Not many, is my guess, which is why I’m very excited to be learning all about it next weekend. Slow Food Cape Town has organised a special tour of the indigenous ‘veldkos’ garden out at Solms Delta Farm near Franschhoek (Saturday 11 September 2010).

The hour-and-half long tour will be led by well-known food writer, Renata Coetzee, who was part of the planning team for the garden. Renata will point out what’s what, and tell us more about the history of the plants and of the garden. We’ll also be able to smell and taste the indigenous plants and herbs, and admire the fat-tailed sheep and Sanga cattle (traditionally herded by the Khoi).

Slow Food Mother City (yes, there are two Slow Food groups in Cape Town) will be tagging along for the garden visit, but instead of joining Slow Food Cape Town members for the post-tour lunch at Fyndraai Restaurant on the estate, we’ll be picnicking and viewing the plum blossoms at a neighbouring private farm.

If you’d like to come along for just the garden tour, you can book online here (cost: R40 per person). Bookings for the lunch must be done via Slow Food Cape Town (cost: R230 for Slow Food members, R250 for guests – including garden tour). Bookings close on Monday (6 September 2010).

Here’s hoping we get a beautiful spring day like this one… mmmm, I can smell the plum blossoms already.

About the garden:

“Solms-Delta farm is a wine estate located 15km outside the village of Franschhoek.

In addition to producing fine wines on the farm, the owners and farm workers have established a working culinary veldkos garden. The lives of the Cape’s first settlers, the Khoi, revolved around some 400 plant species that nourished them and cured their ailments. Most are now under threat of extinction.

When Fyndraai Restaurant opened on the estate, its brief was to draw from the Cape’s food traditions. Afrikaner boerekos (18th Century Old Cape fare influenced by Dutch, French, German and Slave practices), was mixed with ingredients first used by the Khoi nomads who settled in the Franschhoek valley 2000 years ago. The need to preserve this veldkos was the genesis for the Veldfood Garden.

The 2-hectare garden is a small but productive land parcel that, over the past 320 years, has been used for grazing, fruit production, and most recently, as a dumping ground. It is now planted with many of the edible veldkos plants.”

TASTE, EAT, DRINK AND PLAY AT THE 2010 SA CHEESE FESTIVAL

This year, SA Cheese Festival fans are invited to taste, eat, drink and play as they discover a world of tastes in one place. This gourmet gathering takes place from Saturday 24 until Tuesday 27 April 2010 at Bien Donné on the R45 between Paarl and Franschhoek.

Enjoy cheese in all its many glorious guises and meet the creators – from small artisanal outfits to the larger dairy dynasties. Discover an abundance of complementary delicacies…locally grown olives, home-made preserves, hand-crafted chocolates and award winning wines. Fancy yourself the Big Cheese when it comes to cooking up a storm? Then take part in the foodie fun in the interactive demonstration kitchen where the atmosphere is electric and the action non-stop.

The SA Cheese Festival offers a wide range of fun-filled activities for the entire family. While the adults relish the chance to soak up the laid back vibe and many opportunities to taste, eat and drink in the Cheese Emporium, Cheese Market, The Mall, Gourmet Lane or Dairy Square, kids have ample time to play in the Kiddies Corner, the Cheese Chiller or experience the magical Milk Factory.

A limited number of tickets are available at Computicket and Checkers stores (no tickets at the gates) at R110 for Saturday and Sunday and R90 for Monday and Tuesday. Senior citizens pay R70 and children 12 years and younger enter for free. The festival runs each day from 10:00 to 18:00 and closes at 17:00 on the last day.

For more information contact Agri-Expo on tel 021 975 4440 or cheese@agriexpo.co.za or visit www.cheesefestival.co.za

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

An entire (long) weekend of hunting down the best cheeses South Africa has to offer, and washing them down with some of the best wines in the world (all of it in the great outdoors of the lovely Bien Donne Estate) – definitely my favourite way to spend an autumn day (or two).

With so many cheeses and other goodies to choose from, it’s sometimes hard to know where to start… So I’ve managed to get my paws on a list of stallholders, and am working my way through them in advance, focusing as usual on the small producers, artisans, local producers and what’s natural and organic.

Here, then, is what’s natural and organic at this year’s festival:

Cheeses and dairy products

Cloud Cottage Cheese (near Prince Alfred, Western Cape)
www.cloudcottage.co.za

Set at the summit of the pass, lies the family-run farm Voog se Kraal: 35 hectares of ploughed grazing amidst 800 hectares of mountains, fynbos, ravines, gurgling streams, waterfalls and rock pools – the home of Cloud Cottage Cheese.

