Culture Set Gastronomy

C U LT U R E S E T

C U LT U R E S E T GASTRONOMY

ISBN 978-0-9946540-0-7

9 780994 654007

GASTRONOMY

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

The French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) and David Krut Publishing (DKP) join forces to create Culture Set – a series of booklets around themes linked to the programming of IFAS, and following the tradition of the Skill Set series and TAXI Art Book Educational Supplements for which DKP has become well-known.

This first edition of Culture Set is entirely dedicated to gastronomy, following on from The Week of Taste, a highlight of IFAS 2014 programme.

The Week of Taste took place between 19 and 31 May in 8 eight cities of South Africa and Lesotho and involved 5 French chefs , 1Canadian sommelier and 8 local chefs. The event was presented by IFAS, the ­Délégation Générale des Alliances Françaises (DGAF), the network of Alliances Françaises in South Africa, and Lesotho in partnership with The Forum Company in Johannesburg with the support of Air France, Atout France, the Reunion Island Tourism Board and Air Austral.

The Taste Lessons were organised in partnership with La Semaine du Goût®, an

annual event that takes place nationally in France, celebrating food and taste.

‘Real food’ was the focus of The Week of Taste. The event aimed to demystify cooking, with a focus on the role that food plays in families and communities and the importance of the kitchen in the home. The programme involved workshops open to the public, lessons in schools, four-handed (two chefs) and sixhanded (three chefs) gastronomic dinners and a photo contest.

Condensed in this publication are snippets from the Week of Taste – menus from the dinners, recipes from the chefs and insights into their backgrounds and styles – as well as a wealth of ­information that ties into the theme of gastronomy. Included are fun facts and lessons from the French culinary world – how to make a macaroon, how to order in a French restaurant – information about projects that are changing the way we think about food, and ideas for how you can make a difference in your own environment, for instance, how to create a simple urban vegetable garden.

Bon appétit!

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THE

FORUM COMPANY

LA SEMAINE DU GOÛT

®

AN INTRODUCTION La Semaine du Goût® was initiated in France in 1990 by Jean-Luc Petitrenaud and la Collective du Sucre with the purpose of teaching consumers and especially children about taste, as well as the diversity of tastes and flavours through a playful and informative approach to ingredients, their origins and specialities. The values of La Semaine du Goût® go further to encourage skills and knowledge transfer and a healthy and balanced diet in everyday life.

A brief look at the event from its creation to now gives a good sense of the context in which our own Semaine du Goût can be understood.

La Semaine du Goût® starts its journey on 15 ­October 1990 when 350 chefs teach their first Lessons du Goût to Grade 6 and Grade 7 Parisian pupils as part of the first Journée du Goût. A year later, the French Ministry of National Education takes an interest in the concept and agrees to support iterations of the project in Paris, Versailles and Créteil.

In 1992, La Journée du Goût becomes La Semaine du Goût with 1,200 chefs teaching 30,000 pupils in 15 locations. In the following two years, the event grows and is present all over France in hotels,

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restaurants, schools and universities. In 1997, La Semaine du Goût® is supported by 3000 chefs and reaches 90,000 children. A launch at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris, in 2001 makes the event official nationwide. 2002 celebrates the 5,000th Taste Lesson and the first ‘Taste Café Philo’ takes place with debates around taste in the largest French cities.

In 2003, the French Ministries of Agriculture, Nutrition, Fishing and Rural Affairs, become official partners. Every year, La Semaine du Goût® offers various themes such as ‘Let’s meet around taste’ (2003), ‘Let’s get surprised’ (2004), ‘(A)waken to taste’ (2005), ‘Together let’s fight for taste’ (2006), ‘Fête Plaisir’ (2007), ‘Expand your taste… cook!’

(2008). In 2009, La Semaine du Goût® celebrates its 20th anniversary around the theme ‘Taste for all’ with a return to roots. From 2010, the event travels internationally and is implemented in Japan (2010), Romania (2011) and China (2013). For its 24th edition in 2013, the event is a gastronomic highlight of the year in France with 2,000 Taste Workshops, 5,000 Taste Lessons, 400 restaurants and 50 Chefs on university campuses nationwide. www.legout.com

During The Week of Taste, The Forum Company – specialists in world-class food and event management – hosted gastronomic dinners at the iconic Turbine Hall in N ­ ewtown, Johannesburg. For each dinner, a bespoke menu was created in collaboration between Forum chefs Arno Boshoff and Puleng Mashoaliba and French chef Thibaud Renard. Kim Roberts tells us about the experience.

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE PROCESS OF CREATING MENUS FOR THE WEEK OF TASTE USING LOCAL, SEASONAL AND FRESH PRODUCE WITH A FRENCH TOUCH. Discussions started with the growers in our garden to see what would be in season on the vegetable front, as well as the best options on fish and poultry meat for May. We compiled a list of possible ingredients and from there the menus were created in collaboration with the French chef Thibaud Renard, whose speciality is fish. Following many email exchanges to define what was considered traditional South African and what was a French ‘must’ in terms of ingredients, a foundation was formed for what ultimately became the menus.

MOST OF THE VEGETABLES USED IN MEALS PREPARED AT THE FORUM COMPANY ARE PRODUCED ORGANICALLY AT YOUR OWN VEGETABLE GARDEN.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS INITIATIVE AND WHAT ROLE IT PLAYED IN THE DINNERS. Yes. This is something that we are very proud of. We have a great development team at The Forum Company and we strive towards using what is in our own back yard. Also, organic produce is fairly expensive so why not grow it ourselves? It just makes sense and forces us all to become more aware of the real definition of seasonal produce and build our menus around that.

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE FORUM CHEFS AND THE FRENCH CHEF AND THE SHARING OF KNOW-HOW ON BOTH SIDES. The French are famous for their creative and specialised cooking methods.

We compiled a list of the current cooking methods in trend and then decided in which course on the menu we could include the cooking or preparation method.

Once that was done we then looked at what local produce we had available (suppliers in a smaller than 50km radius), which produce is seasonal and what we can source from our own farm. We also had to think a bit out of the box to incorporate the ‘French flair’ vs. global trends of ‘less is more’. The end product still had to be visually and palatably acceptable for our patrons. www.theforum.co.za

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French Chefs

JEAN CLAUDE CLÉRET WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A CHEF? My mum was in the cooking field. First, after school, I would watch what was going on in the kitchen. Then I went to help. The pastry aspect really inspired me at first. I was hired by a restaurant where the pastry laboratory was really interesting but there was not too much pastry to make, so I started preparing savoury dishes as well. I am really ‘gourmand’ with the pastries, for instance I loved the milk tart, it was a real discovery in the Johannesburg Culinary and Pastry School.

WHAT WAS THE WORST MEAL YOU HAVE MADE AND FOR WHOM? I don’t have any particular worst meals, it was more a period. 6 years ago, I just messed up everything during an entire week. I had lost faith in the cooking, in what I set up before. It was a moment in my life. It is not that what I was preparing was not good, but it was not enough, in terms of the standards of the restaurant.

So I stopped for 6 months and then returned to cooking. You really need to keep determined and confident in what you are doing.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISH? I have tons of favourite dishes. I love the ‘curry poulet’ (a Réunionese chicken curry) my grandparents used to make, because it relates to my origins, my culture. I need to eat rice once a week when I am out of Réunion Island. I love French cuisine as well; for example, the real French dishes, like the potatoes ‘purée à la Robuchon’,

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which is 1kg of potatoes for 700gr of butter, with a nice piece of meat.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE AND MOST HATED VEGETABLES? I don’t like too much green or red pepper.

I don’t like to prepare it; I don’t like so much its taste either. For instance, it is good in a tagine but, if I have the choice, I don’t include it in my dish. Then, I have two types of favourite ingredients: carbs, like potatoes, which come from the earth and remain a fabulous product for me (chips and fries are really simple but very good) and vegetables like asparagus which are great to prepare as well, with an easy mousseline sauce, for example.

DO YOU HAVE A PREFERRED OR FAVOURITE TYPE OF MUSIC THAT YOU PLAY WHEN YOU COOK? I like jazz, in general. When I work, I like to listen to lounge music, which is very calm. I don’t like it when music or radio are very loud in the kitchen. I need silence, to focus on what I am doing.

OTHER THAN RÉUNION ISLAND, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION/COUNTRY FOR A CULINARY EXPERIENCE? Asia would be the best place for a culinary experience. I love eating Asian food; actually I do once a week at least.

Réunionese culture has a part of Asian culture, as well as Indian culture. Then Thai cuisine, with all its subtleties, like conbawa; and Japanese, with the use of simple and authentic ingredients. I work with a lot of Japanese ingredients, for instance I prepare a tuna carpaccio with a sesame oil emulsion, only cooked with sesame seeds, very tasty.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS TO COOK WITH? I like to cook fish. In Réunion Island, we have endless possibilities with fish, compared to meat for example.

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR TASTE INFLUENCES? HOW HAVE YOU DEVELOPED YOUR APPRECIATION OF TASTE AND INGREDIENTS? Curiosity brought me to develop an appreciation of taste. In Réunion Island, you have many different cultures, so you get influences from Asian, African and

European cuisines. And then, you build your taste on your research and travels.

For example, I loved my experience in Morocco, with Spain coming very close second. They are two countries rich in culinary tradition and experiences.

WHICH SEASON DO YOU MOST LOOK FORWARD TO? I prefer the Réunionese summer – you can get many great fruits that you can’t find in any other seasons. From October to November, it is fabulous when we have more fruits than vegetables, as we get vegetables throughout the year.

