This is unusual.  Very unusual.  I don’t like beer.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that I detest the stuff.  Not on the hottest, dryest, most energy-sapping day has even the frostiest, most dew-covered brew ever quenched my thirst, or seemed even vaguely palatable.  Bitter, yeasty, yuck.

But, last night I discovered something I suppose I ought to have known.  Something I should have guessed at, but never thought to question…  All beer is not equal.  All beer is not flung together in the space of a few days to pump out to the masses.  All beer is not crafted with care, using only natural ingredients and no added preservatives, colourants or any other ‘funny’ stuff.

Some beer is special.  Some beer takes 12 weeks to create and should be savoured just as respectfully.  Some beer can blow a girl’s mind.

And the artisan brews I tasted last night at &Union did just that.

I am gobsmacked.  Who knew that beer could taste like champagne?  That there could be hints of dried apricot and other fruity notes?  Who could have guessed that a block of hard unpasteurised cheese and German mustard could transform that same fruitiness into a golden blaze of honeysuckle?

What an awesome revelation.

The event, in case you’re wondering, was the first official event organised by Cape Town’s shiny new Slow Food convivium: Slow Food Mother City (more about that soon).  &Union was the perfect choice: passionate purveyors of hand-crafted artisan beers, which are brilliantly paired with complementary seasonal foods, sourced locally.  The quality is exceptional and, wherever possible, the food is organic and free range.

(They even have unbleached, recycled Green Home toilet paper and napkins, believe it or not.)

Long story short:  I, who once loathed beer, now love it… REAL beer, that is.  So, do yourself a favour and try it for yourself.  Yes, you will pay more than you would for your average bottle of mass-produced swill (ahem), but it is most definitely worth it.

&Union is located at 110 Bree Street, Cape Town. www.andunion.com.  They’re open from 7am to 11pm, and serve delicious seasonal meals to go with their beautiful brews. They also make a mean coffee (being owned by the creators of Vida e Caffe).

Food & Wine Pairing at the Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market

Dear friends, Heleen and Carla will present their first Saltare Food & Wine Pairing of 2010 on Saturday March the 6th at the Oude Libertas Stellenbosch Fresh Goods Market. The pairing will start at 10:30.

Heleen has put together five seasonal dishes to go with each of the five wines that will be presented. Both Heleen and Carla are fascinated by how certain tastes and textures in the food are enhanced by wine and vice versa.

The five wines that will be tasted are:
Saltare MCC Crémant 2007
Saltare MCC Brut 2007
Saltare Chenin blanc 2008
Saltare Syrah 2006
Saltare Specialis 2006 (red blend)

Please join us by sending an email to info@saltarewines.co.za or call 021 883 9568. Tickets cost R80 per person; we can accommodate twenty people. Heleen’s beautiful cookbooks will also be available for sale.

We look forward to sharing our wines and Heleen’s wonderful dishes with you. You’re also welcome to visit our stand at the SFGM on Saturdays.

Carla & Christoff
Saltare Wines
www.saltarewines.co.za

On the evenings of 23 and 25 February 2010, we will be introduced to the world of unfiltered, lovingly crafted artisan beer. &Union’s beers are imported, but are made from top quality ingredients and, because they are brewed for up to 6 to 8 weeks instead of being rushed through the process in days, have distinctive flavours unlike anything mass-produced.

Which makes them perfect for food-pairing! In line with &Union’s philosophy of keeping their food offerings local, seasonal and organic wherever possible, we’ll be sampling locally raised and cured meats, organic olives, and some of the best of our local cheeses (made with unpasteurised milk).

The beer experts will be on hand to explain how each beer is made, and what makes them different from your average brew. And, helped along by carefully selected food matches, we’ll learn what flavours and characteristics we should be picking up and why.

&Union has a lovely selection of locally produced meats, cheeses and sausages, as well their famous beers and wines. For those who are keen to socialise, there is the option of staying on to have some dinner at &Union after the presentation.

If you would like to come to this event, please RSVP to events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za as soon as possible, indicating on which date you would like to attend. Numbers are limited by the size of the venue, so we will be offering this event twice, with a maximum of 15 guests on each date.

Date/s:

Tuesday 23 and Thursday 25 February 2010.  ** UPDATE:  this event is now fully booked, but if you’re keen to go onto a waiting list, mail us anyway, and if there are any cancellations, you’ll be first in line! **

Time:

6.30pm

Cost:

R20 for Slow Food Mother City members, R30 for guests, payable at the event.

Venue:

&Union is located at 110 Bree Street, Cape Town. www.andunion.com

Upcoming events:

If you can’t make it, or beer isn’t your thing, here’s a taster of the events and projects we’re organising for the months to come.

• Indigenous lamb tasting and CSA
• Food Film Festival
• Fruit & vegetable preserving workshops
• Fruit Community Supported Agriculture projects
• Wine and biodiversity outings (includes picnic – children welcome)
• Producer showcases
• Wild mushroom forest walk (children welcome)
• Chocolate tasting and demonstration

If you would like to become a member of Slow Food Mother City (R70 per annum), please visit this page and sign up!

Green Drinks, for those who haven’t encountered it yet, is an open, informal for discussion on ‘green’ topics.  It’s happening all over the world, and this particular version takes place every third Monday at Josephine Mill in Newlands.

