We will also be able to visit the festival stands, chat with the brewers and taste more of the range of artisanal beers Cape Town has to offer.

Date: Sat 26^th November
Time: 12:30pm
Venue: Hamilton’s Rugby Club
Price: R80

(This includes your entrance ticket, the Slow Food Mother City presentation and tasting, and a voucher for a pint of beer)

More about the Cape Town Festival of Beer

Aside from our private Slow Food Mother City event, the Cape Town Festival of Beer offers beer tastings, beer sales, lucky draws, brewing demos and competition, kiddies entertainment area, food stalls, braai competition, top live entertainment and much more.

There will be a huge selection of craft breweries and the chance to taste beers you have not seen before, and also chat to the actual brewers. You can read more about the festival here.

Bookings

Please book your ticket through our automated system, here. There are only 24 places available, so please book promptly to avoid disappointment.

It was a perfect, sunny day, and we all had a wonderful time.  We’ve posted new photos in our gallery – have a look!

[View with PicLens]

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And, the following are excerpts taken from two bloggers who came along with us and wrote about their experiences:

Food and the Fabulous – www.foodandthefabulous.com

A few Sundays ago, on the 28th of August, we headed off to Paternoster, a sleepy fishing village on the Cape West Coast just under two hours outside Cape Town to join Slow Food Mother City on a food forage in the local nature reserve in TietiesBaai (yes, you read the name correctly.)

What is Food Foraging?

Searching for wild plants, indigenous to an area for consumption, is as old as mankind. In the last decade, there has been a conscious reactivation of interest in foraging from dedicated foargers, freegans, chefs and curious individuals (like myself).

The closest I’ve come to foraging (apart from hopping from one stall holder to the next at some of the world’s loveliest farmer’s markets) is picking herbs and chilies from our garden. Though there were the times we picked mulberries and unripe guavas (worst tummy ache known to man) along the roadside walking home from school….

Cape Columbine Nature Reserve

Rupert, a botanist and friend of Kobus van der Merwe (Chef at Oep ve Koep, a family run business) guided us, a group of 20 through a small section of the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve, mere minutes out of the village. The reserve is unusual in that it is flanked by coastline, dotted with coves and covered in fynbos, succulents and wild flowers in season…

Oep Ve Koep

Kobus looks much younger than I expected and runs through the menu in his gentle, soft spoken manner, his eyes beaming as he brings out plates of food starkly in contrast with the modest surroundings. We start with bokkum (salted, dried fish) butter and a pickled waterblommetjie followed by a calamari bobotie (egg custard savoury crustless pie) with soutslaai. The main of sandveld potato dumplings, dune spinach, veldkool, soy butter, porcini and nasturtium is my favourite dish of the lunch.

Read more, and view Ishay’s fantastic photos here.

Cape Town By Mouth - www.capetownbymouth.com

Veldkos Ramble and Lunch at Oep ve Koep

Last weekend was just perfect. Sunshine, culinary treats and a trip to Paternoster, a foodie fishing village on the west coast. If you have read some of my blogposts you may already know that I love to forage (read about mushrooms here). Foraging is something that we grow up doing in Finland and it has even become somewhat of a trend spearheaded by Rene Redzepi from Noma in Copenhagen. I have hardly been able to contain myself since I first heard about Slowfood’s Veldkos ramble. The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest yet richest in the world and I have been dying to learn about local wild food.

20 slowfoodies pitched up at 11am on Sunday morning at Oep ve Koep in Paternoster and headed out to the veld with the enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very entertaining Rupert from Cape Nature.

We learned to identify sout slaai and veldkool (salty salad and field cabbage) as well as a prickly relative of asparagus that I can’t remember the name of (my brain switches off when plants are not highly tasty). Rupert also helped me identify sorrel. I have been happily eating it in Finland before (we call it fox bread) and some wild food enthusiasts use it in salads. Sorrel has crept into my salad pots uninvited in Cape Town and I have ignored it unsure of its edibility. I shall make sure it feels welcome from now on.