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO BE A GOOD ‘LUNCH-BOX’ MEAL? FOR KIDS AND ADULTS WHO HAVE BUSY SCHEDULES BUT WANT TO KEEP THEIR MEALS HEALTHY AND INTERESTING? A good lunch box needs carbs, so you do not still feel hungry after your lunch.

You can choose a rice salad, with some vegetables, pieces of chicken, or a pasta salad and a fruit to finish off the lunch. It is healthy, tasty and affordable!

GEORGIANA SAN WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A CHEF? When my first kid was about 3 years old so … 10 years ago.

WHAT WAS THE WORST MEAL YOU’VE MADE AND FOR WHOM? It’s never happened …

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISH? Côte de bœuf bleue

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FRENCH CHEFS / SOMMELIER

FRENCH CHEFS SWEET OR SAVOURY? Savoury BREAKFAST, LUNCH, SNACKS OR DINNER? Lunch WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE AND MOST HATED VEGETABLES? Favourite vegetable: turnip Most hated vegetables: eggplants WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC TO COOK BY? It depends on my mood.

OTHER THAN FRANCE, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION/COUNTRY FOR CULINARY EXPERIENCE? Asia WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE INGREDIENT TO COOK WITH? Fresh herbs

EMERIC LE PUIL WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A CHEF? I wanted to be a chef since I was 6 or 7 years old. First, I wanted to be a confectioner. After some years, I started to prefer cooking over baking – maybe my taste was sweeter when I was younger.

WHAT WAS THE WORST MEAL YOU’VE MADE AND FOR WHOM? The worst thing I did was to put a leek into a juice extractor. At the end, the juice was strong, bitter and sour and I could do nothing with it.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISH? My favourite dish is still my grandmother’s turkey cutlets with

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creamed potatoes and salt. I tried to do it many times but mine is never the same as hers, maybe it’s because of the pans she used or her knowledge. This dish reminds me of Wednesday afternoons.

SWEET OR SAVOURY? I think both. One does not preclude the other, one can still make something sweet and savoury at the same time.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH, SNACKS OR DINNER? I prefer lunch, especially when I wake up early to go to the market, choose my ingredients and speak with producers.

After that, I have a drink with my friends around midday, before cooking. We stay at the table up until 4:00 pm and then we walk or go fishing if it’s a sunny day.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE AND MOST HATED VEGETABLES? My favourite vegetables are avocado, pepper, tomato and cucumber. They remind me of summer time. I love eating them cooked, raw or pickled. Eggplant is definitely a vegetable I don’t like. I find it too earthy once cooked.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC TO COOK BY? I don’t like listening to music when I cook.

It’s hard to have a crew who likes the same music. Therefore, some wake up when they hear music while others are literally asleep on the job. I also prefer that we talk as we work. After all, we spend so many hours together a day in the kitchen that it would be a shame not to know a little bit more about one another.

OTHER THAN FRANCE, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION/COUNTRY FOR CULINARY EXPERIENCE? I would like to go to China and do a road trip in cities and the country side, and eat and cook Chinese food. I dream of sitting in the corner near a fire in the heart of the plains of Mongolia and see how they cook; discover unexpected foods, unknown tastes, different techniques but also interact with people.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE INGREDIENT TO COOK WITH? I don’t have a favourite ingredient per se, although I do like working with

potatoes. They’re easy to cook and it can be transformed into many things: boiled, mashed, sliced, diced, whole.

morning especially (after that, it’s serving time). And I rather like to listen to 60’s music and Reggae.

OTHER THAN FRANCE, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION/COUNTRY FOR CULINARY EXPERIENCE? Asia will always be the big competition.

And so, why not go there one day?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE INGREDIENT TO COOK WITH? Cooking fish will remain my playground; it’s a pleasure to discover and savour it.

THIBAUD RENARD WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A CHEF? I always knew I wanted to be a chef. With my temperament, I always want to go as far as possible and progress as much as possible with my team.

WHAT WAS THE WORST MEAL YOU’VE MADE AND FOR WHOM? My worst meal was for an A-list celebrity who came to have lunch. On the menu, there was a fish soup, liqueur and cigar.

He ended up behind the bar of the cigar lounge as he felt unwell…

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISH? My favourite dish is fish-and-chips style lobster, sweet and sour sauce and pineapple. Superb!

SWEET OR SAVOURY? I have mixed feelings about this, although I might prefer savoury, I also like salted sweet.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH, SNACKS OR DINNER? Lunch mainly, depending on how fresh the ingredients are, and snacking for pleasure at any time of the day.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE AND MOST HATED VEGETABLES? It’s difficult to say, but my least favourite is parsnip.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC TO COOK BY? I cook while listening to music, in the

JÉRÔME BIGOT WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A CHEF? I think at the age of 12 when I was watching a TV show in which Pierre Gagnaire and Hervé This created ‘une sauce confortable’ (a comfortable sauce).

Hervé This heated water, a sheet of gelatine and a little bit of butter and said, ‘voilà’, now put it in your mouth and you will feel like you are eating cotton, something very comfortable to your mouth. Now Pierre (Gagnaire) will add taste to it.‘ I then thought that there were so many possibilities in a kitchen…

WHAT WAS THE WORST MEAL YOU’VE MADE AND FOR WHOM? It was at the restaurant, I improvised a dish for a good friend of mine from Belgium, a fillet of pigeon marinated in gin and wrapped in hay. The pigeon was meant to cook on the plate at the table by setting the hay on fire… It was a complete fiasco, the pigeon was raw and

the gin not flamed.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISH? A simple pasta dish with tomatoes, peppers, basil, parmesan and lemon zest.

SWEET OR SAVOURY? Savoury, surely.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH, SNACKS OR DINNER? Dinner, a table, candles and good wine.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE AND MOST HATED VEGETABLES? I like all fruits and vegetables, it is impossible to choose my favourites but I’d say my least favourite are bananas and kiwis.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC TO COOK BY? While preparing meals, I like to listen to jazz, folk and calm music, and while serving them hip hop to get energised.

OTHER THAN FRANCE, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR FAVOURITE DESTINATION/COUNTRY FOR CULINARY EXPERIENCE? I find that what happens in the gastronomy industry in the Scandinavian countries is very exciting. Japan is a dream yet to be realised.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE INGREDIENT TO COOK WITH? Dairy products and vinegars.

MARIE HÉLÈNE TARDIF YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH WINE, TELL US HOW. Before I started drinking natural wines, I used to enjoy standard wine but not much. Then one day I went to a

restaurant in Montreal which only served natural wines; I was really curious to find out more about them. I also started eating organic food and I wanted to complement it with natural wines. When I first tasted one, I was overwhelmed, it was pure and floral, like a perfume. No added elements, just grapes. Since no pesticides are used on those vines, the vine roots mingle with the flowers and fruits. It was truly a great experience to sense and taste this delicate type of wine!

I was charmed.

‘PAIRING WINE WITH FOOD IS MORE ART THAN SCIENCE.’ TELL US MORE ABOUT HOW YOU PAIR WINE AND FOOD. In a seven-course tasting menu, wine is like a story, a language… I follow my husband (Jérôme Bigot) in the gastronomic story that he wants to share with the customers. I always work with my instinct, which I believe to be my most developed sense. I do not think about the codes of the kitchen, or the vine as such, but about wine fragrance.

If a dish is slightly sour, I will balance it out with an aromatic wine, or if the dish is powerful in terms of flavours, I will choose a wine which accompanies the dish gently. I work with natural wines of course, but also with natural Sake, Belgian beers and even, sometimes, infusions. I rely on my senses and not my intellect.

YOU ONLY WORK WITH BIODYNAMIC WINE. TELL US WHY. When you start drinking natural wines you cannot go back. It’s a bit like when you taste a fresh strawberry at the organic market, you’d end up making a face when you taste a strawberry from the supermarket! In addition, all the added sulphites are so harmful to our bodies.

Winemakers who do not work ethically add sulphites to their wines so that they always taste the same year after year.

But that’s cheating! With natural wines, wine is a mirror of a season, every year the wine is alive and gives a testimony of the year which has passed. It is poetic and that’s life!

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Recipes JEAN CLAUDE CLÉRET

GEORGIANA SAN

EMERIC LE PUIL

MILLE FEUILLE OF ANTARTIC TOOTHFISH/COD

VEGETABLES AND CREAM CHEESE

CRISPY-SKINNED SEA BREAM

FOR 4 PEOPLE

FOR 4 PEOPLE

FOR 4 PEOPLE

150g of Antartic Toothfish/Cod or fatty fish (such as salmon) Basil, 1 bottle of green onions, green lemon, olive oil, 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves 2 tomatoes 1 courgette 1 combava, 1 pinch of masala, salt, pepper 50g of mixed green salad Balsamic vinegar, sesame seeds Season and cook the Antartic Toothfish in the oven at 180°C or in the pan for 10 minutes.

Once cooked, let the fish cool off.

Cut the courgette thinly lengthwise and place in a salt marinade with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

In a bowl, break the fish into pieces. Add the crushed garlic and onions as well as the thinly cut herbs, the tomatoes sliced thin, one dessert spoonful of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sesame seeds, zest of the combava and a pinch of masala.

Mix all these ingredients delicately.

In a pastry mould, layer the fish mixture with the thin slices of courgettes to make mille feuille - which means ‘thousands of leaves’ , referring to the many thin layers.

Make a bouquet with the mixed green salad and ’plant’ it in the mille feuille.

Olive oil 200g of Brousse du Rove cheese / can be replaced with Philadelphia cream cheese White vinegar (balsamic or not) Lemon juice 1 tablespoonful of soya sauce 1 teaspoonful of mustard 1 teaspoonful of honey Salt flakes Freshly ground pepper Red chilies 1 teaspoonful of cocoa powder Vegetables in season (small carrots, turnips etc.)