Organic biodynamic methods have been used to enrich the pastures on which the five Jersey cows and sixty-strong herd of white Saanen goats graze, in their striving to bring “real farming” back into practice – in a modern way.

This is a family farm where culture, agri-culture, and a hands-on, personal approach intermingle, resulting not only in wholesome and delicious cheeses, but also in an atmosphere which has led many passers-by to comment on the therapeutic quality of this piece of land.

Dragon Fly Farm (Napier, Western Cape)
www.goats-cheese.co.za

Alpine Organic Goats Cheese is a peasant style goat’s cheese made fresh, every day, from 100% goat’s milk. The milk comes straight from milking the goats into the cheese vat.

The cheese is available in plain, oak smoked, herb and olive oil, persian pepper, tomato/ chilli, touareg chilli, basil, oregano, garlic and their new wasabi (try this!).

Foxenburg Estate (Wellington, Western Cape)
www.foxenburg.co.za

Foxenburg has it all: goats milk and cheese, oyster mushrooms and certified organic olive oil.

Foxenburg Estate is situated on the spectacular northern slopes of the Groenberg in the Wellington area of the Western Cape. Here, a herd of Swiss Saanen goats is expressly maintained on the certified organic farm pastures for the production of premium quality goats milk cheeses.

The estate’s many types of cheeses are all produced by hand, honouring traditional northern Hemisphere farmhouse cheese-making methods, and are made from 100% whole goat milk, free of preservatives, hormones, antibiotics and artificial colourants.

Their olives are also top-notch, handpicked with care and pressed the same day to ensure an extra virgin olive oil of the highest quality. Their certified organic extra virgin olive oil is the natural unprocessed oil extracted from the first pressing of their olives.

Indezi River Cheeses (Natal Midlands, KZN)
http://indezi.co.za/

Indezi River Cheese is a family-run operation situated in the heart of the Natal Midlands.  They make quality cows’ milk cheese and an assorted range of specialty goats’ milk cheese, using only the milk from their own herds. Their animals are not injected with artificial milk producing hormones, and have been certified Free Range Dairy.

Additionally, their cheeses are made in the traditional, farmhouse way, without the use of any artificial colorants, flavourings or preservatives (they don’t use  animal rennet) and all spices are natural.

Kimilili Farm (Tulbagh, Western Cape)
www.kimililifarm.co.za

Kimilili is a picturesque farm located overlooking the spectacular mountains of Tulbagh.  Kimilili makes exceptional hand crafted farmhouse cheeses in the French and Swiss cheesemaking tradition. As a “Fermier” cheese maker they rear their own cows and exclusively process their own milk, ensuring that only the very best raw materials are used in their cheeses.

Kimilili Farm uses natural farming practices and their animals are exclusively raised on pasture and only get hay and minerals as supplements. They do not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or any commercial dairy feed on the farm.

(And it shows in the taste of their cheeses)

Myst Hill Dairy (George, Western Cape)

Myst Hill uses the milk from their grass-fed cows to make their natural farm butter, feta, gouda and yoghurt. Delicious!

Nuwehoogte Bokmelk (Robertson, Western Cape)
This small family-run goat dairy near Robertson makes everything by hand and no preservatives or colourants are used in their cheeses.

Ovis Angelica (Free State)
www.sasheepdairy.co.za

This was my absolute favourite from last year’s festival.  OVIS ANGELICA sheep cheeses are all handcrafted, made according to organic principles even though not certified organic yet (though organic certification is the plan). The cheeses are 100 % natural and contains no preservatives, colourants, chemicals or stabilisers.

And they taste incredible, especially the unusual Jangroentjie, which I hope will be for sale this year again!

Other natural and organic goodies

Chrisna’s Olives (Stellenbosch, Western Cape)

A familiar sight at many markets and festivals is Chrisna’s Olives – bucketloads of the juiciest, most delicious organically grown olives.  Always a favourite in my book.

By Nature
www,bynature.co.za

The only place I buy nuts these days… Once you’ve tasted nuts this fresh, you just can’t go back to stale, old store-bought packets ever again.  By Nature sells local, organic nuts, dried fruit, seeds and organic honey.

