Southern Africa Part 3; Cape Town
The l
ast of this short series on Africa focuses on the direction of the food scene. Cape Town is rapidly growing to a major tourist destination. It has it all: incredible beaches & scenery, breathtaking mountains (Table Mountain recently named one of the new 7 wonders of the world), and an incredible emerging food scene. Coming from the bush, and all of the splendors I had out of the open flame, I was ready for a change of pace and little did I know how surprised I would be.
I was lucky enough to have some conversations with some Cape Town veterans, locals, and food people. I was also lucky enough to be seated next to a wine maker on my flight from Johannesburgto Cape Town, and he gave me some incredible recommendations. Also mentioned by a few others, my seat neighbor (Jose Conde), highly recommended this new bistro called Bizerca. Without building this up too much, it was easily one of the top 5 meals I’ve had this year. Maybe even creeping up to number 1. The chef is French, but married a south African. His dishes are very playful and creative, and you can tell he has fun making them. Bright and bold favors, combined with a definite South African flare. The dish that I will remember the most was a very simple tomato salad. Well, it wasn’t that simple, but it was very straight forward. One large, 1/2 inch thick, sliced heirloom tomato, surrounded by a few peeled cherry tomatoes with a few small diced heirlooms sprinkled around. Garnished with some soft pecorino cheese and watercress, it looked beautiful. Yet there was one more component that made this dish insane. The ‘dressing’ was a liquid nitrogen cooled sorbet. Four small, bright green snowpea-ginger-wasabi sorbet scoops were artfully placed a top the tomatoes. Unbelievable flavors, delectable textures, and a visually stunning dish that left you smiling and excited to create new bites with every fork full. Needless to say, I’m stealing this idea (might be a theme). The next dish to rave about was again quite simple, but the flavors were nothing I had ever thought to pair. A crispy pork belly with big portions of papaya, served with daikon, cilantro, coconut flakes and a perfect finishing olive oil. It was a tough dish to not just inhale. The flavors were spot on, bright and perfectly acidic. The playful and different textures encouraged you to play with your food. The main dishes that followed were just as delicious, and incredibly thought through. A very fresh local fish on top of celery root puree w/ jullianed apples, and a butternut & gorgonzola ravioli that was worthy of Mario Batalli’s signature.
As I could easily write about that meal for pages, I must move on and cover the other incredible highlights of Cape Town. Moving in chronological order, I was extremely lucky to have timed my trip to Cape Town during the South African Good Food & Wine Show. This major food event hosts vendors big and small from all around the country, with live cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs. In addition, it hosts a major wine tasting wing boasting a large number of wines from its praised Stellenbosh region. For those that don’t know, South African wines are excellent. So, for a bank breaking $15 and a $3 wine glass I went in and toured around the convention center. I sampled some great local cheeses, cured meats, olives, and of course, wine. This was a really fun event. I almost had a bit of anxiety over which food stall would be my dinner. Fresh mussels and oysters, kebabs sliced fresh, amazing cured meat sandwiches, and lots of smoked seafood were just a few of the options. I ultimately settled on a delicious Ostrich burger. Man was it tasty. Walking around and talking with vendors, it was exciting to see and learn about the food movement in South Africa. Their growing passion for food is evident, and with their fresh produce, why wouldn’t it be!? I wish I was able to bring some of this food back, but customs would have been a nightmare. For a rainy Friday in Cape Town, this was a perfect event.
And last, but certainly not least, The Old Biscuit Mill rounds out my exceptional food experience in Cape Town. My last few hours in Cape Town was spend at probably one of the biggest Meccas for food I have ever been to. It will easily compete with the Ferry Building on a Saturday, and the schmorgesborg of Brooklyn. Easily. I don’t even know how to begin to describe this wonderful weekly event. Just like most farmers markets, it is open air, friendly, and inviting. The main physical differences are that the major food area is partially covered (courtyard with a canape and a barn style building connected by a small pathway, and covered because it gets HOT in the summer) and there are communal tables in the center of each ‘room’. This is something I have never seen in America or any other country for that matter. The communal tables are beautiful, and a lovely way to experience this regular event. Most of the tables are old painted doors atop sawhorses adorned with candles in wine bottles and fresh flowers on every table. Truly beautiful and welcoming. Now, onto the food. Just like other open air food events, there is no shortage of artisinal cured meat, sandwiches, local cheeses, fresh breads, fruit cups and trendy coffee stands. But there is also multiple craft beer vendors and wine pouring stalls. Yup, champagne and beer was flowing freely with happy Cape Townians. Just to nip on the food vendor highlights, my absolute favorite was a stall dedicated to a version of Eggs Benedict that I will certainly try to recreate. It was a super thin potato pancake (mixed with scallions and sour cream) which was fried to a perfect crisp, topped with a perfectly poached egg, sprinkled with local cheddar, chives and a very light hollandaise, and finally topped with 2 strips of bacon. Yup, I was in heaven. I practically licked my paper plate. Other highlights included a paella station, built to order omelets, perfectly rare rib-eye sandwiches, hand made dumplings, and grilled wild mushroom skewers. These are just a few of many. It was a bit of food overload in the best way possible. In addition to the main food court, there were other vendors peppered around this central marketplace offering up all sorts of goods. Hand made jewelery, bags, and clothes; certainly a ladies shopping paradise. Trying to fully describe this place is tough, you have to see it in person. The communal tables are such an elegant and artful way of sharing this incredible space with your friends and neighbors. I had a few wonderful conversations with locals and tourists while enjoying my delicious food choices. Oh, and everything is priced extremely reasonable. I got out of there with 3 major food purchases and only spent $20.
Fat and happy, I made my way to the airport, but not without a to go box of Hong Kong style dumplings and a large smile on my face. Thanks Cape Town, and South Africa for that matter. My journey was one of a lifetime.
*NOTE: Most of these images were taken off of the internet as I didn’t have my camera during all of these meals. So, I cannot take credit for them and do not have ownership rights.
