My African Relish…
We were warmly welcomed by General Manager, Virna Gouws to African Relish, located in the Main Street and given directions to our cottage. Our charming home for the week-end, Akkedis, set the outskirts of town, was once a shepherds cottage, circa 1856. Complete with gorgeous linen, quirky décor and the most comfortable beds in 2 en suite bedrooms. With enormous bathrooms, deep Victorian baths (definitely some upgrades since the shepherds moved out !) and a deep, cool back stoep, who could wish for more? Oh a mediation chapel perhaps? Yes there is one, complete with comfy cushions and candles for those seeking extra solitude and reflection time.
A second one bedroomed cottage, Doringbos, is located on the adjacent property with a round, farm style dam for swimming, shared between the two. There are 2 additional cottages, Deurdrift 1 & 2, centrally located in the village. All are self-catering, with special touches of fresh milk provided from local Gay’s Dairy and delicious home baked rusks.
The cookery school, run by Jeremy Freemantle, is purpose built, in a U shape, in a beautifully fragrant garden filled with roses and lavender. I have not seen such a healthy looking vegetable garden since my childhood growing up on a farm! This of course provides the organic produce for the restaurant and cookery classes.
Executive chef, Vanie Padayachee, voted by SA Tourism as one of the Top 10 young SA chefs of 2009 was our wonderful hostess for the weekend. She delighted us with her easy manner and wonderful culinary skills.
No rest on our arrival evening as we were whisked off on a fascinating ghost walk around the village by Ailsa Tudhope - historian and expert story teller. Tales of ghosts on the Pass and in various historical homes intrigued and delighted us.
We were lucky enough to have Jan and Cindy from Rickety Bride in Franschhoek with us so on our return to African Relish, sampled some of their very delicious wines along with some local ones prior to dinner (my selection below):
To begin – quinoa, caramelized onion & roast pepper salad
To continue - slow cooked lamb shank (more tender than you can possibly imagine) with pawpaw, walnut & loquat salad
To conclude – Vanilla bean meringue (yes with the squishy middle!) with fresh fruit salad
A relaxed evening with much laughter and local Bergwater Shiraz Reserve, we easily got to know our fellow students.
A brief visit to the local Saturday morning market (we had to have some exercise!) before beginning our day of learning, eating & more wine drinking! Donning our fun windmill printed aprons, amongst the delights we mastered (or like to think we did!) were:
Country terrine - with Karoo venison taking centre stage
Dried fig and herb stuffed saddle of lamb - succulent & spicy
Ostrich neck casserole with paprika, red peppers and tomato – who neck Ostrich neck could be this delicious!
Stuffed baby cabbage with spicy tomato sauce – Jan’s speciality dish
Creamy samp and beans – like you have never tasted before, off the calorie charts!
Milk tart – rich and creamy, have always wanted to learn to make this
Brandy Pudding – my Mom did a great job on this, moist and tasty
Of course cooking with little “fairies” providing all the correctly measured ingredients and magically whisking off dirty dishes is the only way to do it. The staff were friendly, helpful and always had a smile despite having to share their kitchen with us novices. We of course had the privilege of eating the fruits of our labour that evening, our chefs table taking centre stage in the beautifully appointed kitchen. The restaurant is open to the public on week-ends.
Sunday dawned and I could not get up early for the botanical walk but was assured by the few that did that it was well worth it. With still full tummies but we soldiered on, mastering hollandaise sauce for our eggs Benedict brunch (a quick tip, just add marmite/bovril and voila it becomes béarnaise sauce!).
We were very sad to bid farewell, what an oasis but will certainly return. My diet began on Monday! Treat yourself, book and go soon!
Related Posts:
Charlotte Smith
Subscribe to the Blog by Email