Blog
July 26, 2021

A night of decadence on our doorstep

A NIGHT OF DECADENCE ON OUR DOORSTEP The Winter Warmer at the Belmond Mount Nelson brought the two-part, stay-at-home, His & Hers anniversary celebration to ...
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Blog
July 7, 2021

It takes two…

IT TAKES TWO… A birthday happens, an anniversary is earned, and can be considered an accomplishment. For this reason, my man and I have always ...
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Blog
June 22, 2021

Schoone Oordt Country House

SCHOONE OORDT COUNTRY HOUSE Worthy of a detour or a destination, the historic town of Swellendam is overflowing with charm and quaint, old buildings that ...
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Blog
May 28, 2021

A walk down memory lane

A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE May has been my month of rekindling old friendships. There are those people with whom you simply pick up where ...
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Blog
May 14, 2021

Constantia on crutches

CONSTANTIA ON CRUTCHES The Constantia wine route has many attributes – the oldest wine-producing farm in the country, stand-out cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc and Bordeaux-blend wines, ...
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Blog
May 6, 2021

A hamper of happiness

A HAMPER OF HAPPINESS It’s official. My love language is now gifts (in addition to acts of service and quality time…). My preference? Preferably practical, ...
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Blog
April 30, 2021

Babylonstoren, for all seasons

BABYLONSTOREN, FOR ALL SEASONS Many moons ago, when my sons were at pre-primary school, I met two fabulous moms. They were the ones who helped ...
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Blog
April 1, 2021

MAZZA and Local at Heritage Square

MAZZA AND LOCAL AT HERITAGE SQUARE Local at Heritage Square is a carefully curated collection of edible options, to be paired with your drinks of ...
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Blog
March 26, 2021

Authentic Overberg dining

AUTHENTIC OVERBERG DINING As the seasons change it gives me unbridled joy to drive to the Overberg, settle into Stanford Valley Guest Farm and ‘work’ ...
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Blog
March 19, 2021

Beyond birthdays

BEYOND BIRTHDAYS When I produced my older son only three days after my birthday, I realised then that I would need to draw a ...
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Blog
February 5, 2021

Back on track

BACK ON TRACK We too are breathing a sigh of relief as the restaurants and wineries can limp back to business with fewer restrictions, and ...
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Blog
January 15, 2021

Winding down in the winelands

WINDING DOWN IN THE WINELANDS With the current alcohol restrictions having a devastating effect on the alcohol and hospitality industries, we were loath to cancel ...
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Blog
December 21, 2020

Farewell 2020

FAREWELL 2020 It is with relief that we approach the end of 2020, a year that has had enormous impact globally. In our world, we ...
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Blog
December 9, 2020

Beyond expectations

BEYOND EXPECTATIONS When invited to experience Peter Tempelhoff and team’s new venture, Beyond Restaurant, one has high expectations. I should have known that they would ...
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Blog
November 6, 2020

Pride and patriotism…on a plate

PRIDE AND PATRIOTISM…ON A PLATE I was honoured to be invited to judge the restaurant category in the Western Cape for the Great Wine Capitals ...
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Blog
October 14, 2020

Mediterranean medley

MEDITERRANEAN MEDLEY The countries and cultures of the Mediterranean are similar, yet vastly different. You will always see tomatoes, garlic and lemon, yet the spices ...
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Blog
August 7, 2020

Irasshaimase

IRASSHAIMASE! SYNCHRONICITY - WHEN YOU WISH AND IT APPEARS That’s the Japanese word for welcome… Every year my friend Anne and I head off for a welcome ...
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Blog
August 3, 2020

Our deepest fear

OUR DEEPEST FEAR So how does a pilot, ballerina or sommelier feel right now? Fear seems to be the immobiliser for many people who have been ...
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Blog
July 23, 2020

Taking a stand, together

TAKING A STAND, TOGETHER A MILLION SEATS ON THE STREETS Yesterday restauranteurs, chefs, suppliers and the public took to the streets for a peaceful protest, nationally. ...
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Blog
July 17, 2020

Jobs save lives

JOBS SAVE LIVES I am proud to be part of the restaurant industry. It is filled with talented, passionate, dedicated people who love what they ...
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Blog
July 1, 2020

Restaurants step up to the plate

RESTAURANTS STEP UP TO THE PLATE As restaurants begin to re-open, valiantly and differently, we need to continue to support them. I for one hope ...
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Blog
June 23, 2020

A fine Father’s Day weekend

A FINE FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND It was a real ‘hygge’ weekend, roaring fire, my lap covered by a cashmere rug and my cat – exactly ...
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Blog
June 5, 2020

Friday night fabulous

FRIDAY NIGHT FABULOUS FROM HANDBRAKE TO HERO In our family foursome, the men are known as Handbrake, Handsome and Handful. I’m known as Hands-on. Very. ...
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Blog
April 30, 2020

The golden hues of Autumn

THE GOLDEN HUES OF AUTUMN I’m convinced that Mother Nature granted display rights for autumn in the Western Cape to the winelands, and in Cape ...
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Blog
April 24, 2020

A table at noma

A TABLE AT NOMA Another week’s trials of a cook in captivity. Today is the day of my much-awaited, bucket-list reservation of a table for two ...
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Blog
April 9, 2020

From the table to the plate

FROM THE TABLE TO THE PLATE CELEBRATING THE SIMPLER THINGS IN LIFE I am happy in these times to be accused of sunshine journalism, writing about ...
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Blog
April 3, 2020

Another week at my table

ANOTHER WEEK AT MY TABLE LOCKING DOWN TO COOKING, READING It’s been a week since lockdown in South Africa. An interesting one, and yes, a lot ...
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Blog
March 26, 2020

Another seat at my table

ANOTHER SEAT AT MY TABLE This was going to be such a good year. I loved the balance of the numbers 2020, so started the ...
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Blog
March 17, 2020

Risk and resilience

RISK AND RESILIENCE  “Resilience is the ability to recover or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” Online dictionary definition RESILIENCE South Africans are nothing, if not resourceful ...
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Blog
February 21, 2020

Alternatarian cooking demo

ALTERNATARIAN COOKING DEMO It was an exciting moment when a group of gourmets gathered to be inspired by alternative options in our Alternatarian cooking demo. ...
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