Fresh herbs (chives, mint, dill etc.)

Edible flowers (optional) Peel and clean all the vegetables. Cut up if necessary. Blanch the vegetables (boil in a lot of salted water). Check if cooked with the tip of a knife and set aside to cool.

Make a vinaigrette with 200ml of olive oil, 100ml of vinegar, lemon juice, soya sauce, mustard and honey. Season to taste. Set aside.

Sea Bream Tomatoes Garlic Salt Sugar Thyme Olive oil Carrots Capers White Balsamic vinegar Cook sea bream at 55°C, and grill until the skin is crispy.

Blanche the tomatoes then remove the skin and the pips, and place on an oven tray covered with garlic, salt, sugar, thyme and olive oil spread all over. Place in the oven at 65°C until the mixture becomes dry.

Cut carrots in thin slices and cook them in a little water with sugar, salt and pepper.

For the French sauce, mix the tomato mixture and carrots with white balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and add salt and pepper. Use capers to decorate and add acidity.

In a salad bowl, mix the Brousse cheese with 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil, the cocoa powder, 2 pinches of red chili and freshly ground pepper. Add the salt flakes as needed.

Clean the fresh herbs. Add the equivalent of a tablespoonful of chopped chives, 1 teaspoonful of mint chopped finely and a few cuts of dill to the Brousse cheese preparation.

Place at the bottom of a plate a generous tablespoon of Brousse cheese and lay out the vegetables on top. Pour the vinaigrette over the lot and top with a few edible flowers.

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C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY 9

HOW TO ORDER

RECIPES

IN FRENCH JUST FOLLOW OUR EASY STEPS FROM THE ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

THIBAUD RENARD

JÉRÔME BIGOT

CRAB MEAT WITH ANGEL HAIR PASTA, AVOCADO COULIS AND FRESH HERB SALAD

BEEF TARTARE ACCOMPANIED WITH PARSNIPS AND CAROB

FOR 4 PEOPLE

1. Get prepared to have the most romantic accent in the world.

2. Have your best smile.

3. And give it a try with the following sentences.

TO GREET Bonjour !

Good morning / afternoon!

TO ASK FOR SOMETHING do not forget to say ‘S’il vous plaît !’ (Please) Je voudrais…

I would like…

… le menu … un verre d’eau … un café … un cappuccino … un jus d’orange … un verre de vin rouge/blanc … un croissant … un sandwich

… the menu … a glass of water … a coffee … a cappuccino (yes it is the same) … an orange juice …. a glass of red/white wine … a croissant … a sandwich

… un … deux … trois

… one … two … three (a little bit of mathematics help with ordering!)

TO ASK FOR THE PRICE Combien ça coûte ?

How much is it?

TO EXPRESS SATISFACTION C’est délicieux !

It is delicious!

YOUR P’S AND Q’S S’il vous plaît.

Please

Merci… Thank you…

Je vous remercie Je vous en prie. You are welcome.

FOR 4 PEOPLE

320g of crab meat 250g of angel hair pasta One bunch of chervil One bunch of chives One bunch of coriander One bunch of Italian parsley One bunch of tarragon One bunch of basil 2 ripe avocados One yellow lemon 120ml of liquid cream 1 chicken egg 100g of flour Olive oil Fine salt Cayenne pepper

240g of matured rump steak 2 large parsnips 40g butter 10g of cider vinegar 10g of carob 2 shallots 20g of powdered malt 1 slice of very toasted bread 1 teaspoonful of maple syrup 2 Danané peppers

Season the crab meat, place it in a salad bowl and mix it with a dessert spoon of olive oil, salt and Cayenne pepper. Place the mixture inside an 80 mm pastry cutter around 1 cm high, and keep in the freezer.

When the parsnip cuts are well boiled, strain them and place them in a mixer with 10g butter. Mix to obtain a very smooth mash. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Mix again and pour into a piping bag.

To make the avocado coulis, peel the avocado. In a mixer, place the avocado, the juice of half a lemon, the cream, salt and Cayenne pepper and mix. If it is too thick, add a bit more cream. Once the mixture is smooth, keep it in the fridge covered with cling-wrap.

To make the fresh herb salad, separate all the leaves from the stalks and wash them thoroughly in cold water. Cut the chives into 2 cm pieces. Rinse and spin the herb salad. In a salad bowl, press the remaining half lemon, add salt and Cayenne pepper, and give it volume with olive oil, then throw in the salad. Toss delicately.

Coat the crab mixture English-style: take out three bowls; in the first, place flour, in the second break an egg and mix with salt, and in the third, pour angel hair pasta. Take the crab mixture out of the freezer and, following the flour-egg-pasta order, dip it in in each bowl, then fry at 160 °C for 4 to 5 minutes, turning them over from time to time. Once ready, place the cakes on paper towel.

Cube the beef finely, wrap in cling-wrap and keep in a cool place.

Clean and peel the parsnips. Keep the peels. Cut the parsnips in large pieces and boil in a lot of salted water. Heat up a deep fryer at 190°C and fry the parsnip peels for a few minutes until golden and crispy. Soak up excess oil with paper towel and set aside.

Peel the shallots and slice them very fine. On a baking tray covered with baking paper, place the shallot slices and dry them out in the oven for about 4 hours at 90°C. The shallots must be like breakable sticks at the end of the drying session.

In a pot, make a brown butter and filter. Reheat the brown butter together with cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper and cook for 10 min. Add the carob, whisk and leave in the pot. Chop the slice of bread in the mixer to obtain a fine powder. Take the beef tartare sauce out of the fridge and season with best quality unrefined salt and grated Danané pepper.

For the dressing, pour a line of tartare on the plate. With the piping bag, draw four beads of parsnip puree around the tartare sauce.

Sprinkle the parsnip chips, dried shallots and toasted bread powder on the tartar sauce. Finally, pour a full tablespoon of brown butter vinaigrette on the plate, not on the meat.

Dress the crab on a plate with a spoonful of avocado coulis and the fresh herb salad.

TO SAY BYE BYE Au revoir

Goodbye

W W W. A L L I A N C E . O R G . Z A

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WORKSHOP

TASTE LESSON Sharing culinary skills was the order of the day when celebrity chef, Jean Claude Cléret from Réunion Island, visited the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Hospitality Department to teach Réunionese recipes to the students in May 2014.

Chef Jean Claude, a famous international chef who had come to Durban to star in the Week of Taste 2014, showed students that eating healthy food can be cheap and delicious.

The Week of Taste 2014 is an event which showcases a diversity of tastes, giving clear information on the products (how they were made, where they come from), transmitting know-how skills and passion, promoting a healthy and balanced diet as well as taste.

Chef Jean Claude held a three-hour workshop with the students at DUT. Using local Réunionese products such as heart of palm, combava (a type of lime) and various exotic spices, he demonstrated how to make three spicy dishes which included a dessert and main dishes of steak, chicken and prawn. The students participated actively in the preparation of the dishes and had a tasting at the end of the workshop.

Dr Erasmus Mguni, Hospitality Head of Department; Sarah Doignon, Director of the Durban French Alliance; and Stéphane Leszkiewicz, French lecturer; were also instrumental in hosting the chef’s visit to Durban. DUT faculty staff were delighted to be given a taste of the delectable dishes of sublime fillet of steak, chicken balontine with two curry sauces and the prawn curry served with a palm salad and Chinese cabbage after the workshop. The students were equally delighted to have been given the opportunity to share the platform with a celebrity and learn about international cuisine.

Chef Jean Claude was also impressed with the students’ quick abilities to grasp his techniques and understand the importance of the careful combinations of spices and ingredients to making such dishes.

Dr Mguni, having seen the enthusiasm and delight generated by the cooking workshop, is keen to host more regular food workshops with different international chefs, teach students more on French cooking, language and culture and encourage students to expand their culinary horizons in an intercultural way.

Waheeda Peters http://www.dut.ac.za/node/4004

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Stéphane Leszkiewicz, de l’Académie de la Réunion, teacher at the Jules Verne programme at Durban University of Technology (DUT), tells us more about the workshop with Chef Jean Claude Cléret.

‘It was the first time the DUT organised such a workshop, which brought lots of unexpected and unknown elements for both the hosting university and the chef.

Once the workshop was set up, and all the parties understood the process, the atmosphere became more relaxed and actually extremely good. Instead of being a demonstrative workshop it was a participative workshop. Generally Durbanites – even those in the DUT Hospitality and Tourism Department – don’t know much about Réunionese food, and the chef brought back spices and particular things from Réunion Island. Students were surprised and appreciative to learn from Chef Jean Claude Cléret and especially about the presentation of a dish (dressage de l’assiette).

The workshop was an excellent opportunity to share French culture.

In a nutshell the workshop was surprising, exciting and professional!’

Chef Thibaud Renard gave a Taste Lesson to the pupils of Kingsmead as part of the Week of Taste. Joelle Harding, Head of French, who took part in the lesson tells us about it.

COULD YOU USE THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE EXPERIENCE? Inspiring, fun and motivating.

HOW DID THE CLASSES ENJOY THE TASTE LESSON? The classes loved the lessons, and several students baked the delicious tarte bourdaloue at home the same evening. They were very proud because they could understand most of what chef Thibaud was saying in French and they realised that they were far more fluent than they previously thought.

WAS IT THE FIRST YOU HOSTED SUCH EVENT? Yes. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY THE MAIN LEARNINGS WERE? During the class workshops, our students learnt to gather data through their 5 senses and it was a really entertaining activity; however, experiencing the French language and culture in a real-life situation was surely the highlight for all of them.