Here’s the full programme:

Dear Friends

Here we go again with the first of ten gatherings this year…This one celebrates and questions our connection with nature through food – where and what is the progeny and purpose of our nourishment. An awareness of food from its biological to political… we are back on the PechaKucha format – short presentations from some interesting do-ers, be-ers and activists

Slow Food Mother City
Slow Food Mother City is a local convivium (chapter) of the international Slow Food movement.
Celebrating good food in Cape Town is what SFMC is all about. Sharing their passion for local produce, food artisans and seasonal eating, the new convivium is organising a series of relaxed foodie events throughout 2010. Hear about what’s planned, and find out more about projects supported by SFMC, such as the Cape Town CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and a soon-to-be-launched open seed network.
www.slowfoodmothercity.co.za

Wild Organics
In addition to operating a city-wide organic box scheme, Wild Organics also offers foodies an old style organic shopping experience in the heart of Woodstock’s heritage area. In addition to fresh organic fruit and vegetables, Wild sells free range meat, cheeses and pickles, and serves meals on selected days of the week.
www.wildorganics.co.za

Heart Global – Food Tents
Millions of South African children go hungry everyday. In response to this ever increasing crisis, Foodtents offer a sustainable, cost-effective, low maintenance solution to provide those most in need with fresh vegetables on an ongoing basis.  Find out how Heart Global’s revolutionary, make-shift greenhouses are helping communities source and secure supplies of nutritious food
www.heartglobal.org

KwaLapa
Kwalapa is an organic wholefoods store in Newlands, sheltered under a very large tree. It’s a place for people to meet, share ideas, experience delicious organic foods and dip in / become part of a fantastic way of life. Kwalapa is telling the story of food, from farm to table, reconnecting conscious eaters with where, when and how their food was created.
www.kwalapa.com

If you too would like to share your dreams or what you do, please let us know (greendrinks@josephinemill.co.za). Make a presentation in the future…. and become a part of a growing, conscious–living community. Share knowledge, wisdom, skills, hope, and enthusiasm.

Map and further details: http://www.josephinemill.co.za/greendrinks.html

CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is a partnership between an agricultural or artisan producer and a group of consumers. The consumers sponsor the production of a specific crop or product at the beginning of the CSA, and during the season, the producer responds with frequent reports on that crop’s development and growth, and the consumers can visit the producer to learn more about how crop is grown, and even help with the harvest. The harvest is divided between all the members during the course of the season. Possible CSA products could include vegetables, fruit trees or grassfed beef from an entire steer.

The point of running a CSA (and a cornerstone of the Slow Food ethos) is to reconnect consumers with agricultural producers, and make urban dwellers aware of the lifecycles implicit in growing and producing the food we eat.

Slow Food Cape Town CSA will be running a ten-week vegetable CSA with farmer Erick Zenzele.  Starting Tuesday 26 January (through Tuesday 30 March), CSA supporters will receive a new bag of freshly plucked organically grown vegetables each week.  And, new in this round, every second week’s bag will also include either exotic mushrooms or preserves from other sustainable food producers and projects.

VEGGIE CSA SUMMER 2010:

• a weekly bag of six naturally grown vegetables over ten weeks
• Crops including: herbs, mixed lettuce, boerpampoen, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, green beans, white and yellow mielies, celery root, beetroot, carrots, spring onions, butternut and baby marrows.
• Compostable plastic and recycled paper packaging
• Collection points at Jaqui Daya Food Store in Newlands, Joostenberg Deli off the N1, Deer Park Café in Vredehoek, and Millstone Farm Stall in Pinelands
• An additional item every other week (five weeks over the course of the CSA), including two bottles of preserves from a community project, and three bags of organic exotic mushrooms from mushroom grower Theo Oldjohn
• Two outings to Erick’s farm in Kraaifontein
• R559.00 in total, averaging to R55.90 per weekly bag

To reserve your place, email kate@slowfoodcsa.co.za
More information can be found on our blog, www.slowfoodcsa.co.za

THE EARLY AIMS OF SLOW FOOD MOTHER CITY
The aims for a new convivium in Cape Town were discussed and initially brainstormed at the first steering committee meeting, held 22 September 2009.

They are:
A convivium which organises regular, affordable events, focusing on taste education, relaxed meals and visits to food artisans and producers in the wider Cape Town area.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE: The new convivium should be transparently and effectively run by a small committee with 4-6 committee members, elected by its membership, but all members should feel welcome to attend committee meetings, and establish projects and organize events in their capacity as members. To this end, the committee should consider naming itself something less hierarchical, such as the working or planning group.

NATIONAL COOPERATION: The convivium should also unite with other convivia in South Africa, with a long-term aim to forming a regional body (Slow Food South Africa) to promote and coordinate the movement’s principles on a national level. Initial action would include placing all contact and event information on one website, to improve public access and awareness, and so that Slow Food members throughout the country are aware of and feel welcome at Slow Food events in other cities.

CREATING A NETWORK: The convivium should not be limited to monthly events or a traditional organizational structure. Ideally it will act as a network and meeting place for Capetonians, to meet like-minded people, mobilize on Slow Food issues and create their own interest groups and casual gatherings. For example, a Slow Food book club, a monthly beer tasting group, regular group outings to local markets, etc. An active, user-friendly website where members can connect and advertise such events and outings is essential to realizing this concept.

WIDENING MEMBERSHIP AND PUBLIC IMAGE: A key mandate of convivia is to promote public awareness of Slow Food values and the movement. An important aim of this convivium will be to attract new members, especially from demographics that have not been tapped locally, such as young families and students. This convivium will strive to have a vibrant, active and appealing image, and will purposefully market and publicise its events, ethos and membership.