a dinner party.

I spoke a bit about how to put dishes and food together; I expounded my core notions that there should be balance in all dishes and across the courses. That there should be a combination of textures and tastes and that, most of all it should be made with love.

For the main meal I chose to demonstrate my tomato risotto, since risotto seems to hold an air of the formidable about it to those who have never tried it before. And indeed, it is a labour of love, but it is easy enough to do and to get the perfect texture when you have seen how! The recipe for the risotto is already up and you can find it here: http://gourmandays.blogspot.com/2010/03/tomato-risotto-finally-rrecipe.html

We ended with mishugina profiteroles, but that is a funny story for another post. 

To balance the meal, and since we have been experiencing the cooler weather that announces winter is on its way, I decided on a warm leak and zucchini (or baby marrow) salad with a sauce vierge as the starter. This salad is delicious with the leeks becoming sweet and the zucchini still crispy. The sauce vierge adds the spice, with capers for salt, finely chopped basil serving for a peppery flavour and a well ripened tomato for warmth and a finely chopped shallot to add a dash of zest. Serve over warm chiabbatta crostini and you have yourself a delicious starter.

It is also fairly easy to make and soon, with everyone having contributed to the slicing of the zucchini and a quick chat about wines and their flavours, we sat down with our warm salads accompanied by a glass of Sauvingnon blanc which adds a nicely fresh counterparts to the dish.

A lightly oaked chardonnay would work just as well though. Especially in the cooler climes as it adds something of a robustness.

Below is the recipe for the Leek and Zuccini salad

Use 1 leek per person

Use about 1.5 zucchini per person

1 slice of bread per person – thickly cut

Salt 

Black pepper

For the sauce vierge (enough dressing for four portions):

Half a largish shallot: finely cut or minced

1 ripe tomato – roughly cut into cubes

1 generous teaspoon capers

A handful of basil- finely chopped

¼ cup of your finest extra virgin olive oil

¼ lemon

Clean the leeks and cut them lengthways. Pop them in a heavy bottomed pan with a little bit of cooking olive oil. Allow them to sweat over a low heat until they look wilted and glossy. Remove. 

While the leeks are sweetly sweating, cut the zucchini lengthways about 5mm thick. Fry lightly in olive oil and add salt an pepper to taste.

In a seperate dish, put the tomato, shallot, capers and basil. Toss with a spoon. Add the olive oil and mix gently. 

Cut the ciabatta into cubes, and layer the leeks and zucchini on top, sharing them between the number of servings. 

Spoon over the sauce vierge. 

Because of the colour of the sauce vierge, this looks especially nice plated up on white plates.

Chocolate Easter Mousse Cake

Easter is a time of celebration and I strongly feel that it is no coincidence that food-wise, this involves chocolate. Chocolate is luxurious so it is no wonder, that historically when it was tradition in Christian countries to give gifts over Easter, that this used to often be a gift of choice. And if anything, its decadence and deliciousness is all the more increased after the fasting of Lent. (I never fail to delight in chocolate anyway, but try going without it for six weeks and eating it for the first time after that is definitely a heavenly experience!)

Anyway, this year, I decided to go all out on the chocolate experience, and one day, at work, in a state of chocolate-deprived delirium, I got to designing a dream chocolate cake that I could indulge in on Easter Sunday.

Also, I have always loved the idea of working with chocolate, which I had always heard was quite difficult.

But there we go, always one for a challenge, I was not to be deterred. I had too often seen the delicious chocolate collared cakes in Melissa's food and coffee shop and longed to create the same. (That following the more immediate thought of wanting to surrender to ordering a piece of that chocolate wonderness with my coffee!)

But I digress: back to the mousse cake, which, initially was supposed to consist of a layer of cake, then a layer of mousse, a layer of chocolate pavlova and then whipped cream, topped with profiteroles and then more chocolate and spun sugar. (Spun sugar being something else that I have been so keen to try out - a few months ago I went out to buy a candy thermometer in anticipation of doing this one day - look out for when I make a creme bouché!)

But then I came across the Woolworths Taste Magazine in which South African Masterchef judge Peter Goffe-Wood had put together a three-layer chocolate mousse cake. A layer of chocolate brownie as the base - decadent with six eggs and then a layer of white chocolate mousse - which is possibly one of the most divine things that I have tasted though I am not all that hugely fond of mousse. Then a layer of dark chocolate mousse.

The white Chocolate Mousse worked out wonderfully - a basic combination of melted white chocolate (500g) to two and a half cups of cream that has been slightly whipped. After the chocolate has been melted and has cooled slightly, mix in the cream. A smooth consistency forms as the mixture increases in volume. It also thickens slightly as the chocolate cools down and then becomes quite manageable as you pour it over the chocolate brownie layer.

Pop this in the fridge for a few hours and it would have set.

The Dark Chocolate mousse proved to be a little more challenging and the first time I made the mousse, in exactly (I thought) the same way as the white chocolate mousse it curdled. The ratio of chocolate to cream is also different (300g chocolate to 3 cups of cream). On the second try I allowed the chocolate to cool for longer and the cream to be more consistently whipped and a little warmer. All went well but as I had the about the last cup of cream to add, I noticed the same thing happening. So I just stopped adding and thankfully, had a relatively smooth dark chocolate mousse.

Pop that on top of the white chocolate mousse and
back in the fridge.

In the mean time I made come chocolate easter eggs  (out of  rugby ball moulds as it turns out since all the smaller egg shapes were sold out!)

Finally it was time to attempt the profiteroles. Puffy rounds of choux pastry delights.