HOW WAS THIS EXPERIENCE BETTER THAN NORMAL FRENCH CLASS It was a fantastic experience for the students to hear French in an informal situation and not in their regular interactions with their French teacher.

The learners found chef Thibaud très sympa and he has invited them to pay him a visit at his restaurant when they travel to Paris for the 2015 French tour.

HOW DID THE FRENCH ELEMENT WORK AS PART OF THE TASTE LESSON? We organised class workshops to expand the lexicon and some grammatical aspects (imperative form / partitive articles) and during the cooking lesson, chef Thibaud made a point of speaking slowly and explaining everything carefully and in fairly basic French.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD? We hope that there will be another Taste Lesson next year because we want to offer this unforgettable experience to all our French classes.

C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY 13

GASTRONOMIC DINNERS

GASTRONOMIC DINNERS JOHANNESBURG

GASTRONOMIC DINNERS CREATED IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN FRENCH AND LOCAL CHEFS

ARNO BOSHOFF (SA), PULENG MASHOALIBA (SA), THIBAUD RENARD (FRANCE) ARRIVAL G.H. Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge AMUSE BOUCHE Kudu tartar with corn Chantilly VEGETARIAN DISH Trio of vegetable mousse with Roquefort & poppy seed crackers STARTER Rillettes of local trout with winter citrus greens, ceviche of xeres (sherry) marinated line fish VEGETARIAN DISH Mushroom and bean pate with winter citrus greens and nut xeres vinaigrette accompanied by Lammershoek Chenin Blanc TROU NORMAND (PALETTE CLEANSER) Celery granita with citrus MAIN Tournedos of Karan beef fillet with grand veneur sauce served with ’boer pampoen’ terrine and pea purée VEGETARIAN DISH Pumpkin ravioli with pea purée and korma sauce accompanied by a glass of Wyness Syrah DESSERT Almond, praline cream, grilled and caramelized hazelnut ’dacquoise’ accompanied by a glass of G.H Mumm demi-sec champagne

DURBAN STARTERS BY CLIVE AARON (SOUTH AFRICA) • Lentil bobotie phyllo cigars and pineapple chutney • Tikka prawns and minted raitha • Mini bunny-chow with Durban lamb curry and tomato salsa MAIN COURSE BY JEAN-CLAUDE CLERET (RÉUNION ISLAND) • Beef fillet and just fried foie gras, sweet potato mousseline, red wine reduction • Half-cooked tuna and Chinese bread fricassée with Granny Rivière’s curcuma, massalé and caloupile jus • Crustacean and poultry ballottine, pumpkin drop with a combava sauce DESSERTS BY JEAN-PAUL VIDEAU (FRANCE/SA) • Granny apple pie • Meringue lemon tart • After eight bouchée

MASERU

PRETORIA

PORT ELIZABETH

SKA MOTEANE (LESOTHO), THIBAUD RENARD (FRANCE)

BOUCHÉES* BY JÉRÔME BIGOT (FRANCE) Mackerel, leek and crystalised lemon Crab, green apple and dill.

Lobster, cucumber and verbena.

Flower with sweet and sour sauce.

Thai beef Veal, brinjals and clove Blue cheese and coconut White chocolate, thymed lemon and passion fruits.

AMUSE BOUCHE BY JOHANN BARNARD (SOUTH AFRICA) Salmon Over Cucumber Tower – filled with chevre, capers, dill and shallots with onion crisps

STARTER Onion Soup with Emmental Cheese gratin and golden croutons VEGETARIAN DISH Egg cooked at low temperature with French mushrooms MAIN COURSE Rack of lamb in herb crust with mashed potatoes French style and Meroho ea Basotho vegetables VEGETARIAN DISH Home Made Tagliatelle with chives and Meroho ea Basotho vegetables DESSERT Crème brulée

• • • • • • • •

• • • • • • •

BOUCHÉES BY ANDRÉ AHIBA (SOUTH AFRICA) Biltong Dry wors and an assortment of dried fruits Grilled ostrich wors, makataanpreserve Sauteed kudu and ostrich fillets with nuts Cape Malay Gambas Karoo veal bobotie Koeksisters

* A small pastry with a sweet or savoury filling.

STARTER BY EMERIC LE PUIL (FRANCE) Peas, olives, Parma ham & tarragon mousse STARTER SOUTH AFRICA 3 way starter – bobotie spring rolls with citrus splash; ostrich carpaccio with toasted pumpkin seeds, wild rocket, micro greens, port wine reduction; bunny chow – mos bolletjie filled with Cape Malay chicken prawn curry MAIN COURSE FRANCE Red snapper, with long pepper guacamole, grapefruit, rooibos, fish fumet emulsion, coconut milk DESSERT SOUTH AFRICA Naartjie Malva Pudding with amarula cream sauce FRANCE Grand Marnier Sabayan with a crusty crêpe

14 C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY

C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY 15

GASTRONOMIC DINNERS

GASTRONOMIC DINNERS an idea of what’s happening around the world. I have realised that seasons and fresh and local produce influence me a lot. I don’t like complicated food, but love to experiment at the same time.

CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF THIBAUD RENARD? Exciting

ANDRÉ AHIBA

PULENG MASHOALIBA (JOHANNESBURG) WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? Over the years I have taught myself to keep up with the latest trends and do a lot of research. That way I can always have

16 C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY

JOHANN BARNARD

JEAN PAUL VIDEAU

( P R E TO R I A ) WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? The classic ‘top-of-the-range’ French cuisine, rich in base, thickening and sauce elaboration.

CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF JÉRÔME BIGOT? Perfect harmony, a very good ­collaboration.

Travel is also a huge inspiration. I like to see how chefs create dishes which are unique to their locales and that creativity is a source of inspiration to me.

CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF JEANCLAUDE CLÉRET? Exhilarating

(DURBAN)

ARNO BOSHOFF

WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? Mediterranean CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF JEAN CLAUDE CLÉRET? Professionalism

( B LO E M F O N T E I N )

(JOHANNESBURG) WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? I am very environmentally conscious and also trend conscious. Over the last few years this has become a major i­nfluence in how I look at food, where it comes from, how was it produced and how to cook or prepare food. I spend a lot of time researching to bridge using what is available and creating fabulous, healthy and vogue meals.

CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF THIBAUD RENARD? Exhilarating

LESLEY JACOBS

CLIVE AARON (DURBAN) WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? I am influenced by travel and ingredients.

My mantra is: sustainability. I use local ingredients as far as possible and we are fortunate to have an abundance of good suppliers of meat and vegetables here in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? I grew up in a home with good food and a love for ingredients. My parents are both fantastic cooks – not food enthusiasts, but fantastic cooks.

Formally, I have to credit the many chefs who assisted me along my way to becoming a professional. I enjoy Asian cuisine and have an absolute passion for Italian cuisine – the most tasteful, yet simple dishes. The structure of French cuisine and the history associated with their classical dishes will always remain fascinating to me.

CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF EMERIC LE PUIL ?

Dedication.

He was very meticulous in his preparation of his dishes and is clearly passionate about his cuisine.

SKA MOTEANE

(PORT ELIZABETH)

(MASERU)

WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? My cooking influences started at home from a young age. When my parents were at work and we had our long school holidays I started baking, then eventually moved to three course meals to surprise them. I experimented a lot during this time and knew what I wanted to study after school. My family had a big influence in shaping my path to culinary success. I had friends from different cultures and cooked alongside them many times, This was an eye opener to me.

I learned so much from the different cultures and when a chef matures in the industry he uses his experiences and makes them his own. I love producing dishes with a slight twist to excite clients, family and friends. Events like the Week of Taste bringing two country’s Chef’s together in producing a gastronomic dinner was a very special week for me.

I look forward to working together on events like this in the future.

CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF EMERIC LE PUIL? Gastronomic

WHAT ARE YOUR COOKING INFLUENCES? My cooking is greatly influenced by what goes on around me. I am very passionate about making the most of the fresh local produce and ingredients I can find. I feel rewarded if my cooking not only makes the people I cook for happy, but also benefits my community.

CAN YOU USE ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH CHEF THIBAUD RENARD? Interesting

C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY 17

OPINIONS cheese boards, with goat’s cheese topping the bill. Another trend broadening its reach is foraging. Expect to see far more South African chefs incorporating wild food and veldkos on their menus. In line with our democratic project, the desire to experiment, rediscover indigenous plants and recipes, and crossover cultures continues with our intrepid chefs.

BRENT MEERSMAN Brent Meersman is a writer based in Cape Town. His novels include Primary Coloured (2007), Reports Before Daybreak (2011) and Five Lives at Noon (2013). His first job was as a local press photographer in Grahamstown in 1989. Since 2003, he writes for the national weekly, the Mail & Guardian, for which he has reviewed over 100 restaurants in his column Once Bitten.

He is co-editor of GroundUp.org.za.

YOUR VISION OF THE NEW CULINARY TRENDS IN SOUTH AFRICA, Globally, there is an increasing awareness of and preference for what is local, environmentally sustainable and organic, and this focus can be seen in South Africa as well. Some Cape Town chefs are now experimenting with fish one would not usually see on menus; instead of Kingklip, I’ve started to find Dorado, Gurnard, Red Roman, Jakopever. Vegan and vegetarian options are also becoming more common on menus, and restaurants and coffee shops will continue to combine with retail - adding books, fashion, and trinkets to their wares. Gourmet food trucks have become more visible, and organic and farmers markets are crowding the weekly and seasonal calendar. Pop-up restaurants still delight. Local cheeses are becoming important additions to

18 C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY

AND THE WORLD, Since John Durant’s paleo diet revolution, processed foods, dairy, and the grains of our Neolithic revolution – wheat, corn and rice – are out, and vegetables, seafood, meat and bingeing on fat are in. Gluten remains under suspicion and alternatives to bread as well as ’resistant starches’ like lentils, dal, and maybe wild rice will be seen more often in restaurants.

