Come dine with me

Published Jul 19, 2012

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South Africans are an extraordinarily hospitable people – and feed you with gusto. In fact if you are staying in guest houses and lodges you should be amazed at the variety and quality of every meal that you are presented with. That was my recent experience when we last took a holiday in KZN. The problem was saying no.

Ten years ago and before that, South Africans were equally hospitable… but the culinary sophistication was perhaps lacking. The recent boom in the tourist industry has meant a demand for good food to go with all that good wine. The fine cooking enjoyed by visitors to the country today has built on the uniquely South African palette of food and flavours introduced by the varied mix of settlers to the country.

Andries Stockenstrom Guest House

100 Cradock Street, Graaff-Reinet

Tel: 049 892 4575

Attention all foodies! If the kitchen is the heart of a home, few places have more heart than Andries Stockenström (ASG), where you’ll eat fiercely well and, accordingly, sleep like royalty too.

ASG has always been synonymous with fine dining, but Gordon and Rose have introduced a more laissez-faire style.

For starters, non-guests are welcome. “Life’s too short for bad food and bad wine,” grins Gordon, whose chef’s whites are speckled with kudu biltong soup (hunted and biltonged himself), Karoo lamb with peas (picked, shelled and to a large extent eaten by two small sons that morning) and rum parfait.

The high-ceilinged, antique-filled rooms of the 1819 manor house, meanwhile, shimmer with Rose’s oil paintings. Rose only discovered her ability with a canvas on returning to Graaff-Reinet, the town where both she and Gordon, a wonderfully fun couple, went to school. (“Rose wasn’t keen on kissing me back then,” he winks.)

I sampled Rose’s home-made lemon curd at breakfast, alongside home-made salami (on separate plates, I’m not a monster) and sous-chef Maureen’s eggs, winner of a Best Omelette in SA competition. In summer, you’ll eat in the white-columned courtyard beneath magenta bougainvillaea; sublime surroundings for sublime feasts.

Barthomlemeus Klip Farmhouse,

Elandsberg Farm, Hermon

Tel: 022 448 1087

Heavenly scenery cossets this Victorian homestead in its lush gardens and stands of oak and olive. The wall of the Elandsberg Mountains rises up from the game reserve, reflected in the dammed lake by the house. Guests enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the smart conservatory dining room before an excursion on to the wheat and sheep farm. You are also taken on late-afternoon game drives to see the zebra, a variety of Cape antelope, buffalo, quaggas (a fascinating experiment to reintroduce an extinct variety of zebra), eagles, flocks of blue crane… and the largest world population of the tiny, endangered geometric tortoises. The spring flowers are spectacular. At the homestead you can cool down in the round, raised reservoir pool, sit in chairs on the stoep or wander down to the boathouse with a drink. The food is exceptional and a reason to stay on its own (and all included in the price). It is very popular so book if possible. Closed July to August and Christmas.

Feathers Inn

1 Kerk Street, Piketberg

Tel: 022 913 3651

An imposing Victorian Inn. It has ornate iron columns that support its wrap-around balconies. Nola and George Fletcher, innovative owners and restorers of this 100-year-old guesthouse, have refurbished each suite in the style of a different nationality. All have access to the vast balconies, either overlooking the street or courtyard and gardens. Wandering through transplanted olive and lemon trees you’ll discover the pool, jacuzzi, sheltered braai and bar offering views across the valley to snow-capped mountains in winter. Back at the courtyard, the old laundry is now home to Archers Restaurant, where George, who was trained by a Michelin-starred chef in Simon’s Town, holds sway. I loved the chef’s table that sits adjacent to the kitchen in a quasi-Victorian grocery store. On the menu you’re likely to find fresh ingredients aplenty and, according to George “the finest steak and kingklip in the area”.

Fraai Uitzicht 1798

Klaas Voogds East (Oos), Robertson/Montagu

Tel: 023 626 6156

“Fraai Uitzicht”means “beautiful view” in Dutch – no idle promise. The wine and guest farm, dating from the 1700s, is 4km up a gravel road in a cul-de-sac valley ringed by mountains. Sitting on the stoep chatting to Karl and Sandra over an excellent espresso, I admired their tumbling water feature, which complements an existing sculpture-dotted dam buzzing with birdlife, and draws your gaze to the blanket of peach, apricot and olive trees and vineyards all around. People come from far and wide for the award-winning a la carte restaurant and the seven-course dégustation menu – perfectly matched with local wine and including such delicacies as springbok carpaccio. Thankfully it’s not far to the garden suites, upon which the couple have let loose their imagination: new, huge bathrooms and extra outside showers illuminated by colour-changing lights; one bed has been sunk down to catch views of the highest mountains; another protrudes jauntily from an angled alcove. Make sure you take a peek at the wine cellar – guests have first option on the hand-made merlot. Restaurant closed to the public June to August, but always open for guests.

