Cape Town - Rumour has it that businesses in the Cape Town city centre avoid holding meetings at lunchtime on Thursdays.
The reason? Down on St George’s Mall, something much tastier is going on: the Earth Fair Market.
Between 11am and 3pm, the Wale Street end of St George’s Mall is thronged with hungry people feasting their eyes and stomachs on foodie delights. Music sets the vibe, drowns out the grating roar of liquidisers spewing juicey goodness, and attracts groups of dancers and acrobats. Established restaurants such as the Taj and Doppio Zero have stands, and smaller stalls selling everything from curry and paella to meringues and ice cream.
The “cheese man” has been in the business for 12 years. Before that, Robin van den Berg was a merchandise manager for Woolworths.
“If you wear a collar and tie for 20 years, it drives you crazy,” he said.
Van den Berg and three friends quit their jobs, bought a farm outside Montagu and went on a cheese-making course.
They raise Jersey cows on the land, allowing them to roam free and feeding them only grass. The cows produce 1 100 litres of milk a day, which translates into 100kg of cheese, in eight varieties.
Selling cheese and butter at food markets is the farm’s livelihood, and the money goes towards buying food – but only for the cows. All the table food is grown in veggie patches.
The mall market has yielded a crop of new customers for Mushok Mukwamata, who worked in the hospitality industry before starting her own business producing churros the traditional Mexican way. She relies on bite-sized samples of this sweet, doughnut-like treat to lure the crowd.
Students with a sweet tooth make the trip to town from UCT.
“The Lindt chocolate brownies are the reason I come to the market,” said Mica la Vita. “The rest of the food is just a bonus.” - Cape Argus