Small bites such as dim sum and tapas are appealing to the 21st century diner’s eclectic habits and sense of omnivorous adventure. There are a number of fads that have yet to prove themselves as trends overseas, one of them being eating ’head to tail’ – consuming every part of a beast – which could result in a rise in fancy takes on offal. Insects continue to hover on the periphery making occasional appearances in fine dining establishments and even supermarkets. This is not terribly unusual in South Africa, where people have been eating locusts and thongolifha stink bugs for centuries. But if insects are not your thing, try jellyfish and seaweed.

The thinking here being that we should concentrate on consuming overlooked, abundantly available, sustainable foods, such as invasive species, rather than continuing to devour fast diminishing and scarce food resources.

YOUR PERCEPTION OF GASTRONOMY IN SA Until the late 1980s, restaurants were mostly confined to hotels like the Holiday Inn where they made beef stock for French onion soup by dissolving Bovril.

We haven’t anything that adds up to a

H O W TO M A K E M A K E YO U R O W N national cuisine (despite international success with rooibos tea, marula fruit, and Kalahari truffles) and foreign cooks led the restaurant scene for a long time. However, as South Africa started to embrace its new democracy, we began to look for ways to redefine ourselves. At first, local chefs began trying to invent a new cuisine for South Africa by incorporating local ­ingredients and world trends. Now our chefs freely embrace the abundance ­available to them, spurred on by the foraging movement and a hunger for discovery. Cape Town is without question now a world class restaurant destination.

as part of the France-South Africa Seasons 2012 & 2013. He discovered South African cuisine while visiting restaurants, institutions and markets, and meeting with chefs and gastronomes.

South African gastronomy is a new phenomenon in the country and is based on many influences, whether local, Dutch, French, English, Portuguese or German, Indian, Indonesian or Malaysian.

The young South African nation is still feeling its way gastronomically. For this, it relies primarily on exceptional fertile land which yields high quality products such as meat, vegetables, fruits and wines in particular. Although intensive farming and agriculture are the rule, experiments are part of a movement for sustainable development. An increasing number of chefs choose their suppliers carefully, and even supply their own produce from their own gardens, which are cultivated directly next to the restaurant. For all these reasons, South African gastronomy is, as suggested by Chef Luke Dale-Roberts (The Test Kitchen, Cape Town), the ‘one to watch’ in the next 10 to 20 years.

M

AROON C A S

A recipe by Chef Yohann Saumande from Mille Tartes at the Café de l’Alliance at the Alliance Française of Johannesburg.

Ingredients 100g Icing sugar

Gently stir in the icing sugar and almond mix.

100g ground almonds 2 egg whites

Fill a piping bag with the macaroon mixture.

Small pinch salt

Pipe small blobs onto a baking sheet.

55g caster sugar for the filling

Bake the macaroons in the preheated oven for 7–8 minutes, open the door to release any steam, close the oven door Preheat the oven to 140°C. and cook for a further 7–8 minutes. The Sieve the icing sugar and ground almonds macaroons are cooked when they feel into a bowl and mix together. firm and are slightly risen.

Preparation

STÉPHANE MÉJANÈS Stéphane Méjanès has been working in journalism for the last 30 years. After reporting on sports for about 25 years for French sports publications L’Equipe and Sport, he decided to promote chefs. Since then he has been writing articles on chefs and craftsmen for several leading publications such as Omnivore, L’Express, Trois Couleurs, Jamie and Jours de France. He has also collaborated with QOOQ, Arts & Gastronomie, Fou de Pâtisserie and Obsession.fr. Stéphane Méjanès spent a week in South Africa in June 2013 to organise gastronomic projects

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and salt until they form soft peaks. Add the caster sugar, a little at a time and ­continue to whisk until the whites are very thick and glossy.

Slide the mat or greaseproof paper onto a wire cooling rack and leave to cool completely.

Fill with a jam of your desire.

C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY 19

FRENCH FOOD TERMINOLOGY

MICHELIN GUIDE In 1910 André Michelin and his brother Édouard first published the Michelin guide for new motorists which included useful information for motorists, including maps, instructions for repairing and changing tires, and lists of car mechanics, hotels and petrol stations. Being tyre manufacturers these men decided that a motorist guide would boost the sales of cars and thus result in the increase of tyre sales.

After the First World War the brothers decided to revise the guide and started charging a price for it. In this new version, restaurants and hotels were included. After a few editions they soon realised that the restaurant section was extremely popular. As a result they employed anonymous inspectors who visited and re­ viewed restaurants. From 1926 the brothers started including stars in the restaurant guide as a way of assessment. In 1931 a ­hier­archy of stars was included.

A single star denotes a very good restaurant, two stars is described as excellent cooking and three stars is described as exceptional cuisine and defin­ itely worth visiting. ‘Michelin star’ is a hallmark for quality fine dining.

Nowadays Michelin guides for restaurants can be found in major cities such as Paris, Chica­ go, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo and London and others.

When celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s New York restaurant was stripped of its Michelin stars he burst into tears, such was his disappointment.

20 C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY

BEIGNETS Beignets are small dollops of dough that are fried; synonymous with the English fritter. It is speculated that they originate from the Islamic culinary tradition.

BLANCHIR Blanchir means to place fruit or vegetables in boiling water. It translates as, ‘to whiten’.

Food is blanched to soften it or to partly cook it. It is similar to parboiling. When almonds or pistachios are blanched, the skin of the nut softens and can then be easily removed.

BOUCHÉES Small puff pastry cases with a savoury filling, usually served as hors d’oeuvres.

Hors d’Oeuvre literally means ‘apart from the main work’ or the first course. Hors d’oeuvres are sometimes served with no meal afterwards, especially at receptions or cocktail parties.

CRÈME BRÛLÉE Also known as burnt cream or Trinity cream. A rich custard base topped with contrasting layers of hard caramel.

The earliest known reference is in François Massialot’s 1691 cookbook. The ­technique involves sprinkling sugar onto the custard base and then caramelizing the sugar under a salamander broiler or with a blow torch.

CANAPÉ Canapés are appetizers consisting of a small bread or biscuit covered with a flavoured topping such as a pâté.

These small foods are often decorative, held ­between fingers and eaten in one mouthful. The name originates from the French word for ‘couch’. It thus draws from the analogy that a garnish sits atop the bread as people do on a couch. Because they are served during cocktail hours they are either salty or spicy, encouraging guests to drink more. The French began offering canapés in the 18th century whilst the English adopted the practice at the end of the 19th century.

CONCASSÉ A French term for roughly chopped ingredients, specifically tomatoes.

Tomato concassé is a tomato that has been peeled, seeded and chopped to particular dimensions. It is often added to Bearnaise sauce to produced Choron sauce which is served with lobster.

CRÊPE A crêpe is a very thin pancake. The word is derived from the Latin, ‘crispa’ meaning curled. In France, crêpes are typically served at Candlemas (2 February), which is the Virgin Mary’s blessing day. The common savoury fillings include cheese, ham, eggs, ratatouille, mushrooms or artichoke. When a crêpe is made, fillings are added to the centre of it. Sweet crêpes may include Nutella chocolate spread, fruit preserves, syrup, whipped cream or custard.

DUXELLES Duxelles are finely chopped raw ­mushrooms. It is a preparatory ingredient in stuffings and sauces. Duxelles are said to have been created by 17th Century chef François Pierre La Varenne and is named after his employer, Nicolas Chalon Marquis d’Uxelles.

FRAPPÉ A Greek foam-covered iced coffee drink that was accidently invented in 1957 in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The word ‘frappé’ is French and comes from the French verb meaning to chill.

JUS Jus is French for ‘with its own juice’. In French cuisine jus is a natural way to enhance the flavour of dishes. Jus can also be prepared by taking juice extracted from meat while cooking and mixing it with another liquid such as red wine.

LIAISON Liaison is a mixture of egg yolks and heavy cream used to thicken a sauce.

An example of a sauce made with a liason is Allemande sauce served with veal, poached chicken, vegetables or eggs.

MARMITE A French word for a covered earthenware container used for soup. British Marmite - the famous spread - was originally supplied in earthenware pots but since the 1920’s it has been sold in round glass jars.

The image on the front of a British Marmite jar shows a large earthenware pot.

PÂT É A paste made of liver, pork or game. It is a mixture of cooked ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. The famous chef August Escoffier elevated the pâté to the fine dining scene. The most famous pâté is foie gras made from livers of fattened geese and is served cold. Foie gras was served by Escoffier at the end of the Great War in 1918 to various dignitaries at the Carlton Hotel.

PÂT I S S E R I E A type of French or Belgian bakery that specializes in producing pastries and sweets. The title is legally controlled and used by bakeries that employ a licensed pâtissier. A pâtissier is a pastry chef who has completed a lengthy apprenticeship and passed a written exam.

ROUX Roux is a substance created by cooking wheat flour and fat (typically butter).

The word is derived from the French ‘beurre roux’ meaning brown butter. It is used as a thickening agent in the three mother sauces of classic French cooking: Béchanel sauce, Velouté sauce and Espagnole sauce. It is used as a thickener for gravy, sauces, soups and stews and its first known use is 1813.

C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY 21

CHEF HIERARCHIES BRIGADE DE CUISINE

CHEF DE CUISINE Translated directly as ‘chief of kitchen’.

