Tag Archives: free range

‘Going Whole Hog’ goes the whole hog for humane pork!

Going Whole Hog GWH3_LowResA communication campaign ‘Going Whole Hog‘, about the benefits of eating free-range and ethical pork, has been launched by campaign advisor Mark Fox.

The ‘Going Whole Hog‘ campaign not only communicates the health benefits of eating pasture-reared or free-range pork, where pigs graze in a paddock, and are treated better than mass-reared pigs, but also communicates the benefit of farm-to-table.

Nutritional therapist Sara Bilbe said: ‘Factory farmed pigs live in concrete cells with no outside exposure and no entertainment. Pigs are fairly intelligent animals and this lack of stimulation in these cells leads to high stress levels and therefore high illness. A naturally foraging pig would not just be feeding on grain and legumes but insects, grubs, leafy greens and grasses which are all high in omega-3 oils and would change the composition of the pork fat that we eat’.  Such naturally foraging pigs are healthier and are not force-fed to gain weight abnormally, making the pork less fatty, and healthier in that it does not contain hormones nor antibiotics.

Mass-produced pigs are fed cheap soya, corn, and grain, disadvantageous to the digestive system of a pig, which cannot stomach such large quantities of food, hence requiring antibiotics.  Pig’s feed can contain hair, skin, blood, intestines, and hooves of other dead animals. Stressed pigs release hormones, which will be contained in mass-produced bacon.   The health benefits of pasture-reared animals include its high levels of  vitamin A, D, E, and K, and omega-3’s.  Pork chops are leaner, contain less sodium, and have more vitamin B.

Pick ‘n Pay is stocking free-range pork at some of its outlets, and is raising Continue reading →

Restaurant Review: 65 on Main fresh find in Green Point!

65 on Main Interior 2 Whale Cottage PortfolioThe restaurant at 65 Main Road used to be one of Green Point’s most popular when it was called Miss K, but nose-dived when it was taken over by an Italian owner and he renamed it after his daughter Giulia a year ago.  He lasted a few months before returning to his homeland, as his wife did not like Cape Town. This left the space for Whitney Wentzel to take it over and to open 65 on Main within two weeks, at the beginning of August.  It was a surprise discovery, following a most mediocre Camps Bay experience earlier that day!

I underestimated Whitney on first appearance, and thought her to be the manager, as a waiter came out to greet me even though she was outside as well.  I was left in the care of a second waiter Sheldon, who informed me that Whitney is in fact the owner.  Whitney studied at the Hotel School in Granger Bay, having graduated just before the World Cup, and worked as F&B Manager at The Taj, The Cullinan, Zimbali, and the Arabella Kleinmond hotels since then.  She had a dream to run her own restaurant, 65 on Main Whitney Wentzel Whale Cottage Portfolioand told me that she dutifully saved as much as she could, having been taught by her portfolio asset manager mother.  Although only 25 years old, I sensed that Whitney pays attention to detail, and knows exactly what she is doing, and that her establishment Continue reading →

The Woodstock Exchange enhances Woodstock as design hub of Cape Town!

A visit to The Woodstock Exchange last week reflected how Woodstock is growing in stature as Cape Town’s design hub, not only in terms of digital design, communications design, but also in terms of food. The Woodstock Exchange opened in December, and has an interesting mix of design-related tenants, restaurants, and food suppliers.

Superette is the most visible tenant from the striking grey and yellow building exterior, taking one of the largest spaces of the building, and its branding is visible from the street on the windows and its canopies.  A number of trendy Vespas are parked outside, and they add to the design attractiveness of the building.  A central passageway has a listing of all the tenants in the building, the upstairs floors occupied by the design agencies with trendy and interesting designer names, such as We are Awesome. Social Plus One, Nice One Steve, Wetink, Wolf & Maiden, Sons & Daughters, and Smellsgood.

My first stop was at Honest Chocolate, where I found Michael de Klerk, in an almost replica of their Wale Street shop, but with a massive back end space, in which they now have a team making the chocolate. They have expanded their repertoire to include three very unusual ice cream flavours, each having a super food added to them, for example Lucuma (a Peruvian fruit) Coconut, Chia (a seed) Chocolate, and Spirulina (seawood) Mint Chip, and costing R34. Michael explained that raw cocoa in itself is a superfood, and the added flavours complement their chocolates. We spoke about their first Design Indaba attendance, where they ran a competition for chocolate bar wrappers, which they extended on to their Facebook page.  He said that The Woodstock Exchange tenants support each other and that they network.  They had considered the V&A Market on the Wharf, but had been worried about the winter trade, Michael said.  Tel 082 736 3889.

