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By PatR, July 4, 2010 5:31 pm

HILDA’S KITCHEN AT GROOTE POST LAUNCHES DELECTABLE WINTER MENU

Now open in July for the first time, in celebration of the Soccer World Cup
Hilda’s Kitchen, Groote Post’s well-loved restaurant, has created a captivating menu for the winter season. With the West Coast becoming an increasingly attractive tourist destination, the country hospitality of Hilda’s Kitchen, amidst the rustic charm of Groote Post, promises to entice wine aficionados, gastronomes and nature-lovers alike. Adeptly using local and seasonal produce and combining these with her culinary creativity, Debbie McLaughlin – Hilda’s Kitchen’s internationally-trained cordon bleu chef – has, in her eclectic and delicious winter menu, devised unique expressions of her famous dishes.
Groote Post is one of the few wine cellars, let alone wineries with restaurants, open on Sundays in the Darling district and surrounding wine routes. And for the first time, in celebration of the 2010 World Cup, Hilda’s Kitchen will be open during the month of July. The Groote Post tasting room, traditionally closed on Sundays in July, will now be open 7 days a week.
Visitors to Hilda’s Kitchen will be spoilt for choice with an array of epicurean delights, accompanied by Groote Post’s superb range of wines, charged at cellar door prices. Delicious new options on the Hilda’s Kitchen menu – with suggested wine pairings – comprise:
NEW WINTER MENU
STARTERS SUGGESTED WINE PAIRINGS
Line fish soup with mussels and chorizo Groote Post Chardonnay (Wooded)
Cauliflower and cumin fritters with lime yoghurt Groote Post Unwooded Chardonnay
Sweet potato turnovers with a green herb chutney Groote Post Sauvignon Blanc
MAIN COURSES
Braised beef with celery root mashed potato Groote Post Merlot
Lamb osso bucco with orange, lemons and capers Groote Post Shiraz
Chicken tagine with pumpkin and chickpeas Groote Post Weisser Riesling
DESSERTS
Orange polenta cake The Old Man’s Sparkle
White chocolate and macadamia nut brownies Groote Post Noble Late Harvest
Apple tarte tatin with homemade vanilla bean ice cream Groote Post Noble Late Harvest
In order to avoid disappointing regular patrons, Debbie includes as many ‘old favourites’ as possible, on a rotational basis.
The award-winning Hilda’s Kitchen – named after Hildagonda Duckitt, a grande dame of Cape cuisine, who once lived on the Groote Post farm – resides in what is now a national monument, a restored 18th-century manor house, and is managed by Shaun and Debbie McLaughlin, whose names have been synonymous with the hospitality industry for years, and who have established Hilda’s Kitchen as a rare West Coast gem. Hilda’s Kitchen has fast become a popular destination for tourists and ‘foodies’ alike. Judged by the 2010 Eat Out Guide as one of South Africa’s Top 10 Alfresco Restaurants, Hilda’s Kitchen is, without a doubt, a must for all visitors to the West Coast – it will undoubtedly tease your senses and taste buds.
Fun for the whole family at Groote Post
Situated in the Darling Hills, Groote Post is only one hour’s drive from Cape Town along the West Coast Road, the R27 (it is 11 kilometres from the West Coast Road, after turning off at the Darling Hills Road towards Darling). Owned by the Pentz family, Groote Post is a beautiful, historic farm with a rustic atmosphere, undulating hills and vast open spaces. In addition to wine-tasting and sales, and lunch at Hilda’s Kitchen, Groote Post offers a jungle gym and rolling lawns where children can play; nature walks; bird-watching, including a hide on the farm dam; and game drives in their 2 000-hectare game camp which is home to indigenous species such as kudu, black wildebeest, red hartebeest, bontebok, springbok, eland and gemsbok. The farm, which is part of the famous West Coast spring flower route, also holds much appeal for environmentalists.

New road – the Groote Post Highway

The long-awaited upgrade to the Darling Hills Road, from the R307 Darling/Mamre road to Groote Post, was recently completed. The result is a super smooth gravel surface which rides almost as smoothly as tar.

