Ah! guest house | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

I love House and Leisure magazine, and it is one of only two magazines that I subscribe to. But as a decor magazine that is top-notch, its attempt to diversify into Food by publishing an annual The Food Issue damages its reputation, it obviously serving as an opportunistic advertising and promotional publication! The cover design is very striking, however, one of the few positives to praise.

Containing 67 recipes, and divided into four sections (Easy Living, Summer, Winter warmth, and Luxury) which are not a logical classification, the second annual issue of this publication contains a less than half page Editor’s Letter by controversial House and Leisure editor Naomi Larkin. This is where the editorial writing begins and ends. She writes: “We’ve drawn on old favourites as well as created new recipes specifically for this collection”. This is one of the problems, in that any avid reader and therefore collector of the House and Leisure magazines will already have the bulk of the recipes, so there is little new in the dedicated The Food Issue. We were critical of the 2011 issue too, which paired wines with the recipes, but this has been dropped in the latest issue.

Larkin boasts contributors to the publications as being top South African chefs such as Peter Tempelhoff (The Greenhouse, Eat Out 2012 Top Restaurant), Delaire Graff chef Christiaan Campbell, Eric Bulpitt (The Roundhouse), Malika van Reenen (Signal restaurant at the Cape Grace hotel), Werner Snoek (Toadbury Hall in Johannesburg), and Kevin Gouws ( ex-Shamwari Townhouse). However, most of these chefs only have one recipe featured. None of the restaurant affiliations are mentioned in the editorial. If recipes of top chefs (not all chefs meet this description) were included, one wonders why there were not more Eat Out Top 10 restaurants included, such as Luke Dale-Roberts’ The Test Kitchen. I called one of the chefs, whose recipe is included, and he did not even know about the inclusion nor the publication, and remembers that his recipe was in a House and Leisure magazine some months ago!

Even worse is for other chefs, whose recipes were included, but who did not receive an honourable mention in the Editor’s Letter: Arnold Hoon (owner of Ah! guest house in Paternoster), Tina Bester (of Queen of Tarts), Susan Greig (offers cooking classes in Johannesburg), Craig Cormack and Bertus Basson (from Sofia’s and Overture, respectively), Laurent Deslandes (Bizerca Bistro), Heidi van Loggerenberg (only reference to her via Google is to Raw Pot Luck in Johannesburg), Darren Stewart (Saffron Restaurant at Abalone Guest House in Paternoster), Kirsten Zschokke (much better known as Miss K in Green Point!), Chantal Coady (Rococo Chocolate), Chris Erasmus (Pierneef à La Motte), Jonathan Cane and Kathryn White (Mess Kitchen), and Neil Jewell (Bread & Wine). The overwhelming majority of the recipes are written by House and Leisure Food Editor Raphaella Frame, and many are by Phillippa Cheifitz, their former Food editor. Photography is generally of a good standard, but interesting is that photographs in past House and Leisure issues have been used (e.g. the safari-look shoot at Kirstenbosch for the ‘Medley of Small Birds: roast quail, pigeon and poussin’ recipe was in the December 2011 issue.

Advertisers include VW Tiguan, Siemens, Luxaflex, Easylife Kitchens, Chateau d’Ax, Clicks, Fleur du Cap, Le Creuset, Rio Largo, Eclipse, Miele, Wiltshire, Kelvinator, Spier, Luigi Bormioli, Mount Grace, Lindt, Golden Cloud, Nedbank, The Beach House/theHomechannel, Frederique Constant, and Investec. Not all the advertisements are relevant to the food content of the publication.

House and Leisure The Food Issue, 2012, R39,95.

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

Arnold Hoon and his actress wife Annelise Bosch opened their 4-star Ah! guest house in Paternoster almost four years ago, and accommodate guests in three bedrooms. They prepare gourmet dinners for their guests, as well as for any other visitors in Paternoster, for up to eight guests in total. It was the best all-round restaurant experience I recently had in Paternoster, and this was the second visit for a meal, after having been impressed by Arnold’s creativity on a visit in January.

The wooden table looked beautiful, with a selection of 16 different candles in holders lining the centre of the table. The serviette was laid in the center of the place setting, unusually knotted. The fun part of Arnold’s table is the luck of the draw, in who one gets to meet at the table, and sits next to. On our January visit we shared the table with very entertaining Cape Town advocates and their friends, while on the latest visit I met a lovely couple from Hermanus and their friends from Worcester, and Trevor Richardson and his wife from Durban. The other luck of the draw is the menu, as one has no choice on the items on the menu, which costs R 225 for the 4-course dinner. However, Arnold is a most accommodating host, and does his homework when one books, to check on any food allergies or dislikes, and will make something especially.

Arnold ran a catering company in Johannesburg before falling in love with Paternoster. He has an amazing ability to remember his dinner and guest house guests when they return unannounced, a reflection of the personal care that he takes. Nothing seems to be too much trouble for him and Annelise, and the care they put into their dinners they also put into their beautifully presented three-course breakfasts.

One can order a bottle of wine with the meal, and pairing each course with a different wine is not the main focus of the evening. Arnold supplies West Coast wines in the main.

Arnold’s dedicated yet seemingly relaxed preparation of the meal takes place while one chats around the table. I arrived a little late, and the other guests were already seated and eating their mussel and Guinness soup, one of Arnold’s specialities, and often requested by past dinner guests. Mussels were on my food-dislike list, and therefore Arnold prepared a special dish just for me, a courgette soup served with a beautiful stack of smoked star-shaped angelfish samoosas. The highlight of the meal was a Three Cheese Salad, with beetroot, fresh pear, gorgonzola, labna, parmesam shavings, and brittle, served with a soy and sesame seed wholegrain mustard dressing. Everyone at the table loved the crunchy brittle, and the gorgonzola in particular. Our main course was a red wine and mushroom risotto served with tubes of calamari stuffed with oxtail – an usual combination of elements but very tasty. For dessert we were served a vanilla semifreddo with a slice of dried fruit and nut baklava, on top of which was a slice of port-soaked fresh fig, drizzled with mint syrup. An heavenly end to an ah! evening.

Ah! Restaurant, Ah! Guest House, 1 Mosselbank Street, Paternoster. Tel 082 464 5898. www.ahguesthouse.com (The website is disappointing in not providing a sample menu or winelist, with very few food photographs in the Image Gallery. However, Ah! Restaurant is one that one would get to hear about by word-of-mouth in the main).

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com