…

Lunch at Oep ve koep was an absolute treat. Kobus van de Merwe uses a lot of wild herbs and plants in his cooking. We started with bokkom butter and bread and a lightly pickled waterblommetjie. So pleased to see waterblommetjies outside of stews. These treats were followed by calamari bobotie, which was complemented by seaweed. Our palates were cleansed with pickled onion and salvia (sage related herb) soup poured from an enamel teapot. The main course was a highlight: potato dumplings with field cabbage and some dune spinach. Oep ve Koep is well worth a visit. Kobuses beautiful yet down to earth cooking is served in a cozy courtyard with missmatched tables and rambling herb bushes. His Sardines on Toast blog will have you salivating and planning a trip to Paternoster.

Read more, and view Marianna’s lovely photos here.

Dawn and Roger Jorgensen hand make a range of high quality spirits with love and passion, including brandy, vodka, limoncello and absinthe. By sourcing the finest quality raw materials, and using herbs that they grow in their own garden, they ensure a product that is far superior to what we buy in the shops. We will be given a tour of the distillery with an explanation of the process involved in creating the various spirits as well as a presentation of the herbs that are used.

We will finish our visit with a tasting of their spirits on the back porch of their home, overlooking the vineyards. Their products will also be available for purchase.

We can only accommodate 20 people at this event, with bookings on a first-come basis and limited to one guest per member. **UPDATE: 10/02/2011 there are only 2 spaces left**

Those who are keen are welcome to join us for lunch afterwards at the Stone Kitchen at Dunstone Estate nearby. Their casual café menu showcases produce from the Wellington valley. Please book your own table on 021-864-2451.

Other attractions in the area include the beautiful gardens at Klein Optenhorst, and wine tasting at Nabygelegen.

Event details
Date: 12th February 2011
Time: 11:30am
Venue: Jorgensen’s Distillery, Wellington (directions will be sent to attendees)
Cost: R20 administrative fee, payable on the day

Please click here to confirm your attendance.

The original event email is available for view here:

http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=0be4b0a1f897bd7c67805a3cd&id=ba1a927dc0

This is a brief notice to let Slow Food members and enthusiasts know that a few of us will be visiting the Paul Cluver ‘Garden of Elgin’ tomorrow morning (Tuesday 11 January 2011), and we invite anyone interested to come along.

The Garden of Elgin is a specialty vegetable and herb garden (and orchard) created by Dr Cluver and Norwegian celebrity chef, Andreas Viestad.

We are lucky to be able to have Andreas Viestad himself show us around, and share his enthusiasm for the many heirloom varieties cultivated in the garden.

Obviously, this is very short notice – the expedition is essentially a scouting mission, rather than an official Slow Food outing (we hope to organise a more structured visit later this year).

If, however, any of you are not yet back at work, and would like to join us,  please email events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za, and we will send you further details.

View the full gallery.

Slow Food Mother City is celebrating the last cozy days of winter with a visit to Lelieblom Farm just outside the West Coast town of Darling to sample waterblommetjies, an indigenous winter delicacy.

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. The buds are used in bredies (stews), soups and curries, and taste a little like green beans. The flowers can be added to salads. This is a true heritage food, and we are thrilled to be eating and learning more about them before their winter season ends.

Lelieblom is a working family farm, owned by Karen and Michael Basson, and shared with sheep, horses and other animals. They welcome visitors for a traditional farm feast in their farmhouse. Karen describes it best in her own words:

“YES!!!!! The waterblommetjies are still growing in August and we do sell.

The waterblommetjies grow in our dams on the farm and they come up every winter and sleep the whole summer and when the rains come again they wake up and fill the dams all by themselves, we don’t do anything to them, they look after themselves! We will gladly take you to tour the dams on the farm, the dams also only have water in winter, and it is great fun wading into the freezing cold water to pick the flowers. My husband is the brave one!

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. Waterblommetjies to me calls for a bredie, and I hope that is fine with you!

A menu for you could include the waterblommetjies obviously, curried tripe (delicious!!!!) which I would recommend as it is very traditional round here, served with soetpatat always!, rice, vegetables and dessert. I would really like to do tripe for you…dis lekker! Malva pudding with hot custard is my favourite dessert. We bake our own bread, served from the farm kitchen.

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.”

So join us and the Lelieblom family on Saturday, 21 August. We will walk around the farm for an hour and then sit down to a traditional home-cooked farm meal.

If waterblommetjies are still available, you are welcome to wade in the dam and pick your own, for which Lelieblom will charge you per bag picked. To learn more about Lelieblom, visit www.lelieblom.blogspot.com.

