Guacamole + chakalaka = chakalakamole
Like most things truly South African, you won’t often find chakalaka in the pages of our effortlessly garnished food magazines, although I don’t doubt that one of these days this South African workman’s dish will be ‘discovered’ by the diamante-swirled damsels of Posh Galore, with sundry instructions on how to change it into something else.
Potatoes, queen of the garden, king of the plate
The German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that a diet consisting predominantly of them “leads to the use of liquor”, which would be enough for some of us to stockpile them, just in case.
Two good reasons why the chicken crossed the road
We like chicken. We love chicken. When we see a chicken preening its feathers, our mind quickly pops up an image of it defeathered and roasted to gleaming, succulent perfection. We see its breast removed, slit asunder, filled with something yummy, closed, wrapped up and baked.
Sunday in the field of dreams
It was one of those moments when you wake up and realise where you really are. On a soccer field, yes. But no crowd, no glaring stadium lights. Just a modest small-town soccer field on the edge of town, and it’s Sunday morning coming down on a boy’s wild imagination.
Gem at the top of a long and winding road
I interviewed a restaurateur last year who kept referring to his four restaurants as ‘my shops’. It was all I needed to know about the guy, apart from the too-much-bling and the smile that wasn’t really.
Soothing, mood elevating, sinful chocolate
You can send me an attachment of a picture of a chocolate and a note saying “Jane has sent you a chocolate!” but in fact what Jane has sent me is a thumbnail picture of a chocolate which is as much use to me as an email promising me 30 million smackers.
Braaing for Brits – and for Africa
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said apologetically. “We thought you were on fire.”
A cure for those who don’t like their fish entirely raw
The chef came out before a particular course and explained, somewhat nervously, that the kingklip was to be served raw tonight. Riiiiiiight, we muttered, dubious, looking left and right as if wondering where the candid camera was.
A touch of the Cape for Sunday brunch
OK, most of us won’t go back to our tables with a plate of smoked salmon, bacon, stewed fruit and cheddar, but my point is that there might be ways to make more sense of it all. So I thought about it all and came up with a four-course menu for a Sunday brunch, based on some of the things you tend to find on such breakfast spreads.
Is the Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais really worse than a parking lot bistro?
How on earth is 9th Avenue Bistro, which has a nondescript al fresco area overlooking a plain-as-chips parking lot, better than the Tasting Room at le Quartier Francais or Overture with its world-beating view and Margot Janse’s fabulous cuisine? I don’t buy it.
An old-fashioned dinner starts with prawns Marie-Rose
There will come a time when a new generation, or just the present generation a decade or two older, will talk disparagingly of the food fads of the 1990s and [...]
A tinklingly good way to greet the New Year
The problem with New Year parties is trying to stay sober enough to remember why you’re there. I’ve known people get to midnight on December 31 and wander around aimlessly asking whose birthday it is, or why everyone is so exciteable.
A taste of the sea at the Cape
If you live at the Cape and love seafood, there are times when you have to have your bank manager abducted in the pry of night and taken by masked men to some greasy spoon cesspit while you go out to your favourite local seafood spots. I have three I rate highly…
A Cape Christmas menu
This year’s Christmas Eve dinner menu has a vaguely Cape touch: Amarula cream chicken liver pate, miniature roast turkey with a very Christmassy stuffing, and, instead of the obvious (and yummy) Christmas pudding, Cape brandy tart served with brandy butter and maraschino cherries to give it a festive touch.
Chips! Here comes an old-fashioned way to make them
The key to perfect chips is a quartet of musts: The oil must be hot enough for the potatoes to produce an instant bubble as they go in. The raw chips must be absolutely dry. The pan must be shaken as soon as the chips go in, to separate them and avoid them sticking to one another. And there must not be too many chips in the basket – give them space and do them in batches.
Durban Indian Cuisine
DURBAN CURRY is beloved of all South Africans for its fire, as passionate as the humid, sun-baked city that is home to South Africa’s large and vibrant Indian community.
Cape Malay Cuisine
Cape Malay curries are many and varied, but you cannot leave the city without trying at least one authentic lamb or chicken curry, or a mutton or chicken salomi (roti).
A brief history of South African food
CAPE TOWN was built on spice and wine, and the city is as robust with flavour today as it was at its founding as a victualling station in the mid-17th century.
When lamb is on the menu, don’t forget that plums can scream too
So yes, with a heavy heart I would hear the truck start up outside and rattle and grind up the hill, its contents shaking and baaing like, well, so many sheep, then turn on the gas and get cooking, because I’m human, I’m South African, and, with few exceptions, we eat meat.