Tag Archives: Cavendish Square

Eat Out Top Chef Luke Dale-Roberts cooks for Christmas!

Eat Out 2012 Top Chef Luke Dale-Roberts of The Test Kitchen has developed a full Christmas lunch range for Woolworths, allowing South African families to taste the quality of his food preparation at the most special time of the year.

The Luke Dale-Roberts Woolworths Christmas range consists of a starter of Smoked Salmon, which Chef Luke cured and smoked with rooibos tea, then painted it with pomegranate molasses, and topped it with fresh dill, and grated orange and lemon rind.  An alternative starter is The Sausage, which Chef Luke has made as a Christmas Toulouse, adding duck, ginger and cranberries, which should be put on a braai.  Main courses are The Lamb Supreme, which he filled with Italian-style stuffing, and added cranberries, fresh herbs, and pine nuts (R164,99 per kg), as well as The Gammon- style belly, to which he added whole spice, orange peel, and fresh ginger root, smoking it, and then cooking it at 85°C for five hours.  For the Christmas meal Chef Luke developed a range of relishes: cranberry, sesame and miso dressing (R24,95); summer fruit and kumquat cumberland relish (R24,95); mince pie chutney (R24,95); and truffle, walnut and fig pesto (R29,95).  For dessert Chef Luke designed a red Christmas pudding made from summer berries (R169,95), which he paired with his special Christmas mess ice cream (R59,95 per litre).

In the Woolworths advertisement for his Christmas range, Chef Luke writes: “The moment I was briefed, I knew I had to create a new-age, innovative approach to Christmas lunch that would make it easy and very special for you. My main aim was to keep the traditional spiciness…the nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and whole spice, the pomegranates, orange peel and Christmas pie filling. Keep them, but lighten them, make them South African, and above all, make them FUN!”

The Luke Dale-Roberts Christmas range is available until 25 December, at Woolworths at Cavendish Square, Canal Walk, Constantia Village, Gardens Centre, Hout Bay, Piazza St John in Sea Point, Plettenberg Bay, Somerset Mall, Tyger Valley, the V&A Waterfront, as well as at some Woolworths stores in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, and Durban. It is not easy to see the Luke Dale-Roberts Christmas product range in the Woolworths stores, as they are not displayed in one space.

Chef Luke and his family are featured in the December issue of TASTE magazine, to publicise his Christmas range.

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

‘Black Butterflies’ movie honours poet Ingrid Jonker, good for Cape Town tourism!

The just-released (in South African cinemas) internationally-produced movie ‘Black Butterflies’, about the life and death of South Africa’s Sestiger poet Ingrid Jonker, is a contrast between the most beautiful Cape Town scenery, and the dark days of our political past and the unhappy life of this talented writer.   The movie location is identified as Cape Town, and should attract international movie-goers to our beautiful city.

Dutch actress Carice van Houten and actor Rutger Hauer, who both don’t get the South African English pronunciation perfectly correct, play Jonker and her father, respectively.  The movie tells the unhappy story of how Jonker’s mother died when she and her sister were young children, were sent to stay with their grandmother, and sent back to their ‘Pa’ when she passed away.  He was a severe and critical father, and Member of Parliament, heading up the Publications Control Board, and ironically even her book of poems had to be vetted by him and his Board. They were never close, and it was his rejection of her that probably led to the sad end to her life.  Desperate to find love, she had relationships with great writers such as Jack Cope, Uys Krige, Jan Rabie, and André Brink.  The movie weaves the political history of the country in the ‘Sixties into the story, and ends with the reading of her poem “Die Kind wat Doodgeskiet is deur Soldate in Nyanga” in English by the then newly inaugurated President Nelson Mandela at the opening of Parliament in 1994.  He called her ‘one of the finest poets of our country’.  Ex-President Thabo Mbeki awarded the Silver Order of Ikhamanga to Jonker posthumously, for her contribution to literature and human rights.