MENU
Waterblommetjie Bredie
Curried Tripe
Sweet Potatoes, Rice & Vegetables
Bread from the Farm Kitchen
Malva Pudding with Hot Custard
Tea and Coffee

Space is limited, so to reserve your place, please fill in our online booking form or email kate@slowfoodmothercity.co.za

EVENT DETAILS

Date, time and venue:

Saturday 21 August
Lelieblom Farm, Darling
11.00am (lunch will be served at 1pm)

Cost:
R135.00 for Members, R155.00 for Guests. Children 4-12 yrs R65.00 (parents are wholly responsible for their children during the outing).
Please bring your own wine and nonalcoholic beverages; only water and tea and coffee will be supplied by Lelieblom.

Bookings:
Given the popularity of this outing, we suggest you book and pay quickly. We have limited space! If you would like to come, please fill in our online booking form or email kate@slowfoodmothercity.co.za

First come, first served (members do get advance warning). If you have not made the deposit within 4 days of booking, and there are others waiting, we will make your space/s available to the next person in line. Please book before the 6th of August 2010.

REMEMBER TO BRING
For the farm tour: appropriate shoes and rain protection (Wellies if you plan to do some wading!)
For your meal: your own wine and nonalcoholic beverages.

Event feedback

We’d love your feedback on our events! If you’ve attended a Slow Food Mother City event, please let us know what you thought by emailing events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za. All comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Upcoming events:

If you can’t make it, but are keen for future outings, here’s a taster of the events and projects we’re organising for the months to come.

• Port & Chocolate truffle tasting (September, date TBC)
• Slow Food Film Evening (September/October, date TBC)
• Organic plum picking (November, date TBC)

If you would like to become a member of Slow Food Mother City (only R70 per annum), sign up here.

Photo credits: Chapman’s Photo Odyssey/Flickr and BigBlackBox/Flickr.

Cities are remarkably good at distancing consumers from the food they are eating. What is the impact of this? Our health suffers, the environment suffers and animals suffer. We need to reconnect with our food. We need to be aware of where it comes from and how it was produced so that we can change this system.

As consumers we have the power to change the way things are done. The slow food movement is 20 years old and convivia around the world dedicate themselves to reconnecting people with their food and those that produce it.

Dax Villanueva only became aware of the moral deficiencies and unsustainability of first world living recently. In this time he has slowly been making the transition from slacktivist to activist. He is passionate about educating others and he does this through is blog, Relax with Dax, and his involvement in the Slow Food Mother City convivium.

A delicious and affordable (from R35) brown bag lunch will be on sale at the venue.

Date: Thursday 22 July

Time: 12:45 for 13:00pm

Venue: Lobby Books, Cape Town Democracy Center, 6 Spin Street

Contact: Andreas Spath at aspath@idasa.org.za or 021 467 7606

Parking options:
Street parking in the area is safe and will cost you R3.50 per hour.
Parking garages open to the public in the area include:

Plein Park (Plein Street; to get to the entrance, turn off Plein Street into Barrack Street and then into Corporation Street).
Mandela Rhodes Place (entrance in Burg Street, off Wale Street)

Via IDASA

Slow Food Mother City will be hosting an introduction to the pleasures of preserving with Oded Schwartz on 10 April.

Oded is South Africa’s leading expert on preserving (seriously, he wrote the book: Preserving, published by Dorling Kindersley in 1996, and translated into thirteen languages). He’s friendly and knowledgeable, and he’ll give you enough confidence to finally attempt a jam, or at least a chutney!

Join us for two hours of preserving history, theory, skills and tips, shared in a convivial atmosphere in Oded’s own kitchen. We’ll be tasting Oded’s preserves and pickles, and washing them down with Jack Black beer.

At this event, Oded will explain pickling techniques and science, give some history of pickling, offer samples for tasting, and answer your questions. No pickling will be DEMONSTRATED; we hope to offer a hands-on course with Oded in the near future, guided by participant feedback from this workshop.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date and time:
Saturday 10 April 2010. 3pm-5pm

Venue:
Oded’s Kitchen, The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Road, Salt River (why not stop by the Neighbourgoods Market beforehand?)

