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6 November 2019
Africa's first Gastronomy Creative City From P 1
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A Hap ‘n Stap Festival / Walking Up An Appetite Festival Taking advantage of the 12 km of cliff pathways that hug Walker Bay, this festival, modelled on the famous Dutch HapStap, will create pop-up food stalls along the length of the path.
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A Hermanus Eco Film Festival @ Gansbaai Building on the Overstrand’s reputation for outstanding land-based whale watching and great white sharks, a largely nautical-themed eco film festival will be held in Gansbaai.
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The Overstrand Farm to Table Festival Intended to be Overstrand’s foremost international festival, since it cuts across several of the UNESCO creative fields, the Overstrand Farm to Table Festival will showcase the authenticity of the restaurant scene in sourcing its products from the Overberg. Building on the uniqueness of the Kogelberg
Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the festival will also embed a flower festival for the gastronomic arts. The role of ceramicists and glassblowers in the Overstrand will also be highlighted.
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The Overberg Hermanus Padkos Festival This festival aims to highlight two of the three things that the Overberg is famous for – fine food and scenic drives. The aim of the festival is to democratise the word gastronomy by reaching out to the farm stalls dotted around the Overberg that make a road trip through this agricultural heartland all the more memorable. Everyone will be given the chance to be a part of the gastronomy scene by selling delicious food at farmers’ markets. This will be the festival to launch Hermanus as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy since it is inexpensive to run and will have mass appeal.
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The Pinot Noir Celebration Building on this already successful
annual event, the aim is to expand the activities of the festival.
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The Dionysus & Ambrosia Literary Festival This will be a festival with international possibilities to celebrate the language of food. The Overstrand Municipality has committed R1 million over four years towards these festivals, with the rest of the funding hopefully coming from sponsors, Wesgro and the Overberg District Municipality. In 2023, the Overstrand Municipality will need to submit a Membership Monitoring Report to UNESCO detailing the progress and results of these projects and festivals. Creative Cities must also commit to send at least one representative, ideally together with the mayor, to the annual conference of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Next year’s conference will be held in Santos, Brazil with the 2021 conference being held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Along with Overstrand Hermanus, nine other cities were designated gastronomy Creative Cities. These are Afyonkarahisar (Turkey), Arequipa (Peru), Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Bendigo (Australia), Bergamo (Italy), Hyderabad (India), Mérida (Mexico), Portoviejo (Ecuador)
and Yangzhou (China). These ten will now join the 26 cities, including Parma (Italy), Bergen (Norway), Hatay (Turkey) and Phuket (Thailand), which already have the gastronomy designation.
Excerpt from the Overstrand Hermanus 2019 application to UNESCO Sustainable development lies at the heart of Hermanus. It has rebuilt itself from starting out as an inhumane whaling station to today, not only being known as the whale capital of South Africa but also being voted the top land-based whale-watching destination in the world. Moreover, the city is home to SA's first UNESCO biosphere, the UNESCO Kogelberg Biosphere. It is said to have the most diverse species of flora in the world, more than the entire British Isles and the Amazon. Lastly, it is considered a top food destination, not because it has the top restaurants but because of the authenticity of its ingredients, which are largely sourced from within an 80 km radius all throughout the Overberg region, the agricultural heartland of South Africa. Foraging is what differentiates Hermanus from the truly big cities. Their entire food culture is based on sustainability and protecting the environment, from banning straws and bottled water to the banning by restaurants of wrapped sweets and wet wipes.
Those who stirred the pot behind the scenes Sometimes, being an outsider is an advantage. If there is anyone who brings life to this saying, it is Darryl Earl David. Currently a lecturer at the University of the Western Cape, Darryl was living in Howick, lecturing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal when the idea of a Gastronomy Creative City in South Africa inspired him to take action. He had already been instrumental in facilitating Durban’s designation as a UNESCO Creative City for Literature in 2017 and had a reputation as a cultural activist, establishing literary festivals across South Africa. “I was excited by the idea of a UNESCO City of Gastronomy,” says Darryl. “I felt a South African city needed a project of this magnitude to take its rightful place among the food capitals of the world.” It was a mixture of luck and love that led him to Hermanus. “I’ve
always loved Hermanus. I rate it as one of the most beautiful towns in South Africa,” says Darryl. But it was a chance meeting in Durban with Tracy Going, the well-known TV personality, that cemented the choice of Hermanus and the Overstrand as South Africa’s City of Gastronomy. “Tracy was adamant that people in Hermanus would love my vision. She promised to introduce me to people who get things done.” says Darryl. When he was put in contact with Tania Fourie, organiser of The Global Challenge golf tournament, he immediately sensed that she was someone who cared more about her city than any potential financial gain. She asked him to “give her a day”. “Well, she ended up needing a week, but she never backed down. Riana Scheepers, the well-known Afrikaans writer once said to me, ‘Darryl, the recipe for any festival is someone with
vision, a few champions in town en ‘n kwaai tannie’. I think Tania was that kwaai tannie!”
application will not be accepted. Countless dead-end streets to South African mayors' offices have taught me to box smart,” explains Darryl.
Darryl adds, “The kwaai tannie then put me in touch with Frieda Lloyd. I realised it was Frieda's job to champion such ideas in her role as the manager of Cape Whale Coast Tourism. But in 90% of the towns and cities in South Africa, tourism managers are not worth their salt. Frieda was different. She was driven. She was goal-oriented. She was meticulously organised.”
“With only two other South African cities recognised as part of the UNESCO Network, I knew it was going to take work in mapping our culinary achievements for the likes of an international panel. But I also knew that we, as a region, have so much to offer that we could not let this one go,” says Overstrand Executive Mayor, Dudley Coetzee, whose endorsement letter and promise of municipal funds added weight to the application.
Once Frieda was on board, she took the idea to the mayoral committee a week later. “Luckily, the mayor and his team loved the idea and the rest, as they say, is history,” says Darryl. Having the support of the mayor is crucial and non-negotiable for UNESCO. “If a mayor does not endorse the bid, your hands are tied and your
“And then there is Shane Sauvage of La Pentola Restaurant,” continues Darryl. “What a breath of fresh air he proved to be! One of the country's top chefs, with a heart of gold. I had always said I wanted to democratise the food festival circuit. It was Shane who planted the idea of a Food Bank
Project for Hermanus as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy project. I was thrilled at the philanthropic work he does for those less fortunate, people as well as animals. So a big thank you to Shane. With a bit of coordination, I believe Hermanus can become a leading light when it comes to addressing issues around food security for those less fortunate than ourselves.” Says Shane: “I am proud to be amongst the chefs, farmers, fishermen and winemakers who, through our passion and innovation, provide an environmentally-driven table and hospitality culture in the Overstrand. Together, we celebrate local produce, creativity, skills, nature and sustainability while supporting a flourishing, vibrant and integrated community. This accolade is recognition of our combined efforts as a world-class culinary destination.”
– Raphael da Silva
