Our first stop was the Free Range Hens. And these hens are real free range as all 2500 of them live in specially designed “eggmobiles” and feast on a natural diet of grass, legumes and bugs.  The “eggmobiles” have roosting and nesting spaces inside and allow the hens full access to roam outside. The egg collecting process is quite easy and just as important these ”eggmobiles” can be moved to another part of the pasture to fertilize the soil. Also important to note is that the hens are not debeaked as is the practice with the close to 24 million laying chickens in South Africa.

We had a fun filled morning of walking amongst the hens, going into the “eggmobiles” and helping with the first egg collection of the day.

Our next stop was the Grass Fed Beef. There are currently 8 different breeds on the farm and one of the most important health benefits of Grass Fed Beef is that it is a source of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), a fatty acid which assists in combating cancer, heart disease and inflammation. The beef is processed as mince and unlike most minced beef you purchase, one whole carcass is processed for the beef mince – so that includes cuts like sirloin and rump.

Our final stop of the morning was a walk through the organic vegetable garden which is also run to biodynamic principles.

The morning ended with each of us going home with 6 eggs, personally collected the very same morning, which we collected just that morning (and are by far the best eggs ever tasted) as well as 500g of the tastiest beef mince which I am sure ended up on many plates of spaghetti.

See our photos from the event on our Facebook page.

More about Farmer Angus

Farmer Angus grew up on a cattle ranch in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Studied Management Accounting at Stellenbosch University before stockbroking for Goldman Sachs in London for just over four years. Declined the offer of promotion, left his job and moved to South Africa. Built a clay home with inspiration from various people on the way leading to him become a biodynamic student, grass farmer and carbon sequestrator.

http://www.farmerangus.co.za/

We’ve decided to repeat one of our early events, which we first did three years ago (yes, we’ve been around that long!) – we are going to be visiting the biodynamic farm at Spier.  This beautiful farm puts into action the principles Slow Food stands for – so we are very excited to be going back.

Those of you who came along last time will probably be keen to see how the farm has progressed over the last few years.  And first time visitors are in for a treat:  Farmer Angus McIntosh will be giving us a guided tour of the farm including the opportunity to see how they rear their pasture fed cattle, how they look after their ever-so-free-range egg-laying chickens and how they grow their fantastic organic veggies.  Most importantly, you will learn how these elements of the farm work together to create a sustainable system, and how the health of the soil is the foundation of this system.

The event has quite an early start (9am) giving us the opportunity to make it more interactive by getting involved with the farm duties (including feeding chickens!) We recommend a visit to the neighbouring Waldorf Market afterwards for brunch, where many of the farm’s outputs are available for purchase (although you will probably be able to buy eggs etc from the farm – either way, bring cash).

We will not be not charging for children under 16, because we think it will be a great family outing and a fantastic hands-on experience for kids to enjoy.

About Angus McIntosh 
Farmer Angus McIntosh has become well known for his sustainable and ethical, high quality produce and recently won (best organic or free-range producer at the 2013 Eat Out Small Producer Awards). You can read more about his philosophies and the farm at his blog: http://www.farmerangus.co.za/

About Spier Biodynamic Farm
Inspired by Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia, USA, the Spier Biodynamic Farm applies biodynamic agricultural principles and practices in raising cattle, sheep, broiler chickens, laying hens, vegetables and vines.

The 54 hectares of irrigated pasture form the foundation on which their operation rests. They plant a diversity of perennial summer and winter legumes, herbs and grasses each of which brings different nutrition to the animals eating them as well as beneficial relationships with the soil microbes.

Event details:
Date:  Saturday 20 April 2013
Time:  9am
Location:  Spier Biodynamic Farm (near Stellenbosch) – directions will be sent to attendees closer to the date.
Cost:  R40 for members, R50 for non-members, kids under 16 free.  Please feel free to invite interested friends as we can accommodate up to 50 people.

Bookings close on 12 April 2013 or when all places have been taken.

Slow Regards,
Slow Food Mother City

As those who came to last year’s fig-picking event at Hoogwater know, Madri puts on a lavish spread! This farmers’ feast will include home baked breads, a selection of cold/cured meat with caramelised onion spread, a variety of cheeses with homemade preserves and jams, biscuits, chicken liver pate, seasonal fruit, gourmet salads and a sweet treat.

And, as many of you know, Hoogwater is also home to Ladera Artisan Wines, a boutique wine-cellar in a converted garage on the farm grounds. Wine-maker Charles Ochse will give guests a chance to have a wine-tasting, and a variety of his wines will also be included as part of the picnic spread.

During the course of the morning, Charles will show us the pomegranate orchards and those keen to take some home will have the chance to pick their own. Prices for the pomegranates will be at a special discounted rate – just for us.