He is accountable for the entire running of the kitchen. This includes staff supervision, preparation of menus and new recipes, purchasing of raw food items, training apprentices, and ensuring that the entire kitchen is up to sanitary and hygienic standards.

SOUS-CHEF DE CUISINE The deputy kitchen chef. This chef takes orders directly from the chef de cuisine for the management of the kitchen.

The sous-chef de cuisine steps in as the representative when the chef de cuisine is not available.

S AU C I E R The saucemaker concocts sauces and warm hors d’oeuvres, completes meat dishes. In some smaller restaurant the saucier may be involved in fish dishes or sautéed items. The saucier is a highly respected position in the kitchen hierarchy.

C H E F D E PA R T I E Chef de partie translates directly as ‘chief of party’. This position is responsible for managing a particular section in the kitchen.

CUISINIER Cuisinier translates as a cook. This is quite an independent position, usually ­preparing specific dishes in a station.

CO M M I S A commis reports directly to the chef de partie and is in charge of the tools at the particular station.

APPRENTI Apprenti are usually students gaining theoretical and practical training in school and work experience in the kitchen. They do preparatory work and often cleaning work.

P LO N G E U R A plongeur is a dishwasher or kitchen porter. It is the plongeur’s responsibility to clean dishes and utensils, and in some

22 C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY

ORANJEZICHT

CITY FARM

kitchens may be involved in simple preparatory work.

M A R M I TO N The marmiton is responsible for the cleaning and washing of pots and pans in larger restaurants.

R ÔT I S S E U R A rôtisseur manages a team of cooks that roast, broil and deep fry various dishes.

GRILLARDIN The grill cook prepares grilled foods instead of the rôtisseur in larger kitchens.

FRITURIER The fry cook prepares fried foods instead of the rôtisseur in larger kitchens.

POISSONNIER Poissonnier prepares fish and seafood dishes.

ENTREMETIER Entremetier prepares soups and other dishes not including meat or fish.

P OTA G E R The soup cook reports to the entremetier and helps with soup preparation.

LEGUMIER The vegetable cook also reports to the entremetier and prepares only vegetable dishes.

GARDE MANGER The ‘food keeper’ is responsible for the preparation of cold hors d’oeuvres, pâtés, terrines and aspics. They must also prepare salads and organize large buffet tables.

TO U R N A N T The spare hand moves throughout the kitchen, assisting where required.

CO M M U N A R D The communard prepares meals for restaurant staff.

G A R ÇO N D E C U I S I N E Quite literally, ‘the kitchen boy’ performs preparatory and supplementary work where required.

The Oranjezicht City Farm (OZCF) is a community of adults and younger folk working together to engage in smallscale food production in Cape Town.

Located in the heart of Cape Town’s City Bowl, OZCF is a non-profit project celebrating local food, culture and community through urban farming.

The site was previously a bowling green constructed in the 1950s and unused for decades – lending the project its tag line, ‘From bowling green to bowl of greens.’

However, long before it was a bowling green, the site formed part of the original farm, ‘Oranje Zigt’, established in 1709, which became the largest farm in the Upper Table Valley in the 19th century, occupied by the Van Breda family for 7 generations.

Pieter van Breda was born in Sas-van-Gent in Zeeland, a part of Flanders, in 1696. He arrived in SA in 1719 on the ship ‘Spieringh’.

The farmstead and outbuildings were built between 1769 and 1777 by his son, Michiel van Breda. The family gradually enlarged their holdings until the estate covered the largest part of Table Valley, 213 morgen in the 19th century (182 hectares). Terraces were made for the cultivation of vines, but the main income came from the sale of vegetables and

fruit. 70 slaves were eventually employed on the farm during its peak period of production (1816-1834). Fed by a cluster of springs that provided ­perennial fresh water to Khoekhoen pastoralists as well as to sailors and the Company’s Gardens from the 17th century, this farm grew vegetables and fruit that fed the growing settlement and colony and supplied passing ships with essential produce.

There were 2 slave bells on the farm, the main one hanging suspended between two pillars. Sounded daily at set hours or in case of emergency, it could be heard from Signal Hill to Woodstock. On sale days the bell sounded and a flag was hoisted, the signal for ships’ officers, burghers, and their wives and children to visit the estate to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables.

Produce was brought to a tree in the cobbled yard where it was weighed on a scale hanging from an oak tree. The original hooks for this scale are still present and visible, embedded in the tree standing in what is now Homestead Park. The slave bell’s pillars are also still standing, restored in 2011, although the bell itself was removed for display in an exhibition and apparently never returned.

Swallowed by urban expansion, the

productive farmlands were converted to a housing syndicate in 1901 and the original homestead standing on the site was demolished in 1957 to construct a bowling green, which fell into disuse and neglect in recent decades. In late 2012 and early 2013 the bowling green was converted into the Oranjezicht City Farm, restoring a small portion of the once vast farm to its earliest use.

OZCF seeks to re-connect the ­Oranjezicht neighbourhood and the rest of Cape Town to this neglected piece of heritage through design, gardening activity and outreach, and to use it as a catalyst to build social cohesion across communities, to develop skills among the unemployed, to educate residents and their children and others about food, environmental and related issues, to beautify public space and to champion unused or under-utilised green spaces in the City Bowl.

The OZCF ethos is based on an understanding that, as individuals, we can bring about change every day through what we choose to buy and cook. But change also begins in our communities, and through ­action we can take together with our families, our neighbours, our local farmers,

C U LT U R E S E T : GASTRONOMY 23

GEORGIANA SAN AND OZCF

ORANJEZICHT CITY FARM our local shops, and even our politicians.

Together, we can assume more control over at least some of the food we eat, by understanding where it comes from, who has grown it, how it has been grown and how it has arrived on our plates. And we can even get actively involved in the process by growing our own, or helping a farmer, or setting up a food buying co-op, or influencing decisions made locally that will support a better local food system.

Currently, OZCF grows a large range of vegetables in a beautifully laid out geometric garden. Cobbled footpaths run between the beds, which are planted based on companion planting guidelines, and a waterway running to a pond is powered by a solar panel. Citrus trees are being planted on the bank closest to Table Mountain, to protect the site from the strong summer winds. Currently, the farm

is growing mainly foreign vegetables – the kind that we are used to cooking with and buying in our supermarkets – but is busy developing an indigenous planting plan of crops that can be used not only for food, but also put to traditional medicinal use. On a Saturday morning, produce from the garden is harvested and sold at a market in Homestead Park, alongside other traders touting a range of delicious slow-food, organic and ethical products.

While the setting of the farm may be idyllic, there are some very important tenets that underlie the project. A major focus is education, and the market, as it continues to grow in popularity, helps to promote the philosophy of the project. As well as the market, the farm hosts weekly guided harvests, in which visitors are able to walk the rows and harvest their own

fresh vegetables. There is also a programme of school outings, so that encourage the next generation to appreciate the wonder and power of nature, to understand where their food comes from, with nutrition lessons to boot. As the farm and market grow, they are building capacity and skills of youth and adults seeking work in urban food production. The farm also aims to improve under-utilised public green spaces in other areas of the city by creating demonstration gardens for hands-on community-wide food gardening education, thereby increasing access to fresh vegetables.

Sheryl Ozinsky, founder of the project, shares with us some of her experiences in setting up the farm and her views for the future: www.ozcf.co.za

GEORGIANA SAN AND OZCF YOU ARE ORIGINALLY FROM BENIN, AND ALSO TRAINED IN TRADITIONAL METHODS IN FRANCE. HOW AND WHERE DOES BENIN COME THROUGH IN YOUR COOKING? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE? Benin come trough in my cooking by small keys: marinade, specific spices, cooking methods. My cuisine is instinctive, there is no code, expect that of good taste.

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR STRONGEST TASTE INFLUENCES? My chilhood in Benin gave me the importance of taste. Not necessarily hot tastes, but the right one which brings something to my dishes.

WHAT HAS BEEN MOST IMPORTANT IN DEVELOPING YOUR APPRECIATION OF TASTE AND INGREDIENTS? Having a seasoning always right and good ingredients associations.

WHICH SEASON DO YOU MOST

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LOOK FORWARD TO IN COOKING? Spring, for the young vegetables, but also the end of winter for the multiplicity of products, those in the end and those wich are just coming. The colours of renewal.

There has recently been a lot of cultural regeneration in Marseilles, where you are currently based.

CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE ABOUT THIS, AND HOW IT HAS AFFECTED YOUR WORK, IF AT ALL? I have been more sought, so it brought more work, more meetings and opportunities. All this offer me to work on different projects with particular associations such as: cityscape and cuisine or festivity and cuisine.

WHAT IS THE ‘FOOD LANDSCAPE’ IN MARSEILLES – WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES AROUND FOOD CURRENTLY? There is an association of Chefs created 2 years ago, it is called: Gourméditerranée. It promotes marseillese and

provençale cooking. All the Chefs from the association garantee a seasonal and homemade cuisine with quality products. Moreover, some Chefs try to develop their work with local producers, this is a locavore mouvment with fishermen, vegetables producers, wineries…

They don’t hesitate to change the menu each day depending inward. There is also more and more oragnic markets and sales directly from producers to custommers.

IN SOUTH AFRICA, YOU SPENT SOME TIME AT THE ORANJEZICHT CITY FARM. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE THERE, WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THE PROJECT? ARE THERE SIMILAR PROJECTS THAT YOU HAVE COME ACROSS IN FRANCE? It was a fantastic experience ! I had already seen such projects in different countries and it really touched me ! It is impressive to see how much work it takes to get this farm working. Also,

the pedagogical approach toward the client is interesting, it is more than just a farm that gives vegetables. We learn how to harvest and I have never seen such projects in France. However, we do have a lot of markets like the one in Oranjezicht.