Feast de Renaissance (Franschhoek, Western Cape)
www.feast-de-renaissance.com
I don’t think I’ve tasted these, but I see them often, and have admired their presentation.  “Nestled in the cradle of the majestic Valley located between Elgin and Franschhoek, is the home of feast-de-renaissance…  this entrepreneurial gastronomic initiative uses perfectly-ripened fruit and abundant amounts of authentic, preservative-free, fresh ingredients to conserve fruits, often infused with wine, resulting in the creation of an exclusive hand-crafted product range of fruit-infused accompaniments.”

TurkSpirit
www.turkspirit.com
TURKISH DELIGHT is made from starch and sugar under a very special process, flavoured according to taste with the most popular ones containing different nuts.  Original Turkish Delight does not contain gelatin and other animal products.

Zest Gourmet Foods
www.zestgourmetfoods.com
Zest makes a delicious range of preserves and condiments that go exceptionally well with cheese.  Their focus is on creating interesting flavours and aromas, firstly to complement cheese, but which have multiple applications for those wishing to be creative.  No additives, no chemicals, no colourants, no stabilizers and no preservatives. The colours are natural and the flavours clean to the palate.

Remember that old Farmer Brown ad: ‘They taste so good, ’cause they eat so good’? It turns out that a diet of grubs, grass, grain, fresh air and sunshine makes the tastiest chickens of all.

On 6 March 2010 a group of Slow Fooders visited Spier to learn more about their biodynamic farming methods. In particular, we wanted to know about their egg-laying and broiler chickens – we’d heard they lead happy lives, by chicken standards.

Spier farm manager, Christo, led us out into the pastures to meet the chickens and cows, who live in a fascinating symbiosis on the pastures.

Into the yonder... to the chicken coop! - Pia Taylor

This piece of land was almost destroyed by conventional farming methods, but is now being rehabilitated using biodynamic principles: the cows graze the grass, trampling some of it flat and churning the earth. They leave behind pats, where larvae grow. A few days’ later the chickens are moved onto the same piece of land, where they disperse the pats by scratching for grubs and further fertilise the soil with their own droppings. After a few rounds of this, the srubby pasture starts to look green and lush – it’s revitalised.

Cows doing their good work on the Spier pastures - Liz Metcalfe

Spier’s egg-laying chickens are completely free to run around at will (though Christo has specifically chosen ones that don’t like to range TOO far) and spend their evenings roosting a large coop (decorated by local kids), where they’re free to lay their eggs as and when they feel like it.

Egg-layers' mobile coop painted by local children - Liz Metcalfe

They’re also free to indulge in all sorts of poultry peccadillos, including chickens’ absolute favourite past-time: a feather-fluffing dust bath. These chickens will be good layers for up to five years (compared to less than two years for exhausted commercial hens).

Spier chickens taking a very enjoyable dust bath - Liz Metcalfe

The broiler chickens – the one omnivorous humans eat – are moved through the pastures in large cages, partly covered in shade-cloth. While they don’t run free – predators are too much of a danger – they’re still chirpy, as The Littlest Slow Fooder found out when she was introduced.

Toddler meeting her first real-life happy chicken - Pia Taylor

These broiler chicks come from the same place that commercial chickens are bred, and are ‘saved’ at one day old. “I see the crates of chicks being loaded onto the big trucks, and look at our couple of hundred chicks, and I think ‘this is your lucky day, guys’,” says Christo.

The chicks spend their first three weeks in this roomy shed, before going ‘out to pasture’ for another three weeks. During this time, they grow up to twice as big as conventional chickens – as much as 2.6kgs – eating bugs, seeds, some special feed, and getting strong scratching around in the dirt. Right now, the chickens are slaughtered at a site about 90 minutes away that has the requisite humane approach, but Spier has nearly finished their own slaughterhouse on the farm, which will mean chickens will be far less stressed at the end.

Reverent poem on the wall of the in-progress slaughter house - Liz Metcalfe

The poem on the wall, by Kahlil Gibran, reads in part:
By the same power that slays you, I too am slain; and I too shall be consumed.
For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.

In the biodynamic tradition of ‘closing the circle’ on a farm, all inedible by-products of the slaughter will go into the Spier organic veggie garden compost heap. It will feed the soil that fed the chickens that fed us.

Strains of Mozart waft out over Spier's organic veggie garden... - Pia Taylor

Ed’s note: Spier’s wonderful chickens are available at a growing number of locations:

• Kwalapa – 31 Newlands Avenue, Montebello Design Estate. Tel 021 687 9314.
• The Earth Fair Market – South Palms (same location as Builder’s Warehouse and Reader’s Warehouse in Tokai Main Rd).  Available Saturday mornings only.