Every visit to Hoogwater has been great fun (and delicious) – you will definitely be getting your money’s worth!

Event details:

Date: Saturday 16 March 2013
Time: 11.30am to approximately 4pm
Location: Hoogwater Farm, Wolseley; about an hour-and-a-half from Cape Town (directions will be sent to attendees)
Cost: R180 for members, R200 for guests. Children are very welcome – please enquire about costs!

BOOK NOW

Numbers are limited – please book immediately to secure your spot! Bookings close on Tuesday 12 March 2013.

The hands on workshop familiarised everyone with the terminology as well as the various stages of brewing. With 4 different kinds of grains, 3 kinds of hops and a special yeast strain we set about brewing our APA (American Pale Ale).

We went through all the practical stages of mashing, sparging, boiling, cooling and left our 15l of brew to ferment for the next two weeks or so. Luckily it was not all hard work and there was ample opportunity to taste some local craft beers as well as home brews from the Beerguevara guys (all in the name of education of course!)

If you missed out, don’t fret – Beerguevara runs regular all grain home brewing workshops on most Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Places are limited and fill up fast.

For more information (and to top up on beer-making supplies), visit www.beerguevara.com (based in Newlands)

Copy and photos by Hein van Tonder.

Join us for an All Grain Home Brewing Workshop at Beerguevara in Newlands. This hands-on introduction to home beer brewing will take a novice brewer all the way from choosing and weighing the right malts and hops to pouring your first beer into the fermentor.

The workshop will be hands on, from the grinding of grains through to the final tapping into fermentation buckets. It will be a morning of sharing ideas, asking questions and getting familiar with all the processes.

About Beerguevara

Started by comrades, brothers-in-arms and (as fate would have it) brothers-in-law, Anthony Cawood and Andrew Cook, Beerguevara is the all-grain home brewing supply store they wished they’d had around the corner when they started brewing.

But they didn’t. As it happens, their first foray into beer making was with a trusty Coopers Irish Stout kit – a recognised standard. To be honest, the stout wasn’t half bad (in fact, Ant and Andy managed to float an entire party on it), but it wasn’t exactly leaving them dreaming of their next brew, or fighting off their friends for the last bottle either…

So (rashly perhaps) they took a shot at all-grain brewing – that is, actually making beer from essential beer ingredients (hops, malt, water and yeast) and never looked back.

Beerguevara has also grown to become South Africa’s foremost supplier of hops, with the widest range of hop varieties in the country.

Event details:

DATE: Saturday 3 November 2012
TIME: 9am to 12noon
COST: R165 per person (members), R180 per person (non-members).
VENUE: 32 Upper Wheelan Street, Newlands.

** BOOKINGS CLOSED **

Spaces is limited (15 places only) so please book your tickets quickly if you are keen to join us.

Join us on Tuesday 30 October as we re-discover our heritage with a delicious traditional African feast at the newly opened Spades and Spoons restaurant in Wynberg (ex-Organic at Heart).

Portia de Smidt and her daughter Lumai will be preparing a variety of African dishes for us, with some of the ingredients coming straight from the onsite vegetable garden.

We are honoured to have this pioneer of African food cooking for us! In 1992 Portia and husband Jason opened the first traditional African food restaurant in Cape Town from their home in Observatory, which eventually became so popular it moved into Heritage Square in the city and became the renowned Africa Café.

The Menu

Starter

Cassava Bread and Dips – Ethiopian Aib, Lentil Dip, Coconut Curry Sauce

Main Course

(your choice of one dish from the options below):

1: Moroccan Lamb Stew with Dates and Almonds

2: Ethiopian Doro Wat Chicken in Berbere’-paprika Sauce

3: Cous Cous and Stir Fry Vegetables

4: Madagascan Steamy Vegetable Stew

All the above are accompanied by:

Congolese Spinach with Red Pepper and Groundnut Sauce

African Broccolli and Nut Salad

Organic Sprout Salad

Basmati Rice

Dessert

Tzaneen Orange and Nut Pudding with Coconut Ice Cream

Being our AGM, this is our most important event of the year, and we hope you will all join us as we briefly recap the year’s events, handle a few (very quick) AGM must-do’s and then feast convivially on delicious African dishes.

Event details:

DATE:  Tuesday 30 October 2012
TIME:  7pm (members are asked to come earlier, at 6pm, for a brief AGM).
COST:  R165 per person (members), R175 per person (non-members). This includes the three course meal and gratuity.
VENUE:  Spades and Spoons, Wynberg

BOOK NOW

Spades and Spoons is currently unlicensed, so please bring your own wine (no corkage fee).  One of our members, Richard Key, has kindly offered to donate 12 bottles of Chiave Syrah for us to share.