The movie was shot in March and April last year, and contains the most beautiful beach and sea shots at Llandudno, and Cape Town generally is the location for the movie, with the exception of a few scenes shot in Amsterdam. Other Cape Town locations are the playgrounds and the Promenade in Sea Point, Clifton’s Second Beach (where Cope and Krige shared a bungalow), Bo-Kaap, Table Mountain, Chapman’s Peak, Strandfontein, and Noordhoek Beach. The movie ends with Jonker walking into the sea at Three Anchor Bay in July 1965, becoming our country’s Sylvia Plath.

The movie is a co-production between the German Comet Film GmbH and South African Spier Productions (Pty) Limited, with post-production done by Bavaria Films in Germany. The name of the movie comes from the line in one of Jonker’s poems: “For the sun that I now cover forever with black butterflies”. While Jonker wrote her precious poetry in Afrikaans, the movie has the English translations, for practical purposes. Paula van der Oest is an Oscar-nominated director from Holland, reports the Cape Argus.  She loved the work of Jonker, and wanted to expose it to a larger audience.  South African actor Graham Clarke, playing Krige, does not do a believable Afrikaans-speaking-English accent. Irish actor Liam Cunningham is a most sympathetic Cope, whose relationship with Jonker dominates the movie.  Oddly, André Brink is not mentioned by name in the movie, even though the movie notes outside the cinema refer to his name. Brink is called ‘Eugene Maritz’ in the movie, played by local Nicholas Pauling.   Brink’s book A Fork in the Road contains an overview of Jonker’s life, and her effect on his life.

‘Black Butterflies’, Cinema Nouveau, Cavendish Square.  See the movie trailer here.

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

Hilton Weiner Sweet and ABSA Sour Service Awards

The Sweet Service Award  goes to Hilton Weiner, and is nominated by Jane Wright: “My son was desperately looking for a suit for his matric dance which was held last Saturday. He is very tall, but very skinny so it seemed an impossible task to find a suit that fitted him in the length but didn’t drown him at the same time. We finally went to Hilton Weiner on the Lower Ground floor of Cavendish Square. Kudos go to Leigh, their sales lady, who dealt with us in such a professional manner, making sure that he found the right suit in their store and when the jacket wasn’t available, she sourced it in Johannesburg and had it transferred to the Cavendish Square shop in time. We even went back and bought his shirt there because we knew she would get the right fit and we would get the right advice. She is confident without being brash, dynamic without being forward, helpful without being fawning. She is truly an asset to her company”.

The Sour Service Award  goes to ABSA Bank’s credit card department, and its employee Etienne. Earlier this week I popped in at Detail Interior Design on Dorp Street in Stellenbosch.  My credit card would not allow the transaction, and so the manageress allowed me to transfer funds into my card on her computer, something I have done before, and has never been a problem.  However, the machine asked the manageress to call for authorisation.  I had to provide my ID number, full (German) names, cell number and postal address.  Halfway through I asked Etienne whether he did not have enough information already to verify who I am, and he said that he was doing this to protect my money, something I did not ask for, and that he would decline the transaction if I did not co-operate!  The manageress then was given an authorisation code to finalise the transaction, but was asked many more questions and procedures than appeared necessary, to such an extent that I told her to stop the transaction and that I would pay in cash, given that the ABSA communication had taken half an hour already.  She was asked by Etienne to cancel the authorisation by fax, and she asked if she could e-mail it to him, which he refused.   To add insult to injury, the payment is reflecting on the credit card statement, even though no slip came out of the credit card machine during the transaction!

