Franschhoek at Decorex
Three Franschhoek creative businesses took part in Decorex Cape Town 2022 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre form 16 – 19 June 2022.
Soul Barrel Brewing Tops in Africa
Simondium brewery Soul Barrel Brewing has taken the top spot in the 2022 African Beer Cup, Africa’s biggest beer competition. The brewery took the coveted title of Best Beer in Africa with their Live Culture Grand Cru, which beat 250 entries from 14 different African countries.
(Cutting) EDGE African at Tapasco
Before dinner I wondered whether Chef Vusi Ndlovu, whose surname means elephant, knew that Franschhoek was first known as Oliphantshoek (Elephants Corner). He did. Anyway, I digress before I’ve properly started… I missed his restaurant’s residency at Pasarene earlier this year, so was happy to finally fit in a visit to EDGE in mid-May.
Vusi attained chef stardom by placed as one of Top 7 in the San Pellegrino Young Chef Grand Finale in 2018 and being awarded best chef in Africa and Middle East. Bucking his mother’s wishes to study for an engineering degree he started his culinary journey at the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria. Hard work and passion saw him working under the likes of Peter Tempelhoff, David Higgs and Luke Dale Roberts. After a stint in Belgium at the highly-acclaimed ‘In de Wulf’ and heading up kitchens at The Saxon and the trendy The Marabi Club, it was time to be master of his own domain. The result, in collaboration with siblings Absie and Mandla Pantshwa, was EDGE – “a holistic celebration of Africa” and a most welcome addition to the Franschhoek culinary scene.
ESKOM May Leave Us in Complete Darkness
Over the past few days, South Africans have again experienced the devastating effect of rolling Eskom blackouts. There seems to be no end in sight to the energy crisis. Load shedding has now been part of our lives since October 2007 – that’s 168 months of blackouts with no solution in sight.
We have also been informed that Eskom’s severe lack of maintenance has put the Stellenbosch Municipality at very real risk of being left in complete darkness. There are three Eskom transformers supplying electricity to our region, but only one is currently in operation. In January of this year, a transformer went offline due to vandalism. Shockingly this hasn’t been restored yet. Two weeks ago, another transformer failed, and left areas without electricity for several hours. This transformer too, is still currently offline. That leaves the entire electrical load feeding our towns on only one transformer. If this one fails, our towns could be left in complete darkness.
The Wait Is Over – for Good!
Fans of Good Food & Co will be glad to learn that after a month of being deprived of their favourite deli products and heat & eat meals they have now reopened in their new centrally-located premises at Bijoux Square. To go with the move Chef Nico Vorster has also created four brand new menus – including a vegan one – to tempt locals and visitors to savour their fare. Another new addition is Truth Coffee which can be enjoyed indoors, in the courtyard or as a take-away. All the friendly front-of-house faces are also back to welcome guests with efficient service and a friendly smile. It really is as they say: Good things come to those who wait.”
Opening times: Sun & Mon: 08h00 – 17h00 Tue – Sat: 08h00 – 21h00 (Book online or phone)
Tuesday Burger Nights are back. Buy one get one free!
www.goodfoodfranschhoek.com | www.goodfoodbowl.co.za | 021 876 3556
Dalewood Does More Dairy
Like many of us, Dalewood Fromage’s Rob Visser and his team found that they had a bit more time on their hands during lockdown. Unlike many of us, they put that time to good use! The result is the addition of a whole new range of dairy products to their range.
Visitors to the Cheesery Shop on the farm can now also stock up on buttermilk, cream and crème fraiche for their cooking or baking projects. While there they might as well pick up some of the estate’s hand-made, lightly-salted butter and the full-cream stirred Jersey yoghurt. The latter is entirely free of additives, preservatives, thickeners, stabilisers, emulsifiers, milk powder and sugar making it as natural and healthy as can be. For your home-made pizzas and salad the full-cream Feta is just the ticket!
Dalewood’s unique recipe was formulated by Rob Visser who studied Dairy Technology at Elsenburg College. After years of experimenting, time in France sniffing out traditional cheese making secrets and countless cheese tastings Dalewood Cheese was launched in 2000.
Dalewood’s single Jersey herd grazes each day on bio-dynamically grown pastures surrounded by vineyards. Because of its focus on regenerative farming Dalewood is able to produce all-natural products with no preservatives, colourants or flavourants and suitable for vegetarians.
The Cheesery Shop™ is open:
Monday – Friday 09h00 – 16h00
Saturdays 09h00 – 15h00
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.
Due to Covid and the size of our Shop we are unfortunately unable to offer any cheese tastings.
Text: Editorial Desk | Image: Supplied
Property Dynamo Jaco Rademeyer Starts New Franchise in Stellenbosch
Gqeberha-based real estate personality Jaco Rademeyer is staking his claim on the Western Cape by setting up premises in the scenic university town of Stellenbosch.
After 17 years of growing Jaco Rademeyer Estates (JRE) into one of the largest and most established property businesses in the Bay and Eastern Cape, the businessman with the big heart for the community is realising a life-long dream by opening offices in Stellenbosch’s sought-after Church Street that will service the entire Boland and Western Cape.
Tourism Minister Visits
The Minister of Tourism Honourable Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane spent 24 hours in Franschhoek on Thursday, 18 March 2021, as part of an outreach programme to engage with stakeholders.
A Brighter Hospitality Future with Defy
The Franschhoek Hospitality Academy has a new strategic partner: Iconic SA appliance brand Defy.
“We are delighted to have Defy help us in our ambition to afford underprivileged students the opportunity to get educated in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry in Franschhoek,” says Michaela Julian, co-founder and trustee of the academy. Defy’s investment includes world-class appliances needed in the academy’s cooking classrooms as well as contributions towards monthly overheads.
“With the company having such a strong South African heritage since 1905, we feel it’s our responsibility to show our pioneering spirit” said Evren Albas, CEO Defy Appliances. “We look forward to supporting the development of our young aspirational chefs and wish to congratulate the team of the Franschhoek Hospitality Academy for their commitment to empower the youth in Franschhoek”.
Text: Editorial Desk
Men of Culture
Agricultural technology is alive and well and happening in Franschhoek. Steven Frankel and Craig Taylor have opened an agritech business called Fruitlab where they are focussing on tissue culture. They believe technology is very much the future of agriculture and can see themselves also being part of research and development in this field.
Tissue culture is a sophisticated way of reproduction, simply explained as cloning of plants. This method as opposed to, for instance planting seeds, provides predictability; part of a selected plant is used to produce a new plant identical to the parent plant and assures superior plants of the next generation. Should genetic variation be required though, Craig says it can be introduced using laboratory techniques.