If you’d like to bring a guest, you’re most welcome to do so, keeping in mind that about 20-30 minutes of the evening (ending by 7pm) will be taken up with AGM affairs.

Lelieblom is a working family farm, owned by Karen and Michael Basson. Each year, they welcome us for a traditional farm feast in their farmhouse (have a look at what we got up to last year, and the year before that). And, especially for us, they invite local producers to create a wonderful Platteland ‘mini farmers market’, with delicious local cheese, mushrooms, breads and charcuterie on offer.

If you’ve not been to Lelieblom, here it is described in Karen Basson’s own words:

“Lelieblom is really a true farm, we have no window dressing here for tourists or visitors, Children are welcome and we have lots of lovely tame hand reared farm animals! They are always a treat for the children.Lelieblom is what you see is what you get and cooking is home cooking! We do things naturally and somewhat old fashioned. I am a home cook, nothing fancy, as far as possible I cook in the old ways.

We use our home for functions so the experience is coming to a farm home and sharing the day with a farm family, that is the Lelieblom ethos.”

For those keen to don the waders, there will be the opportunity to forage your own waterblommetjies, and everyone is welcome to purchase some to take home.

Waterblommetjies are the flowers of the Cape Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos), which grows wild in vleis and on riverbanks in the Cape. They are historically linked to Afrikaans cuisine, but were probably first consumed by local hunter-gatherers and are a true heritage food.

So join us and the Lelieblom family on Saturday 29th September for a true Weskus Farm experience! (we hope the flowers are still out..)

Event details:
Date: Saturday 29th September 2012
Time: 11am
Cost: Members - R125 per person;  Guests - R150 per person.  Children under 12: R60

Please note that Lelieblom is not licensed,  but you can bring your own wine to have with the lunch. 

Child-friendly event: We welcome children to our events and Lelieblom is a great venue for them with many hand-reared tame farm animals.

If you would like to join us, please BOOK NOW.  Directions and more details will be emailed to attendees closer to the time.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Warmly,
Slow Food Mother City

Escape the chilly winter, with a cheesy feast, full of true mountain-style cheer, here in the heart of Cape Town.

We’ve been working with the Swiss Social Club in Sea Point to offer the full Swiss experience: a night of cheese fondue (that tantalising mix of cheese, wine, kirsch, for dipping with bread) and festive Swiss country music. Best known for leaving you full bellied and tipsy, don’t let the Swiss keep this retro winter warmer to themselves.

What is a Swiss Cheese Fondue?
Cheese fondue is a traditional Swiss dish that originated in the Alps. It’s a hearty peasant dish, using ingredients that were available in the winter: cheese, wine, kirsch and coarse peasant bread. (read more on JustHungry.com)

Cost:
> R135 for members (R160 for non), which covers the fondue, bread and veggies for dipping, as well as live entertainment.
> Children are welcome and there is a special kids menu for R25.

The club has a bar, which serves beer, and wine (R60). You can BYO wine, corkage is R25.

> BOOK NOW

Places are limited and Bookings close Tuesday 28 August! Please book and pay for your place through our online booking system, and not through email/EFT. You should receive an email confirming your booking within one day. Please email us if you do not receive this! Thank you for your patience as we attempt to make our booking system easier for our volunteer committee, and our members.

Directions and further details will be emailed to you in the week before the event.

Slow Food Mother City co-founder Kate Schrire launched her ice cream production company, The Creamery, in November last year. Run according to Slow Food principles, The Creamery handcrafts natural ice creams from seasonal ingredients sourced directly from local family farms. They scoop cones and sell pints at private and public events around Cape Town, and at several weekly markets. Their flavours range from classics like chocolate and vanilla bean, to creative creations inspired by what’s in season, like apple crumble & cream, mulberry yoghurt and sweet potato with toasted marshmallow.

Slow Food Mother City will be visiting their production kitchen on Thursday 26 July, to hear more about their ethos and production methods, see how ice cream is made, and enjoy a guided tasting of some of The Creamery’s delicious flavours.

Event: Ice Cream Demo and Tasting with The Creamery

Date: Thursday 26 July, 5.30pm-7pm

Location: The Creamery HQ, Waverley Business Park, Mowbray (directions will be sent to you before the event)

Price: R60 for members, R75 for non-members. This includes a pint of ice cream to take home (retail price: R45)

Other details: Ice cream will be on sale at R45 per half litre, so please bring cash if you’d like to indulge! Children are welcome, but as this is a production facility, they must be constantly monitored by a parent.

BOOKINGS CLOSED. If you would like to be informed of any followup events, please email events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za