Opening Hours

Hilda’s Kitchen: Open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday (Booking essential)
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

Wine-tasting and sales: Open Monday – Friday: 08h00 -17h00
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 10h00 – 15h00

Groote Post closed: Easter Friday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

Game drives: Prior booking essential

Contact: Tel: 022 492 2825
Email: wine@grootepost.co.za
www.grootepost.com

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By PatR, March 25, 2010 10:30 am

Annual SA Cheese Festival – Saturday, April 24 to Tuesday, April 27:

On Monday  morning April 26th there will be a presentation of Slow awards to selected artisanal cheese producers. More details at www.cheesefestival.co.za.

No tickets sold at the gate.  Bookings at Computicket or Checkers. R110 Saturday or Sunday,  R90 Monday or Tuesday or R70 for seniors any day.

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By PatR, March 25, 2010 9:40 am

The Chefs Warehouse and Cookery School will open in Cape Town in April 2010.

Slow Food member, Liam Tomlin, Chef and Owner of Chefs Warehouse and Cookery School, will present a course  of 20 classes  covering the essential principles of cooking:  “Basic Techniques & Methods of Cookery”.

Several  local celebrated chefs and presenters will participate in the first series of classes and the dates of their presentations  will be published shortly.

For more details go to the website www.chefswarehouse.co.za

Enquiries for the Cooking School: Call Liam or Rachel at the Cooking School on +27 (0)21 422 01 28 or email   info@chefswarehouse.co.za

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By admin, September 11, 2009 1:11 pm

When the Committee got together with Kobus to taste the various cheeses up for awards, Valerie Elder of The Real Cheese had some interesting advice on how to taste:

The palate is a somewhat fickle medium as there are so many aspects to take into consideration – one of the main ones is that food or drink will taste very different at the start of the day from how it will taste at the end. This is because everything you consume influences and affects your taste buds. Take care when you eat garlic first thing in the morning – it may be there for the rest of the day!

In designing a cheese selection, for example, items chosen would be much lighter at lunch than at dinner when other factors such as wine matching and possibly heavier foods are to be balanced.

To taste, bring your other senses into play. Sight and smell start the process and could influence your overall impression quite decidedly even before tasting. The tongue has sensitive areas for certain tastes: sweet and salty at the front, bitter at the back and sour or sharp along the sides. Put a morsel in your mouth and allow the flavour to express itself before swallowing. The taste that will come from the follow-through after swallowing may be different to the mouth feel. Balance those flavours to achieve the overall taste. In some instances the nose will give a stronger ‘taste’ than the actual mouth response.

To keep a clean, balanced palate drink water frequently and eat stronger items after lighter ones. Smoking affects taste buds greatly and smokers and non smokers will experience different tastes.

In looking for cheese for the Slow Awards, many factors are taken into consideration over and above the taste. Texture, appearance and presentation all play a part. A farm may be just starting and show remarkable promise with no particular item specified, or an individual cheese may be seen as remarkable but not everything produced by the farm. Passion is a huge component in making quality farm cheese and cheese made without passion has no heart to share with the consumer!

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By admin, September 11, 2009 1:09 pm

Slow Food Cheese Award winners Back row, left to right: Pat Rademeyer, Sharon Ball, Marianne Hemmes, Cecily van Gend, Robert von Tobien, Norman Belcher, Alba Lamprecht. Front row, left to right: Aubrey Potgieter, Mahlamola Moso, Estalanie Marais, Rina Belcher.