YOU ALSO MANAGED TO RETURN TO THE CITY FARM AND HARVEST SOME VEGETABLES TO USE IN YOUR WORKSHOPS. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS? WHAT WAS THE EXPERIENCE LIKE OF GUIDED HARVESTING? WHAT VEGETABLES DID YOU CHOOSE, AND HOW DID YOU USE THEM? It was very interresting to be guided this way. Interresting to see the agility of Yvonne Herbst, who runs the guided harvest programme., she knew which vegetables could or couldn’t be harvested. The vegetables I chose were:

beetroot, spinach leaves, baby carrots, radish, green peas leaves, borage flowers, herbs (mint, fennel, coriander …)

I went twice to harvest vegetables, the first time was for a workshop where I made green soup with different herbs (carrots leaves). With the rest of vegetables I sliced them into different shapes to create something fun with the textures. I also put biltong into the preparation.

The second time, I took vegetables to create a side dish for a famous fish soup called Bouillabaisse. Spinach leaves and veggies fried in a wok.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE ASPECT OF THE WORK YOU DID IN SOUTH AFRICA? I really enjoyed the farm and the market on Saturday just before my flight back to France. I had a great time in SA. I also appreciated my visit to Cape Point.

FOOD AND STANFORD CREATIVE WORKS Taking a meander along the coast from Cape Town and one will find the most delightful Cape community in Stanford. Nestled beside the Klein Rivier Mountains, there is an incredible range of gastronomy being crafted out of this quaint village: award-winning cheese, the famed wine of Stanford Hills, fresh fish caught daily down the road in Gansbaai and even an Italian chef crafting handmade gelato on the main drag!

Regina Broenner, an occupational therapist originally from Germany has been running a community-based initiative called Stanford Creative Works (SCW). The intention of SCW is to provide children and young adults with a safe and stimulating environment where they can nurture and grow their creative potential.

There is a developing capacity for art to be used as a transformative tool in society.

When Regina arrived in Stanford she was very concerned to see the negative ­influences faced by young children. The crippling effects of drugs and alcohol are all

too real in some South African communities. After these observations Regina was motivated to create a nurturing and harmonious environment for children to express themselves in a constructive manner.

It was quickly realised that for SCW to be a success, there needed to be a food element present. Regular meals are essential to the formative growth of children. As a result Regina and her team of loyal mothers started cooking soup that is served at each workshop. SCW went to the root of the

food cycle and started planting vegetable gardens to ensure that they would have a fresh and continual supply of vegetables necessary to the soup production. SCW has encouraged families to start growing their own produce and initiates projects that halts the cycle of dependence. Furthermore, plans are in place to grow vegetables on a substantial plot of land very close to the town centre and in the process create ­employment and opportunities for local entrepreneurs in an area where work is limited and seasonal.1 While there is an abundance of gastronomic fare in this fertile valley we look forward to a future in which it is shared equitably. SCW is just one example of a South African venture that in its few years of growth has had a dramatic effect on its community. Each week there are more children attending the creative workshops.

The element of food is a vital cog in this initiative, in a place where food is not always a daily commodity.

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SEED PROJECT

ROCKLANDS URBAN ABUNDANCE CENTRE SEED is a well-established project initiated by Leigh Brown and now going into its 12th year of operation. It is based at the Rocklands Primary School in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town. SEED is all about pioneering the growing of vegetables on a small scale in under-resourced areas. To date, SEED has helped implement 38 vegetable gardens and outdoor classrooms at schools in the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZuluNatal and Limpopo.

The central tenet of SEED’s operation is education. For this reason when a garden begins it starts with the construction of an outdoor classroom. This is the heart of the garden where learners participate in food adventures, investigating the importance of nutrition in their lives. It is also here in the outdoor classroom where decisions are made as to how the garden will be designed and grown. The second phase is to implement the growing of the vegetable garden. This requires someone to be there all the time or it needs to be organised in such a way that a committee member is on hand to direct operations. Once the garden is fully functional, it is time for the third phase to begin which is the entrepreneurship side. It is vital for the garden to become self-sustaining and economically viable so that it continues to educate and run even if certain committee members move on from the location.

The teachers and learners are not merely taught how to grow plants.

They become familiar with the entire cycle of planting and harvesting.

This includes the SEED nursery. Here seedlings are grown and germinated,

‘SEED IS ALL ABOUT PIONEERING THE GROWING OF V E G E TA B L E S O N A SMALL SCALE IN UNDER RESOURCED A R E A S .’

transplanted and eventually planted into the gardens. This enables SEED to be self-sufficient, not relying on other nurseries for seeds. A soil garden is also included on SEED’s premises.

This is where learners understand the importance of soil when growing plants. They learn about the structure, texture and colour of different soils and what soil to use in which scenario. Here they make compost, mixing the required ingredients to

make ’the ideal compost’. There is even an earthworm farm, teaching learners about the significance of earthworms in the plant growth cycle. Food waste from cooking is used in the earthworm farm.

Not only are the gardens used for teaching purposes. The food that is grown goes into a feeding scheme for learners who do not receive adequate meals on a daily basis. The vegetables therefore supplement the meals that are prepared at the school. Gardens are organised on a crop rotation cycle so that food is being grown all year round and not seasonally.

Beyond the school setup, SEED is playing a vital role in the Mitchell’s Plain community at large through their Food Freedom Project. Families linked to Rocklands Primary School are able to attend courses, where they are taught the necessary steps to grow vegetable gardens at their homes.

They are provided with a container box, compost and seeds to start the process. Micky van der Hoeven drives this project. He continually mentors the approximately 100 homes, supporting and advising the families involved. This vital project keeps the learners in touch with growing, so that they do not associate vegetable gardens purely with school. It becomes a truly lived experience.

There is no doubt that the Rocklands Urban Abundance Centre is making huge inroads into the huge topic of food security. It is a truly grassroots initiative planting seeds of knowledge in the future generations by making children aware of the importance of nutrition and locally grown, organic food. Education is at the heart of SEED. There is no doubt that this project will continue to grow and thrive.

BREADRev BREADrev is the brainchild of J­ eremy Barty, a social entrepreneur who has always been passionate about the art of baking. After years in a corporate environment, Jeremy decided to harness this love of baking by training and equipping under-resourced communities to run cost-efficient bakeries. Bread, after all, has been a staple diet of humans for centuries and will continue to be. Jeremy is doing this by partnering with funders to start up micro bakeries in impoverished areas around the Western Cape, using an oven designed for use in areas where resources are scarce. BREADrev’s vision is to help individuals and families create an income opportunity with minimal capital inputs and low overheads that can generate daily revenue.

The organisation utilises highly effective rocket ovens – named after the way that they look – designed by Jeremy.They are powered by wood fires rather than electricity, making them ideal for places that have ill-equipped infrastructures. These

ovens are so efficient, that they can bake 128 loaves of bread using a single bag of fire wood! Jeremy and the BREADrev team have carefully crafted training programmes that will ensure that the bakeries become

sustainable and self-sufficient. They do not simply bring a rocket oven and leave. They spend a full week training the prospective bakers, showing them the intricate details of not only baking but running a successful business.

BREADrev was started in July 2013 when Jeremy and his wife Kim successfully crowd-funded their first bakery project. After this initial success, the organisation quickly gathered awareness and in October 2013 BREADrev partnered up with UNISA and A Reaching Hand where they trained nine students and started up a micro bakery in Langa. To date, BREADrev has kick-started 5 bakeries in under-resourced communities.

At a time when sustainable practices are becoming a primary focus within communities, BREADrev is a perfect example. It aims to empower communities to tackle food security themselves. It equips people with the skills to run a small business, thereby growing young entrepreneurs. Most importantly it is being run with passion and enthusiasm, by a team who love what they do. www. breadrev.com

WHAT IS IN

YOUR LUNCHBOX? Social media competition as part of the Week of Taste.

Chris Saunders’ photo of his Mzansi lunch box was the most liked and shared photo on social media, which won him a one week gastronomic trip to Réunion Island.

www.seed.org.za

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Urban Basket

In accordance with the idea of promoting real food, The Urban Basket Fresh Produce Delivery in Maboneng is a company who realises the ideal of healthy, effortless, and locally produced food by delivering boxes full of vegetables and fruits every week to the residents of the Maboneng Precinct.

The City of Johannesburg is becoming an increasingly vibrant place to live and work, with a lot to offer and such little time. This paired with a number of push factors have made shopping trips near impossible within an urban lifestyle. A window of opportunity was recognised by Theko Moteane and Mantsane Makotoane who, by seeking ways to make healthy lifestyle options more accessible to residents of Maboneng and the innercity, started Urban Basket as a GRIND (Global Regeneration Initiative for Neighbourhood Development) project in the Maboneng Precinct.

The youth-driven company offers affordable boxes filled with fresh fruit, organic herbs and vegetables for

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Square Foot Gardening

different sized families. An assortment of produce is ordered from a number of suppliers located in the inner-city of Johannesburg, and is collected on the same day of delivery in order to guarantee freshness. Customers register online with Urban Basket, after which the produce is delivered to either your home or office on a weekly basis. There is furthermore the option of collecting your box on a Sunday afternoon at the Market at Arts on Main as you take in the vibrancy of the inner City.

The project at GRIND also entails tracking a customer’s consumption patterns and preparing and delivering the appropriate food basket on pre-determined days of the week. It aims to soon phase into the basket a fuller range produce made in the city, which will include breads (Babette’s Bread) based in Parktown, jams, eggs, dairy products, cold and cured meats.

