Truffle harvesting season in South Africa has wrapped and Hanene van Dyk is content. It’s been a good year at Altima, the vineyard farm belonging to Anthonij Rupert Wyne that has been producing Black Périgords since 2015, five years after the first inoculated oaks were planted on the slopes …
Dining
Cape Town & South AfricaDesignDiningInternationalInterviewsLifestyleMediaStaycationsWish you were here
A week on the high seas with Oceania Nautica ~ by Allison Foat
by capetowndiva
As a travel writer with nowhere to go, one of the things that has kept me inspired during this protracted Lockdown has been scrolling back through my camera roll and re-living trips I’ve been fortunate to experience. One of my most memorable this year, done just before Corona interrupted life …
26 March 2020- the beginning of weirdness and the day that turned the world upside down. Enter Covid-19, exit work- practically overnight. I’m a travel writer and a theatre PR and as you can imagine, it’s a hot mess and I’m vacillating between panic and this fake vacation vibe. All …
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy’. ” Sylvia Plath’s words, and a perfect descriptor for my staycation at La Petite Ferme in Franschhoek. The blue chip property rests in a prime position on …
Lunch & an interview with Kevin Grobler, head chef at Delaire Graff Restaurant by Allison Foat
by capetowndiva
Kevin Grobler is back at Delaire Graff Restaurant in Stellenbosch. After three years as Head Chef at the celebrated Michelin-starred JAN in Nice, Kevin, 32, is leading an impressive 44-strong team in the very same kitchen where he earned his stripes ten years ago under Executive Chefs Michael Deg and …
Cape Town & South AfricaDiningEco InspirationHikingLifestyleMediaResponsible TourismStaycationsWish you were here
Hiking with wine By Allison Foat
by capetowndiva
The edited version of this article appeared in the Sunday Times SA on 8 December 2019 NATURE, FOOD & WINE Author and pro mountaineer Tim Lundy is a fresh air fanatic with a passion for a good ramble. With thirty years of guiding under his belt he has become something …
This article first appeared in the Sunday Times SA In 2013, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen opened JAN in the vieux Port of Nice on the Côte d’Azur. Three years later he became the first South African chef to be awarded a prized Michelin Star- bestowed annually since then- and …
Cape Town is a coveted dining destination for gourmands, nothing new in that. But aside from the brigade of award-winning chefs gracing the Mother City’s top end eateries, there are a number of uber cooks flying under the recognition radar who between them have chalked up blue chip resumés with …
I am so attached to Montagu… And this is (one of the reasons) why.. The backstory to my affinity with this pretty town on Route 62 revolves around the Arts, innovation and excellence (more about that on my next posts). Between 2012 and 2015, I made an annual pilgrimage to …
I’ve always relished porridge. My late Gran used to to make it for my brother and me – maltabella, smooth and creamy and devoured with layers of condensed milk. I know I know, so decadent and oh so divine! It was heaven in a bowl and to this day it’s …