(Please leave a comment below if you’ve spotted them elsewhere around Cape Town, and I’ll add them to the list)

In celebration of its variety, quiet beauty, wholesome treasures and good old fashioned Boland hospitality, Wellington will be welcoming visitors from far and wide during the 4^th Wellington Harvest Festival from 20-22 March 2010.

Bring along the entire family for a laidback autumn day in the open air or hop from cellar to cellar to meet the masters behind the award winning wines.

The Wellington wine and brandy route is compact and within easy driving distance. It  contains 26 of the country’s foremost cellars, some whom during the course of 2009 have reaped many local and international awards. Although the fruit of the vine is the guest of honour, the festival remains a fabulous family affair with Wingerd Rock, game drives, wild boar on the spit, light classics under the stars, Springbok Burgers, potjie competitions, grape stomping, quadbike trails and a fresh goods market specialising in local produce.

If you love the good life, enjoy the Boland and would like to sample the diverse nature of Wellington, all your expectations will be met. Visit the website for a full programme and regular update.

Wristbands will be available at the Info Office or participating farms at R60. Kids under 12 enter for free.

www.harvestfestival.co.za More information:   tel (021) 873 4604, wine@wellington.co.za. .

It’s a beautiful estate, with lovely views, award-winning wines and one, most importantly, with an eye on the environmental impact of its operations. Whilst Backsberg hasn’t gone the organic or biodynamic route (which I’ll admit I perhaps idealistically wish they would do), there’s good reason they won the Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Award last year (in the agricultural category) and more besides.

So I’m excited to be going there again, in just over a week’s time, for the third Slow Food Mother City outing of the year.  As a member of the committee for the fledgling Slow Food group, it’s so much fun planning outings like this one (and going on them, of course!).

We’ll be joining Simon Back on a walking tour of the estate, visiting the section set aside specifically for biodiversity (which earned the estate ‘Champion’ BWI status), followed by a guided wine-tasting, and a finger lunch outside the Earth Centre.

Please join us!  The event is open to guests and members alike – cost is R80 for members, R85 for guests and R35 for children aged 3-12. Wine will be available for purchase to take home or enjoy with your picnic. Cool drinks will also be available for purchase.

The full event info:

Date and time:
Saturday 27 March 2010. 11.00am

Schedule:

11h00: Arrival (refreshments served outside the Earth Centre)
11h00-12h00: Environmental Tour of the Estate with Simon Back
12h00-13h00: Wine Tasting in Historical Vat Cellar hosted by Cellar Door Manager, Danwin James
13h00: Finger Lunch outside the Earth Centre

For more details, and a map, visit slowfoodmothercity.co.za.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks to Michelle for finding the awesome drunken snail pic (original here).

I can easily picture myself booking a picnic and chilling out on the lawns in the hours before the event even begins… ah, bring on summer!

On the 4th of December, Spier wine estate will celebrate the festive season with a dazzling display of light and a diverse collection of artistic performances. A procession across the estate will lead the audience through an impressive line-up, including a dance piece by Jay Pather’s Siwela Sonke Dance Company, soothing sounds from the Abaqondisi Brothers, a dramatic fire-dance by Fire Tribe, and bluesy tunes by “Lonesome Dave” Ferguson.

Spier’s Festival of White Lights will be presented on one night only, so book early as last year’s tickets were sold out. It starts at 20h00 at the Spier Deli, with picnics available on the lawns from 18h00 (if booked in advance). A penny-whistler and an ‘Angel of Light’ on stilts will lead the procession.

One of the highlights will be Jay Pather’s piece: Step into the Light. Guests will walk into a treasure trove of performances representing different cultures and traditions and working with the theme of light.

They include: Shembe dancers carrying flame torches; light installations amongst the trees; light-footed pantsula and hip hop performed with electric torches; and a classical Indian dancer with 100 bells around her ankles. They will finally come together in a display of interlocking rhythms, sound and dance—an intercultural feast for the senses.

Tickets for the festival are R100 for adults and R60 for children under 12 and bookings can be made through Computicket (083 915 8000). This includes a glass of Spier Signature wine at the hotel, and excludes picnics and other beverages. Book at Spier for picnics. www.spier.co.za.

To find out more, contact Dawn or Johann My burgh at 021 842 3186 or email dawnm@netactive.co.za

According to SANParks, the objective of SANParks Week is to:

…cultivate a culture of pride in all South Africans in their relationship with the country’s natural, cultural and historical heritage, under the established theme “Know Your National Parks” and the feature element of the project is free access to all South African day visitors (especially people from communities around the parks) carrying an official Identity Document, while scholars and young persons under 16 years of age, will be allowed entry, without the requirement for proof of identity.