Cost:
R70 for members, R90 for guests

Bookings:
Space is limited (20pax), so if you would like to come, please email us at: events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za and let us know how many people you are bringing (and whether you are members or guests). We will then send you banking information to make your deposit and confirm your place/s.

First come, first served. If you have not made the deposit within 2 days of booking, we will make your space/s available to the next person in line. Please book before Thursday 7 March 2010.

Slow Food Mother City has organised a picnic lunch at Backsberg Estate on Saturday 27 March 2010, with a presentation on their environmental initiatives and some wine tasting (of course!).

Backsberg has been concerned with its environmental impact for a long time already, way before it became trendy.

Backsberg invested heavily in a carbon audit so that they could reach their goal of becoming carbon neutral. This goal was soon achieved, making them the first carbon neutral wine estate in South Africa and one of only three in the world.

Most of us enjoy a glass of wine on occasion (or often!), but most people don’t realise the impact of wine farming on the environment. The removal of fynbos to plant vineyards is one aspect of that. Backsberg is a member of the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative, setting aside part of the estate for conservation of fynbos.

Backsberg has also built an Earth Centre on the estate which serves as an education centre as well as offices for Food and Trees for Africa, who assist Backsberg with offsetting projects.

These are some of the initiatives that Backsberg has undertaken, but there are many more. For this reason Backsberg has won, and continues to win, many environmental awards both locally and abroad.

EVENT DETAILS

Date and time:
Saturday 27 March 2010. 11.00am

The schedule for our visit looks like this:

• 11h00: Arrival (refreshments served outside the Earth Centre)
• 11h00-12h00: Environmental Tour of the Estate with Simon Back
• 12h00-13h00: Wine Tasting in Historical Vat Cellar hosted by Cellar Door Manager, Danwin James
• 13h00: Finger Lunch outside the Earth Centre

The event is child friendly.

Cost:
The cost will be R80 for members, R85 for guests and R35 for children aged 3-12. Wine will be available for purchase to take home or enjoy with your picnic. Cool drinks will also be available for purchase.

Location:
Backsberg Wine Estate – www.backsberg.com

Bookings:
If you would like to come, please email us at: events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za and let us know how many people you are bringing (and whether you are members or guests). We will then send you banking information to make your deposit and confirm your place/s.

Directions:
From Cape Town: Take the N1 towards Paarl. Take Exit 47 – Klapmuts, Stellenbosch R44 offramp. At the Stop street turn right (underneath the N1 towards Stellenbosch). Go over the next 4-way stop and over the bridge. Take the next left on Franschhoek (R45). About 5km down that road on your right you’ll see Backsberg.

Event feedback

We’d love your feedback on our events! If you’ve attended a Slow Food Mother City event, please let us know what you thought by emailing events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za. All comments and suggestions are welcomed.

In early March Slow Food Mother City will be visiting the Biodynamic Farm on Spier Estate outside Stellenbosch.

Biodynamic agriculture develops soil, plants and animals into a closed, interacting and interdependent circle of production, characterised by a holistic, natural approach. Spier Biodynamic Farm includes a half-hectare vegetable market garden, and pastures for grazing pasture reared beef, broiler chickens and egg-laying chickens.

At 10.30am on Saturday, 6th March, Christo, the farm manager, will show us around, and answer your questions. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn about ethical food production, and enjoy the last of the summer weather in a beautiful location.

Date and time:
Saturday 6 March 2010. 10.15am

Cost:
An administrative fee of R20 for Slow Food Mother City members, and R30 for guests. There is no charge for children under the age of 16. If you would like to take home a frozen Spier chicken for your supper, please add R77 onto your deposit (each chicken is a gorgeous, hefty 2.2kg, so you are paying R35/kg).

Location:
Spier Biodynamic Farm – www.spier.co.za

Directions:
Take the N2 leaving Cape Town. Take the Baden Powell Drive exit, and turn left immediately. After ten minutes, you will come to traffic lights by a giant strawberry statue. Turn right (signposted Annandale Road). Two minutes’ later, you will see a driveway on your left, signposted “Spier Wines”. Take this turn, and park on the side of the road just before the security booms. We will wait for everyone to arrive, and then drive in convoy to the farm.

If you would like to come, please email us at: events@slowfoodmothercity.co.za and let us know how many people you are bringing. There are only 25 places available. We will then send you banking information to make your deposit.