Moteane and Makotoane’s objective is to set up a fully operational and sustainable fresh produce delivery system in the Maboneng Precinct before expanding to other areas.

The strongest factor that The Urban Basket leverages on is the positioning and role of the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market in the country. For over a century now, wholesalers and retail owners and street-side hawkers have been using the Johannesburg Market as their access to the country’s freshest produce from some of the continent’s most productive lands. This is the main reason that Urban Basket is able to deliver a particularly wide variety of fruit (for example star-fruit, prickly pear, gooseberries and many more).

The Urban Basket actively seeks to be an asset to some of the city’s priority projects and initiatives focused on food security, sustainability and bridging the inequality gap. Urban Basket contributes to Local Economic Development by prioritising ­Johannesburg producers. The company’s mission is to create ’A basket by the City for the City’ and, in doing so, supporting urban agriculture and local businesses alike, as well assisting in creating employment and reducing unemployment. www.grindcities.com/grind-projecturban-basket/

Square Foot Gardening is a method of growing vegetables that that was developed by American author and TV presenter, Mel Bartholomew, in the late 1970s, in response to inefficiencies in traditional vegetable gardening that made it a challenge to achieve in a domestic setting. By trading in long rows of vegetables – which require considerable space and effort in digging and weeding the space between the rows and – for deep raised beds, filled with a specific soil mix, the domestic urban gardener was born.

The basic template for a square foot garden is a large box, measuring approximately 1x1m and with a depth of 20–40 cm, which is then divided into 16 blocks each measuring about 1 foot. Into each block is planted with a different vegetable or herb, the thinking being to encourage crop rotation and companion planting, by including strong smelling herbs to repel insects or bright flowers to attract bees or get rid of nematodes.

Square foot gardening requires less soil and water than traditional methods, and produces a surprisingly large yield out of a small space.

TO MAKE YOUR OWN SQUARE FOOT GARDEN You will need 4 pieces of timber 1m long and 30cm wide Hammer and nails 1x1m piece of cardboard Plastic sheets – you can use refuse bags String Five to six bags of compost/potting soil Trellis to fit one side of the box Bonemeal and 3:1:5 organic fertiliser A selection of herbs, vegetables and flowers – see seasonal plating guide below

STEP ONE: Choose an area that is level and gets plenty of sun. Measure out a square, 1x1m. Nail together the four pieces of timber (1mx30cm) to make a square frame.

STEP TWO: Clean out the section of land that you intend to put your raised bed on – i.e., pull out any grass and weeds.

Put the timber frame onto cleaned out section and place the cardboard inside it, to protect from weeds and grass coming up again, or from chemicals on surfaces of balconies. Line the edges of the box with plastic to prevent water leaking out through the sides of the box.

STEP THREE: Fill the box with a 50:50 mix of compost and potting soil. Mix bonemeal and 3:1:5 fertiliser into the soil and level it. The surface of the soil should be just below the edge of the box.

STEP FOUR: Create a string grid on your box by hammering in nails at 25cm intervals on each side, and securing the string onto the nails across the box at right angles to create 16 blocks of equal size.

STEP FIVE: Before planting, set out your plants, putting companion plants alongside one another and incorporating some edible flowers for colour. For instance, thyme and nasturtiums are good companions for cabbage; sage is good for brinjals; and golden rod for beans.

PLANTING GUIDELINE

Extra large plants (broccoli, cabbage, sweet pepper) – 1 plant per block Large plants (lettuce, Swiss chard) – 4 plants per block Medium plants (beans, spinach, beetroot) – 9 plants per block.

Small plants (carrots radish, spring onion) – 16 plants per block.

SEASONAL PLANTING GUIDE

COOL SEASON VEGETABLES Carrots Radish Broccoli Cauliflower Cabbage Leeks Lettuce Onions Spinach WARM SEASON VEGETABLES Peppers Cucumbers Brinjals Tomatoes Squash Zucchini Origanum Basil Green beans

STEP SIX: Sow seeds and plant seedlings. For seeds, keep the soil moist while the seed is germinating.

Once the seedlings come up, thin out by snipping off the weaker plants at soil level.

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ALISON’S ORGANIC DELI

SIMON’S GARDEN

SIMON’S GARDEN ALISON’S ORGANIC DELI Alison Andriessen started her vegetable garden five years ago.

Her enthusiastic energy and infectious laugh translates into her green fingers and her talent and passion for growing organic vegetables. After being a professional chef for thirty years, Alison decided to go full circle with her cooking. Growing and cooking with organic veggies has always been part of her ethos: ‘Taste is everything, and taste says it all.’

She knows what to grow to create interesting dishes, and similarly she knows what to plant to get the most out of each season – and she balances the two by creating simple dishes with a lot of flavour. When it comes to her garden, Alison knew she didn’t want anything conventional and so she planted the veggie beds in sun shapes, or what she refers to as ‘mandala shapes’.

People appreciate the integrity of the concept: the organic veggie

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garden on-site, which feeds the deli and the restaurant, which guides the planting. The deli has become a destination for foodies because its unique menu is created daily, depending on what is in the garden. ‘I make sure I keep the recipes simple.

The food should speak for itself,’ says Alison of her style.

What does Alison have planned for the future? She has recently worked with Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA) who teach subsistence farming to impoverished communities. She believes that everyone can make a difference, no matter how big or small.

ALISON’S TIPS:  Companion planting is essential for an organic garden. Plant flowers and other plants alongside your veggies, which act as natural insecticides. M ­ arigolds are a great natural companion flower to veggie gardens in summer and calendula is good for winter.

 Nasturtiums are full of iron.

They are delicious in salads and their bright colours add that something extra to a dish.

 Comfrey fixes nitrates in the soil. It feeds the plants and is a natural ­component to breaking down compost.

 Circular bamboo is a huge carbon sink. It can be kept small and grown in apartments.

You can read more about Alison’s fabulous projects on her website, or visit her in person to taste her delicious creations: www.alisonsorganicdeli.com The Golf Place, 33 Troupant Ave, Fourways, Johannesburg

Simon’s Garden is a small business grown from a healthy mix of passion, social ­innovation and a touch of nostalgia. It was established in 2013 by Simon Ingles – a life coach passionate about organic greens. He remembers ‘ as a child, getting vegetables delivered to my house and so I thought, why can’t I do this today?’

Simon realised the increasing demand for organic vegetables as a food source. He wanted to empower local communities by giving back to them and thus through ­simple marketing Simon decided to distribute weekly organic vegetables sourced from local farms on the outskirts of Johannesburg to family and friends.

It seemed like a natural process, as he was already sourcing his own organic vegetables – in this sense it was an extension of his ideal. The business quickly grew by word of mouth and now ­Simon’s Garden distributes organic vegetables to over 120 clients in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg.

Simon’s user-friendly website displays an option of five sizes of vegetable boxes and a choice of weekly or fortnightly deliveries. The vegetables are seasonal and fresh and he focuses on the quality of the produce as being key to his business.

Clients receive a weekly newsletter on what vegetables are in season, and recipes are posted on the Simon’s Garden Facebook Page.

Simon has combined life-coach skills with his passion for sustainability, making this a uniquely organic experience. www.simonsgarden.co.za www.facebook.com/simonsorganicgarden

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CREDITS

Pages 3–4

Interview with Kim Roberts Images – the forum company

Pages 5–7

Jérôme Bigot portrait – Benjamin Schmuck Marie–Hélène Tardif portrait – Benjamin Schmuck Georgiana San portrait – Caroline Giella

Pages 8–12

Recipes: Shutterstock

Page 14

Texts – Waheeda Paters Images – DUT

Page 15

Texts – Stéphane Leszkiewicz, Joelle Harding Images – Carolina Bedoya / We are two

Pages 16–17

Images – the forum company

Pages 18–19

André Ahiba: French Embassy in South Africa Puleng Mashoaliba: the forum company Arno Boshoff: the forum company Lesley Jacobs: FBI Clive Aaron: Sally Chance

Pages 22–23

French food terminology: Shutterstock

Page 25

Text – Jacqueline Nurse Image – Benjamine Thomas

Page 27

OZCF image top – Coco van Oppens OZCF image bottom – Benjamine Thomas Stanford image – Tim Gabb

Page 28

Text – Daniel Hewson Images – Nic Bothma

Page 29

Text – Daniel Hewson Images – Kim Barty

Page 30

Text – Elzette de Beer

Page 31

Images – Claudia Bentel

Page 32

Text and Images – Claudia Bentel

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Published in 2014 by David Krut Publishing, in collaboration with the French Institute of South Africa.

Copyright © 2014 the authors, David Krut Publishing, the French Institute of South Africa.

Design and layout – Triple M Design Project Managers – Jacqueline Nurse, Eléonore Godfroy-Briggs ISBN 978-0-9946540-0-7 Printed by Ultra Litho Printers Distributed in South Africa by: David Krut Publishing cc 140 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, 2193 151 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, 2193 Arts on Main, 264 Fox Street, 2094 Johannesburg, South Africa T +27 (0) 11 880 5646 F +27 (0) 11 880 6368 E info-jhb@davidkrut.com Montebello Design Centre, 31 Newlands Avenue, Newlands, 7700 Cape Town, South Africa T +27 (0) 21 685 0676 E jacqueline@davidkrut.com Distributed in North America by: David Krut Projects 526 West 26th Street, #816, New York, NY, 10001, USA T +1 212 255 3094 F +1 212 400 2600 E info@davidkrut.com www.davidkrut.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, or in any information or retrieval systems, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable efforts have been made to identify copyright owners within this book.