Michael referred me to his next door neighbour Lady Bonin’s Tea Parlour, a quirky interior giving a parlour feel, with a chest of drawers, and very clever use of old suitcases serving as shelving to display antique tea cups and picture frames. Jessica Bonin started her business in 2010 in an old Jurgens caravan, which she moves to events, or is at Oudekraal with other food trucks.  She wanted to start a ‘tea-volution’, and sells special looseleaf teas, which are classified as being black, white, green, yellow, Oolong, and Puerh.  She describes her business as a ‘Purveyor of magical infusions and tasty curiosities’. Tel 0836282504

Dark Horse and Kingdom are a mix of two design elements forming a whole inside the shop. Dark Horse is a local design studio offering apparel, homeware, and furniture.  Kingdom is a ‘curated exhibit’, I was told, of art, vintage pieces from antique shops sourced from India, Berlin and Denmark.  I was attracted by the hats, some having a vintage feel about them but are brand new. They also sell designer sunglasses, crockery, and jewellery.

Simply Wholesome was a huge disappointment, the shop assistant Gloria being extremely suspicious, withholding information, and not customer-friendly. She emphasised their free-range pasture-reared and grass-fed products of chicken, eggs, bacon and beef.  A big sign in the shop spells out their dedication to sourcing quality products ‘fresh from the farm’, which they monitor at source regularly, they claim. They sell some ready-made pies (R28), quiches (R28), sandwiches (the egg mayonnaise sandwich was on a nice seeded roll but had barely any filling), biscuits, muffins, milk, cheeses, butter, seasonal vegetables and fruit, home made marinades, gluten-free biscuits, raw honey, olives, peach slices, apple cider vinegar, satin tea bags, chutney, pickled onions, Madecasse chocolate, and yoghurt. They also sell teas under the Organic label from The Tea Merchants, the business of the co-owner.  I did like the glass tea pots, with matching glass cups.  They only sell take-out products, and do not have any seating outside their shop to even allow one to eat their sandwiches!  This was the only unfriendly experience in the whole centre.  Tel 021 447-6426.

I just missed the kitchen being open at Ocean Jewels, and bought a packet of calamari (R45) to make at home.  They still have their stand at the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill, and are widely regarded as selling the best quality fish to consumers.  Her sit-down prices are very reasonable, with tuna and salmon burgers and salads costing around R50. Fishcakes, potato wedges and salad costs R30, and hake and chips costs a little more.  They sell prawns, clams, mussels, crabsticks, scallops and smoked salmon too. Tel 083 582 0829.

The friendliest of all the outlets was Pedersen & Lennard and {Field Office}, a furniture design and coffee shop all in one, a sister branch to the one in Barrack Street.  The space in the Woodstock Exchange is larger and has more light, opening on to a sunny deck.  The manageress Roberta Grantham is ex-Botswana, and the friendliest I have experienced in a long time.  She made the visit there an absolute pleasure.  Other than making Deluxe coffees, they do not prepare any food, selling Willy’s Foods’ sandwiches (R35), pies with interesting ingredients such as beef red wine, lemon and chicken, curried vegetable, and beef chocolate chilli (R30), and salads; and lovely lemon polenta cakes (R15), chocolate brownies, milk tart slices (R20), and cup cakes (R15) made by The Little Bakery.   Tel (021) 447-2020. Monday – Friday 8h00 – 17h00.

I arrived at Superette just after the kitchen had closed at 16h00 (an hour before the restaurant closed!), and I was unable to order anything other than liquids from the waiter. When the manager Vuyo returned, he was charming, and I asked him for a simple rye toast with cheese and avocado, which tasted like heaven after an afternoon in the centre and not being able to eat (other than the milk tart) elsewhere in the centre because of the kitchens having closed!   The interior is large, with lots of yellow, a stand selling deli items (including olives, olive oil, Secateurs wines by AA Badenhorst,  honey, nougat, Rosetta coffee – also in the centre but which I did not see, Fruit crisps, Dunk biscuits, rusks, Prince Albert olive oil, tomato chili), and plants hanging from the ceiling, much like Dear Me has.  They serve an all-day breakfast, in a price range of R35 for kippers to R70 for a smoked salmon egg basket.  They also offer toasted banana bread, mushrooms  and beans on toast, and an interesting sounding Nutella-stuffed French Toast! Sandwiches cost R55 – R65, including one with Bratwurst! Bangers and mash costs R65.  A nice touch is that a glass of water is brought to the table automatically.  Tel (021) 802-5525.