POSTSCRIPT 4/4: I was most impressed to receive the following e-mail of apology today from ABSA’s card division:  “With reference to your complaint received on 1 April 2011 from Absa Business Bank Cape Town, regarding the service you received from our Authorisations Department on the credit card account. We wish to sincerely apologise for the fact that you did not receive the service you are entitled to.  Absa’s attempt at delivering exceptional service has indeed been damaged, as we know that the success of an organisation depends largely on its relationship with its customers.  Be assured that the matter has been addressed with Ettiene and we are in coaching conversations with him and his manager, to ensure that similar incidents do not occur in future.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for bringing the abovementioned to our attention and trust that future dealings with us will be of a more professional nature. Kind regards 
Ilse Venter
Relationship Manager
Complaints Management Centre
Absa Card” 

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

Restaurant Review: Oishii delicious Caffe is delicious!

Oishii delicious Caffe is a new restaurant in Tamboerskloof, which quietly opened three weeks ago.   It has a gentle presence and welcome when one steps inside the shop/deli/caffe.  Manager Fatima impressed with her friendliness, and the food served is delicious.  “Oishii” expresses the emotion of deliciousness in Japanese, she explained to us. It offers excellent value for money, especially compared to the expensive Melissa’s a few doors away.

When one steps inside, one notices the wooden shelving with a collection of unrelated items, some crafted in Cape Town, and some picked up by owner Marko Helfer from a recent trip as far away as China.   The deli counter is hidden from the entrance, and displays five salads that are freshly made, which one can eat there or take away.   Breads and pastries from Marcellino’s Bakery are available for sale or to enjoy with the lovely Deluxe coffees.  Seven ice cream flavours are sold, and come from Venezia in Sea Point.   Marko owns the Pure Solid 13 clothes, gift and accessories shop next door, with a branch in Cavendish Square too.  

There is no menu.  One blackboard lists the coffee options (one of the cheaper cappuccino destinations in Cape Town, at R13) and another the sandwich (R25 without meat, R35 with meat), salad (R35 without meat, R40 with meat) and noodle (R35) options.  Marko designed all the furniture (including a baby high chair) and shelving for the shop, Fatima told me, and had it made up – it has a lovely earthy Scandinavian feel to it, and the colourful collection of chairs in different styles, shapes and colours add to the decor.  The lamps are unique in design, and Marko’s wife crocheted all the covers for them.   I loved the bunch of fresh flowers from a garden on one of the tables.

Fatima has had short stints working at the Daily Deli and Bonjour Patisserie, both in Tamboerskloof, and last worked in an office.  She describes her customers as locals who work in the area, and who come in to enjoy the coffee and other treats served.  Breakfast options include croissant, avocado, Gruyere and choice of egg for R42; granola, fruit salad and yoghurt at R18; and croissant, jam and butter at R15.   The salads appear to be sold at R7 a portion of a specific salad.  Meat options for sandwiches or salads are roast chicken, salami, and coppa ham.  Pastry choices include cinnamon pretzels, chocolate cigars, chocolate croissants, and the bread range includes rye, ciabatta and Kornspitz.

Oishii delicious Caffe has a chef who comes in every day, making up the salads.   Marko is sent to buy the fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as grain products for the salads.   Anel Clarke is the chef, and spends the mornings at Oishii, making five salads, always a raw salad, a bean one, a chicken or tuna one, a starch one (pasta or couscous), and a potato one.  When we were there last Saturday Anel’s salad selection included orange couscous, mange tout and sundried tomato; chick pea, feta and olive salad; beetroot, apple and rocket salad; and roast chicken, paw paw, and cucumber salad with a coconut dressing.  Anel uses a different dressing for each salad, and tries to make unusual salads not found anywhere else.  She says her chicken and corn salads are the most popular.   When Anel is not at Oishii, she does cooking lessons in customers’ homes, and makes vegan food for the Wellness Warehouse on Kloof Street.  She has started a blog called Daisy Meisie, but does not have much time for it.

We paid R 55 for a selection of four salads as well as a cappuccino, which is excellent value.  

Oishii delicious Caffe, corner Kloof and De Lorentz Streets, Tamboerskloof.  Tel (021) 422-4981.  No website.  Monday – Friday 7h30 – 16h30, Saturday 8h00 – 14h30. 

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