At the ‘Tribute to Topsi’ held on 18 May at the Barnyard Theatre in the Willowbridge Centre 500 foodie and Topsi lovers gathered together to “honour a doyenne and living legend of South African food and a wonderful human being”, and to collect funds for a knee replacement operation for her.
A jointly organised event by John Jackson of African Banquet Collections and the Chaine des Rotisseurs, in conjunction with the Franschhoek Lion’s Club, the evening had a strong Franschhoek presence, with many local residents attending the fabulous evening. The food was prepared and donated by leading restaurants including Le Quartier Francais, Bruce Robertson’s new The Quarter, Cellars Hohenhort, La Colombe and many more. Delectable wines were donated. Neil Els of Boschendal was the master of ceremonies and auctioneer.
A line-up of excellent performers, including Rocco de Villiers, Coenie de Villiers, Daniele Pascale, Elzabe Zietsman, boy group BRAVO and Nataniel entertained the appreciative crowd utilizing a very “gay-pink Liberace piano”, and dedicated their talent to Topsi. Nataniel brought the house down with his stories about his 30-year friendship with Topsi, and when he presented her with a rosary (“instead of rosemary”)!
Topsi was praised by speakers for her generosity, having given her dog away to an American tourist who asked her for the dog, and she gave away a diamond brooch because a friend complimented her on it. Topsi answered that she was as close to heaven on earth as she could be, with all the tributes spoken and sung to her whiles she is still alive, and wished her Franschhoek friend Di Gage, who died recently, could have enjoyed such a feast of appreciation too. Topsi was described as the “Madiba of cooking in South Africa”.
The who’s who of chefs attended the wonderful evening, and included Bruce Robertson, Pete Goffe-Wood, Bertus Basson, Camil Haas, Peter Veldsman, Marlene van der Westhuizen, Jenny Morris, Reuben Riffel, and Garth Stroebel.
This article was written by Chris von Ulmenstein, and was first published in the June 2009 issue of The Franschhoek Month.