Except, that from the recipe that I followed (since I had not made choux pastry, literally in years, was not all that up to scratch. The egg to flour and water and butter ratio was a bit out. Subsequently I found another recipe and it worked out beautifully!  So here are some tips:

• Add a little more water if your butter is cold as it will take longer to melt and if too much of the water evapourates, there is the steam that makes your choux pastry rise.

Allow the dough to cool sufficiently and stop mixing as soon as it forms a ball.

• Add one egg, already beaten, at a time once your mixture is cool.




• Then work quickly with the mixture and pop them into a pre-heated oven - the oven should be heated to hotter than 180 and when you have piped out your pastry and put them in, you can reduce the  heat. Let them cook for 25 mins and then leave in a hot oven to dry out a little more - it is almost impossible to dry them out too much but you will get a lovely crispy shell! 

Fill with cream.

Lastly, assemble the chocolate collar: Put the  tempered chocolate on a plastic film and position around the cake. When it is solid, peel off the plastic.

 Top with profiteroles and then drizzle them with chocolate

Lastly: top with painted Easter eggs and wait for dessert time!

Voilá!

The Cape Malay Experience at Cellars-Hohenort

Getting to Cellars-Hohenhort is like taking a little journey back in time and place. Winding down into the depths of Constantia, past the Alphen green strip and into what was indubitably a farm-house estate, the idea that you arrived in a car and not a carriage becomes more and more foreign.


A white rose-garden greets you and through the doors of the Cellars hotel is a magnificent Victorian-style lounge, with its plush seats and fresh blooms on each of the tables. This is the Martini bar but I feel that this sophisticated early 20th century drink doesn't lend it's name well to the surroundings. Instead of the dark leathers and sleek veneer that martinis imply, there is everything that is opulent about this lounge bar with its doors that lead onto a patio and the rolling lawns of the gardens beyond. I expected to see ladies in Victorian or even further back in history, late 17th / 18th century pastel or boldly coloured bustles floating over the lawns rather sooner than I expected to see a suave martini-drinking modern businessman here.
So I would say: forget the martini (I can't believe that I just wrote that - martini lover that I am) but this is possibly one of the nicest spots to sip a glass of bubbles as you sink into one of the plush. Worth a try, because I find it so absolutely decadent is the 2007 Klein Constantia MCC Brut which is made from a Chardonnay left on the lees and which has an exceptional flavour. In the heat of summer there was a cool breeze that waltzed in through the doors that open out onto a stoop that overlook the lush and leafy-green gardens that in a typical Cape Town was was accompanied by dark clouds hanging over the mountain. Even the weather seemed to be colluding in creating an atmosphere that was other-worldly.

The Conservatory restaurant, as it is very aptly named for the 18th century buildings is itself is situated in a space which feels like it is cantilevered over the gardens and the floor to ceiling glass doors and windows give the impression that you are in a treehouse as the foliage and old oak tree trunks surround and slope down out of view below you while the wrought iron gates that lead outside remind one again of a culture that highly valued landscaping over the rustic.

In keeping with the traditional Cape farm buildings, the restaurant serves a Cape Malay Experience. Cape Malay food came to the area by way of Indian and Malay settlers who were brought to the Cape as slaves in the 17 century.

 The aromatic, hearty dishes have evolved into what is a unique culinary expression of  South African Cape Indian-Malay culture. It also often involves the balance between sweet and savoury, making it a difficult cuisine sometimes to get right. The irony that this should be served to its fine-dining  patrons aside, mostly because it has evolved into fine-dining, this completes a sense of authenticity of the place and the time you have stepped back into.

The theme of floral that one first encounters in the rose gardens outside persist in the dining room. But not in the décor, as you might imagine. The dining room itself is simply and elegantly restrained with white table table cloths and dark-wood riempie ribbon-back chairs. Rather it is in the food and wine that the floral essence carried through.

 Our wine server, Lunga Sodinga, very diligently recommended that we pair our food with the Paul Cluver Riesling 2011, which was not only light with citrus and lime and complimented our food perfectly, but which had a wonderful nose of intensely floral roses.

We were presented with a kind of “amuse bouche” which consisted of mini mince samoosas, chilli bites and poppyseed egg squares that were served with dipping sauces of mint and bulgarian yoghurt and fruit chutney. The starters are a tangy ginger and butternut soup with a milk foam while the alternative is a delicately dressed garden salad with artichoke.

 Then comes a selection of curries.

A yellow butternut and lentil dahl with lots of danja (coriander) is mild and refreshing. It is also vegetarian. The mild Cape Malay chicken and prawn curry is delightfully seasoned with cumin, tumeric fennel seeds and danja that marry together beautifully. And to add to this is the scrumptious, and to me, the highlight of the meal, lamb knuckle curry, slow-cooked till tender with potatoes and tomatoes. Again it is not heavily spiced but the flavours are distinct. With this comes basmati rice and a selection of symbols, chutneys and atchas so that you can spice up or cool down your meal according to your taste.

The traditionally South African malva pudding carries through the theme of South African heritage to the end of the meal. The syrupy malva came with a vanilla crème anglaise, a scoop of amarula ice-cream and chopped up dried apricots, which is another ingredient that we often find in Cape-Malay cooking. But the malva is just the penultimate South African touch. With coffee come mini sticky koeksisters.
>The menu changes regularly though, according to the Chef Martha Williams lastest creations.   It was great to chat with her and it turns out that she is something of a celebrity having been on Pasella and Top Billing.

Ps. I was lucky enough to have to review this experience for The Waiting Room Magazine.