Now, down in the Cape we may not have easy access to parks like the famous Kruger National Park, but we certainly do have a few of our own very spectacular variety.  I wondered how many Capetonians have been to all of them… so I’ve put together a list, in order of proximity (within a limit of 400km from Cape Town).

Here’s to visiting them all (though not necessarily in the space of one week!)

TMNP (Table Mountain National Park).

A unique feature of the TMNP is that it is primarily an open access Park with only three points where conservation fees are payable, Cape of Good Hope, Boulders and Silvermine, the rest of the Park is open access and free for all to enjoy.

Situated at the south-western tip of Africa, the Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) encompasses the incredibly scenic Table Mountain Chain stretching from Signal Hill in the north to Cape Point in the south and the seas and coastline of the peninsula.

The narrow finger of land with its beautiful valleys, bays and beaches is surrounded by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the warmer waters of False Bay and has within its boundaries two world-renowned landmarks – majestic Table Mountain and the legendary Cape of Good Hope.

Normal rates for SA citizens: R70 per adult, per day or R10 per child, per day.

West Coast National Park

Location: about 100km from Cape Town, along the West Coast road (R27).

Just inland from the secluded harbour of Saldanha Bay one finds the azure waters of the Langebaan Lagoon, focal point of the West Coast National Park. Thousands of seabirds roost on sheltered islands, pristine golden beaches stretch endlessly into the early morning mist and brooding salt marshes are home to vast concentrations of migrant waders from the northern hemisphere.

During the spring the strandveld is embroidered with a tapestry of multi-hued flowers, while in the Postberg section many antelope are to be seen in a setting that is as unique as it is idyllic.

Being flower season, the tariffs are higher than the rest of the year, and you’d be saving yourself R38 per person, per day or R26 per child, per day.

Agulhas National Park

Slightly further afield, approximately 230 km from Cape Town, on the East Coast, you can also stand at the southern-most tip of Africa, located in the Agulhas National Park.

Geographical extremes capture the imagination. From ancient mariners to contemporary mankind, the quest has always been to reach the poles, sail around the tips of continents, conquer the highest peaks and dive to the ultimate depths. This is the same spirit that captivated the explorers of yesteryear who braved one of the most challenging sea crossings of their time: the Atlantic-Indian Ocean crossing via Cape Agulhas.

As the southern-most tip of Africa, it has always had its mysteries and adventure, and still captures the imagination of contemporary explorers.

There is no conservation fee for the park, but you’ll pay R15 per adult, per day (half that for kids) to enter the Lighthouse Museum.

Bontebok National Park

Location:  about 6km from the picturesque and historic town of Swellendam, 240 km from Cape Town (along the N2).

Bontebok National Park is a place of simplistic beauty and peaceful charm. The majestic Langeberg Mountains provide a picturesque backdrop for this Park of colorful riches. A part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, now heralded as a world heritage site, Bontebok National Park always offers something in bloom.

The Park is proud to promote its achievements in biodiversity conservation, from the endangered fynbos veld type, coastal Renosterveld to the namesake bontebok!

Normal entry fee: R18 per person, per day.

Tankwa Karoo National Park

Location: inland, about 180km from Ceres and approximately 330km from Cape Town.

Tankwa Karoo National Park is situated on the southern boundary of the Northern Cape with the Roggeveld Escarpment in the East, Cederberg in the West, and Klein Roggeveld Mountains in the South.

Just a four hour drive from Cape Town brings you to this unique national park situated within the Succulent Karoo Biome where you’ll find rare and endangered plant species, rich endemic birdlife, and landscapes that will take your breath away – from the sheer cliffs of the Roggeveld Escarpment to the moonscapes of the Tankwa Desert.

Not a huge saving here – the usual tariff for entry is R18 per person, per day.

They’ve even got a nursery!

And now, every last Saturday of the month, they will be hosting a fresh produce market with some delicious-sounding treats in store for passers-by… gourmet mushrooms, home-made preserves and cheeses and just-baked farm bread, to name a few.

Definitely worth checking out if you’re heading up that way for the weekend, as many Capetonians do.

The Vyge Valley  Farmstall Fresh Produce Market will be held every last Saturday of the month (starting this week: 25 July 2009) from 9am to 2pm.  For more information call 022 492 2586.