The annual cheese festival was held at Bien Donne at Franschhoek from 24-26 April. A couple of weeks previously, a panel consisting of Slow committee members and Valerie Elder of the Real Cheese, tasted a selection of cheeses presented by Kobus Mulder ofAgri-Expo – the ‘Mr Cheese’ of the Western Cape. After much deliberation, a number of local cheesemakers were deemed worthy of Slow Food Cheese Awards for 2009. These awards were presented at a small ceremony held at the Festival. The following cheesemakers received awards:

For Excellence:

• Wayne Rademeyer of Buffalo Ridge, for his buffalo milk mozzarella.
• Aubrey Potgieter and Marianne Hemmes of Foxenberg Estate for their fromage de chevre.
• Lanie Marais of La Rochelle Kaas for her Roché.
• Rina and Norman Belcher of Belnori Boutique Cheesery for the cows milk gouda.
• Alba Lamprecht of Nuwehoogte Bokmelk Kaas for her goats’ milk vinicio (soaked in pertit verdot red wine).
• Robert von Tobien of Kimili Farm for his Vintner’s Hook washed rind soft cows’ milk cheese

For Innovation:

• Ulrika Christiansen of Forest Hill Cheesery for her marisch with Cajun
• Mahlamola Moso of Kimilili Farm for his cows’ milk Cape Mosonais

For her contribution to the dairy industry:

• Gay van Hasselt of Gay’s Guernsey Dairy

Kobus Mulder has provided some potted biographies of the prizewinning cheesemakers.

Rina and Norman Belcher of Belnori began their cheesemaking venture about seven years ago with two goats on their smallholding near Bapsfontein. They are innovative cheesemakers and very keen supporters of goat’s milk cheese matters. They have done very well at international competitions and have won Qualite Awards locally. Most of their cheeses are sold on morning markets in Gauteng.

Marianne Hemmes of Foxenburg Cheese sells her goat’s milk cheese on morning markets and in selected delis. She also grows oyster mushrooms and olives and produces outstanding olive oil.

Pat Rademeyer with Robert von Tobien and Mahlamola Moso of Kimilili

Ulrika Christiansen of Forest Hill Cheese trained at Camphill many years ago, and has made cheese in the Hemel en Aarde valley and at Kimilili in Tulbagh, but for the last two years she has been at Forest Hill.

Robert von Tobien of Kimilili near Tulbagh is a German who came to this country after spending time making cheese in the USA. He uses raw milk, and produces some adventurous cheeses. Two of his cheese makers have trained in France – one of whom, Mahlamola Moso, won a Slow award for his innovative cows’ milk Cape Mosonais. The name of his cheese is a pun on his surname and the French cheese that inspired it.

Alba Lamprecht of Nuwehoogte Bokmelk Kaas lives outside Robertson, where her dentist father milks the goats, while Ma and daughter make the cheeses.

Estalanie Marais of La Rochelle, is French-trained. Outgoing and innovative, she milks the goats, makes the cheese and sells it all herself.

HOW TO CONTACT THE WINNERS:

Rina & Norman Belcher of Belnori Boutique Cheesery: for their goats milk Gouda. They also make other types of goats milk cheese. ( Bapsfontein) http://www.belnori.co.za/info@belnori.co.za
Rina Belcher 082 377 5698 rina@belnori.co.za
Norman Belcher 082 330 4706 / 011 964 3405 norman@belnori.co.za

Wayne Rademeyer of Buffalo Ridge: for his buffalo milk Mozzarella (Wellington) Buffalo Ridge at Inyathi Ridge Farm, off the R44, 11km north of Wellington

Buffalo Ridge Farm isn’t generally open to the public, but does cater for visits by special arrangement. Contact Wayne Rademeyer on 082 375 0977, or email buffaloridge@iafrica.com.

Ulrika Christiansen of Forest Hill Cheesery: for her Marisch with Cajun.Anura Vineyards, Simondium Road,.Klapmuts, 7670 B92
Telephone: +27 21 875 5360, +27 21 875 5398+27

Marianne Hemmes and Aubrey Potgieter of Foxenburg Estate : for their Fromage de Chevre Foxenburg Estate, Agter-Groenberg, Wellington. Contact :Tel: +27 (0) 21 873 5617, Mobile: +27 (0) 82 600 5689
marianne@foxenburg.co.za

Gay van Hasselt of Gay’s Dairy : for all her cheeses

Gay’s Guernsey Dairy Tel: 023 5411 274 Upper Kerkstraat, Prince Albert

Dairy tours can be arranged: Please telephone Gay at  023 5411 274 or 023 5411 538