Hartford House

Mooi River,KwaZulu Natal

Tel: 033 263 2713

The Gosses, owners of Hartford House, humbly refer to themselves as “custodians of one of Africa’s most treasured legacies”. General Botha assumed command of the Boer forces here in 1899, and it was also home to the family of Sir Frederick Moor, the last prime minister of the Colony of Natal. The deputy prime minister, Colonel Richards, established the world-renowned Summerhill Stud on the property, which today hosts stallions for the rulers of Dubai. Aside from all this history, the Gosses also rightly revel in the beauty of this spectacular place… . Spread across seemingly endless gardens, the 14 rooms have been decorated with dark wood antiques from India and West Africa. I surveyed the four lakeside suites which are nothing short of spectacular. I was especially taken with the aptly-named “Siyabonga” (“thank you” in Zulu) with its twin egg baths and private pool. Oh, and by the way, the restaurant I dined in was the SA House and Leisure restaurant of the year.

Highlands Country House

36 Tennant Road, Upper Kenilworth

Tel: 021 797 8810

Highlands Country House sits splendidly on Wynberg Hill beneath Devil’s Peak. In front, a formal garden runs along avenues of fig trees down to lawns and flower beds – picked daily for fresh bouquets – and I went for a wander and reached one of two swimming pools. Up at the house meanwhile, all was efficient bustle, with smartly-dressed maids busily clearing away breakfast, leaving only the faint but delicious smell of bacon and eggse. I met Carole in the library for a chat… and a delectable strawberry smoothie. She fell in love with the place when she once came here for tea, which is a special time of day at Highlands, honoured with freshly-baked cakes. Meanwhile, gourmet dinners are best served by candlelight in the conservatory. Separate from the house, large European-style rooms are elegant in neutral tones. Styles vary subtly in traditional rooms from African flourishes, to Cupid-guarded loft rooms, to Brosely-tiled bathrooms. Part the shutters or step on to your balcony and look on to woods, sports fields, mountains and sea.

Kashan Country House

Portion 1 Farm, Steynshoop, Hekpoort

Tel: 014 576 1035

From the Cradle of Humankind, and barely out of first gear, I followed the steep and winding track up to civilisation. And you don’t get much more civilised than Kashan, a pretty thatched house sat beneath the Magaliesberg mountains with views of the lush ancient valley. Within minutes Wilna and the team had my bags unloaded into my pristine, white, four-postered bedroom and I was gliding around in no fewer than 22m of infinity pool. I wiled away the afternoon spying on birds and monkeys through the lodge telescope, toyed with the idea of investigating the hiking trail up the mountain or having a game of croquet. But instead I opted for a sprawling chill-out on the sofa with books, movies and tea. An unforgettable sunset brought nightfall, together with a nocturnal amphibian choir, Peter, back from the city, and a three-course gourmet dinner prepared by the highly-skilled resident chef. Peter insisted on high-spec mattresses to ensure his guests the best night’s sleep this side of the equator. It’s not often you come across perfect equilibrium, but Kashan House, with its luxury, relaxed hospitality, historic views and fantastic food might just have achieved it.

Makakatana Bay Lodge

iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Tel: 035 550 4189

Makakatana Bay Lodge is sensational. It has gleaming wooden interiors; bedrooms (including the wonderful honeymoon suite) connected by walkways through the forest, with their gargantuan slabs of glass and warm, earthy African colours; a pool encased in decking and raised above the grasses of the wetlands; the lake itself and the extraordinary St Lucia Estuary & lake system. Guests are taken on drives into the wetlands to search for birds (360 species), crocodiles and hippos. You can also be taken on safaris to the beach for snorkelling and swimming or on a game drive within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park before returning to a sumptuous dinner with your hosts in the outdoor boma. Safari drives to Hluhluwe Game Reserve are also available. The family’s old “Crab House” is the only part of the lodge not raised above the tall grasses. This was once a storeroom for crabs caught in the lake, now a wine cellar with a giant tree growing out of its roof. Huge sliding doors throughout the lodge open onto wooden decks, and the absence of railings just adds to the feeling of openness to nature.

Schulphoek Seafront Guesthouse

44 Marine Drive, Guest entrance 181 Piet retief Crescent, Sandbaai, Hermanus

Tel: 028 316 2626

My heart sinks straight to the ocean floor as I wander through Schulphoek and remember I’m not spending the night. The vegetable gardens, the daily home-made cakes, the sunny salt-water pool, the sumptuous mahogany bedrooms and the deep-set squidgy sofas in the luxurious, gold-tinted guest lounge (all of which offer front-row whale-spotting) seem to tease me. Schulphoek suppers are events unto themselves. The full house sit at a long, oak dining table and as an amouse-bouche, we’re led into a vast wine cellar, home to some 12 000 bottles, to pick our accompanying wine. Which grape complements spicy butternut soup and succulent seared yellowtail, I wonder? Mannes nudges me towards a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. With regards to the food, precious little chewing ensues: The resident chef insists food melts rather than is masticated in the mouth.

After dinner, I yearn to sneak upstairs to Scallop (the magisterial suite occupying the entire first floor with panoramic ocean vistas and its own telescope) and snuggle into the gargantuan bed, or hide under bubbles in a two-person spa bath in one of the smaller but decadent garden rooms. Alas, I must leave. - Sunday Tribune

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