Last night’s episode 7 of ‘Hayden Quinn: South Africa‘ was focused on Oudtshoorn, and will attract tourists to the town, now not only known for its Cango Caves and ostriches, but also for the cutest Meerkats!

The episode opened with Hayden sitting in the veld in the Klein Karoo, awaiting the sighting of Meerkat in the Meerkat conservation farm, his guide being Devey of Meerkat Adventures, who looked very Australian with his big leather hat!   The Meerkat are observed on De Zeekoe Guest Farm outside Oudtshoorn, creeping out of their burrows to catch the first rays of sun, to warm up their tummies, to get themselves going to forage for food for the rest of the day, including insects, bugs, and worms.

Hayden went to visit Chef Allister Scharneck of Buffelsdrift Game Lodge outside Oudtshoorn, who taught Hayden how to make an Ostrich Egg Frittata.  The first step was to open the thick ostrich egg shell, which contains the equivalent of 24 hens’ eggs.  Chef Allister took a hacksaw, sawing one third off the top of the egg, of which the shell is strong enough for a person to stand on without breaking it.

He added milk, and then the liquid was poured into two pans with olive oil and butter.  A mix of peppers, garlic, bacon, and onions was put in the oven for five minutes.  The two separate egg portions formed the basis and the topping for the pepper and bacon mix, which was topped with pan-seared pieces of ostrich, and a fig preserve.

The Klein Karoo International ostrich farm is the largest in the world, and supplies Woolworths with meat from its free-roaming ostriches.   Its vetinarian Dr Adriaan Olivier showed Hayden around the hatchery,  the eggs being removed once laid and brought into the hatchery.  The baby chicks break through the shell with their beaks within 12 – 18 hours.  The female ostriches lay eggs every second day.  The birds are managed according to biodiversity principles, and the whole bird is used, its meat and feathers.

A visit to the Cango Caves was led by its head guide and speleologist Steve Mouton, who showed Hayden Van Zyl’s Cave, which is about 700000 years old, with stalactites and stalagmites. They moved through the 85 meter long Lumbago Alley, crouching through the wet and slippery alley, making Hayden feel claustrophobic, not being able to breath well, and feeling like a Meerkat in its burrow, he said!  Interesting was that the Cango Caves were inaugurated in 1921 as the first tourist attraction in our country.

Hayden walked through Oudtshoorn, and traced the history of the town to the early 1900’s, when business was booming through the ostrich feather industry, the wealth in the town leading to the building of ‘feather palaces’.   It was odd to hear that it was the invention of the motor car that was the death knell of Oudtshoorn, as the open car meant that hats with ostrich feathers would blow off the lady wearers’ heads!

Hayden stayed at the Swartberg Country Manor, with a homestead dating back to 1865, and the backdrop of the Swartberg mountains.  It was here that Hayden prepared ostrich fillet sandwiches for himself and Dr Adriaan.   He prepared a dry rub of cumin, coriander seed, salt, pepper, paprika, rubbed both sides of the fillet, and then drizzled olive oil over it, before putting it on a grill.  He let the meat rest, and toasted bread on the grill, sliced the fillet steak, and added this to the toasted bread.  Hayden ate his with a strong chimichurri sauce, while Dr Adriaan had his sandwich with a tzaktziki sauce, which they ate with grilled potato wedges.

There seemed to be more programme content and less advertising in the episode last night, a welcome change, and little promotional pushing of Woolworths!

The question remains: who is Hayden Quinn, and why was he selected by the production company on behalf of Woolworths to show us the beauty of our country, and its bounty of sustainable foods and wines?  Hayden Quinn is an Australian surfer and former professional lifeguard, ‘WWF-SASSI ambassador’, a ‘cooker’ and by his own admission not a chef, and a 2011 MasterChef Australia top 3 Finalist.   Episode 1 of ‘Hayden Quinn: South Africa’ focused on Cape Town, and made Capetonians proud of their city!   Episode 2 was very disappointing and boring, focusing on Stellenbosch!  Episode 3 was beautifully filmed in Paternoster, and was back on track.  Episode 4 was filmed in Franschhoek, which creatively included Fairview into the village!  Episode 5 was filmed in Elgin, Hermanus, and Stanford.  Episode 6 was filmed in Knysna.

Hayden Quinn: South Africa, SABC3, Mondays 21h30 – 22h00.  www.haydenquinnsouthafrica.com  www.haydenquinn.com.au  Twitter: @Hayden_Quinn @HaydenQuinnSA

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com  Twitter: @WhaleCottage   Facebook:  click here