Mahlomola Moso of Kimilili Farm: for his Cape Mosonais

Robert von Tobien of Kimilili Farm: for his Vintner’s Hook cheese

KIMILILI FARM (PTY) LTD

We welcome visitors to the Farm. Second farm to the left on the Boontjiesrivier Road off the R46 between Tulbagh and Wolsely.
Open weekdays for cheese tasting & sales, by appointment only.
P.O. BOX 328, TULBAGH 6820
TEL: +27 23 231-1503
EMAIL: info@KimililiFarm.co.za

http://www.kimililifarm.co.za/

Alba Lamprecht of Nuwehoogte Bokmelk Kaas: for her goats milk Vinici

Nuwehoogte Plaas, Robertson
nuwehoogte@yahoo.com

Tel: 0722091047, 0236264165

Lanie Marais of La Rochelle Kaas : for her goats milk Roché

La Rochelle Kaas by De Doorns ( Still trying to get contact details)

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By admin, February 12, 2009 12:25 pm

Two members of the Cape Town convivium, Kate Schrire and Donald Paul, attended the Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy, last October.

THOUGHTS FROM TERRA MADRE – Report by Kate Schrire

In October, I attended Slow Food’s Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy. As a representative of Slow Food Cape Town, I was given access to all the workshops and seminars, which are closed to members of the public.

Terra Madre, translated from the Italian as ‘Mother Earth’, brings together all the members of Slow Food’s international food communities. Although the focus is on food producers (think: Kenyan Masai herdsmen meet Tibetan Yak farmers meet Irish honey producers!), chefs, educators and activists are also present. Over the course of a long weekend, all these diverse groups and individuals network, discuss common issues in forums and workshops, and attend lectures on Slow Food themes, which this year included topical issues such as GM crops, the energy and food crises and food biodiversity.

It is difficult to do justice to a meeting of this scale in a written report, so far removed from the excitement and sense of purpose of the actual event. However, small interactions stick with me, and while microcosms in a larger system, they make it easier to appreciate the forces at work behind the scenes of the much larger event.

Entering the Africa Workshop, and trying to find a seat. Shyly approaching a woman in full Kenyan national dress, to ask if the seat next to her is taken; she responds instantly, “Yes, I’ve been saving it for my new friend – you.” While waiting for the workshop to start, chatting about our respective countries, her work as a veterinarian in Nairobi, exchanging business cards, admiring a worn wallet photo of her daughter.

Taking photos of a workshop, only to discover that the photographer next to me, replete in short shorts (in a chilly Italian autumn!) and long socks, is an Afrikaner honey farmer from George. I was very proud of all the South Africans I met over the weekend. So many amazing projects I’d never heard of! Hearing a young farmer from YARD, based in Jo’burg, talk about his work and his commitment to Slow Food, in front of a crowd of three hundred other African delegates.

Waiting for a bus to take Terra Madre delegates to the opening ceremony, at another venue (in true Italian style, the bus never arrives). Sitting on the pavement and striking up conversation with three British sustainable fishing delegates. One, a chef, pulls a small cooler bag out of his backpack, complete with knife and chopping board, and proceeds to make us sushi with red mullet (the Lady Hamilton boat, off the coast of Cornwall, yesterday, he tells me gravely when I ask where it’s from). He carefully wraps squares in nori seaweed, tucking in a sliver of fennel and home-pickled damsons before presenting a piece with due ceremony on the blade of his knife. “What, no oysters?” I joked. “We ate them all on the train from London,” they told me glumly.

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By admin, February 8, 2009 12:45 pm

The Whole Food Almanac – A shopping guide to healthy eating in the Cape
Michelle Matthews – Sunbird Publishers

This comprehensive and well-researched guide focuses on foods that are produced within a two-hour drive of Cape Town.

More than just a list of local shops and suppliers, it also introduces some of the farmers and producers, talking about how they grow and raise the food they sell.

The chapters cover fruit and veg, meat and poultry, fish, breads, grains and pulses, and wine and other beverages.

There is also information on markets and farm stalls, as well as shops and delis, and restaurants and cafes. A useful source book and shopping companion.