The Woodstock Exchange, 66 Albert Road, Woodstock.  Tel (021) 486-5999.  www.woodstockexchange.co.za Twitter @WdstockExchange

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

Restaurant Review: BREAD delightful designer Deli, Boulangerie and Café!

I have driven past BREAD in The Bromwell Boutique Mall on my way to the Old Biscuit Mill on numerous occasions.  It was a welcome escape from my visit to the Neighbourgoods Market on Saturday.  It has been open for 22 months, and I was impressed with the quality and design focus in this beautiful building, housing the BREAD Deli, Boulangerie and Café downstairs, and a fashion, furniture and art boutique upstairs.

The Bromwell is a beautifully restored 1927 erstwhile hotel building, once an ‘infamous house of red doors’, the website says. It belongs to Adelaide Potgieter, the founder of the nearby The mad (Marketing, Advertising, Design) Agency, which handles the advertising and promotions for Shoprite and Checkers exclusively, and her brother Solomon, who is now the CEO of the agency.  The building, with its lovely parquet flooring, has been restored, with Heritage Society approval, to its former glory, and works of art are displayed throughout, with prices indicated.   In the restaurant, for example, a large painting by Mark Matthysen of the Dalai Lama is for sale at R10000.  The entrance is manned by a very smart doorman, almost out of place on a Woodstock street dominated by poverty.   At the reception counter a Swiss German lady directed me to the Deli/Boulangerie section, and I followed the path to the right.  She was very cagey about providing information about the owners.  One steps into the Deli section, with a range of imported and local products, including NoMU rubs, Jenny Morris spice grinders (I had not seen these before), Vanilla Man grinders, Hillcrest Berry jams, pickled walnuts, bottled gherkins, Apfelmuss, olive chutney, different brands of balsamic vinegar, stone ground wheat, Honest Chocolate organic spread, Italian pasta products, and much more.  The advertising side of the owners came to the fore in the striking black branded bag that the lady from the Boulangerie offered me to put my purchases into, and the bags form part of the neat Deli display.  Opposite it is the Boulangerie (and patisserie!), in which well-lit baskets with wholewheat and white baguettes, country loaves, rye bread, Portuguese rolls, sesame seed rolls, croissants, pain au chocolat, and brioche, are displayed.  Glass cabinets display the most beautiful selection of pastries, including velvet cupcakes, triple chocolate tarts, fruit tarts, lemon meringue, milk tarts, tiramisu, Babel chocolate tower, Apfelstrudel, lemon pound cake, marble cake, blackberry tarts, frangipani tarts, and Turkish delight. On the dessert page of the BREAD menu it states: “We produce the best quality cakes, cookies and pastries using only real chocolate, real cream, real butter and the freshest fruits and other ingredients.  We simply do not compromise on quality“.  The Pastry Chef is Shana Faes and the Baker is Eugene Knight.

Beyond the Deli/Boulangerie is a seating area for the Café, but it had hardly anyone sitting there, so I followed the sound of a guitar to a much nicer second room of the restaurant, with a window to the street, furnished with attractive genuine chandeliers, and the most comfortable restaurant chairs that I have ever sat on, some in red and some in green fabric.  Tables have Singer sewing machine-style legs and concrete tops.  Red upholstered benches run along two walls.  There are no table cloths, but each table has a BREAD-branded material serviette, beautiful Italian Pinti cutlery with the most unusually long handles, yin yang salt and pepper pots, BREAD-branded sugar sticks, and surprisingly, a terribly old-fashioned non-designer wooden pepper grinder.  I suggested to Manager Daniel Justus that the Jenny Morris pepper grinders in their Deli would match the designer feel of the restaurant far better.  The guitarist walking around the restaurant was an odd touch.  One can sit outside too, which some guests did, despite it being a chilly Saturday.  A most elegant gentleman, wearing a long pin-striped jacket on a Saturday morning, making him look like the father of a bride, attracted attention.  I was told that he is the father of the owner, and is at the restaurant regularly, called the ‘Godfather’ by the staff!

The red leather menu and beverage list cover contains well-presented information printed in white on black laminated paper.   The first page contains a piece written about bread by Nataniël (the Checkers cheese spokesperson and avant garde singer), starting with “She was old, but she was wise and powerful. Give us food, we told her. Make us strong. Teach us magic and endurance. She gave us bread. We ate and came alive.”   The lyrics are framed and hung in the restaurant too.   The breakfast options are unusual, a twist on familiar items. I had a BREAD Benedict, and the requested removal of the prosciutto or salmon trout accompaniment probably made the dish look less attractive, with only one free-range egg served on a delicious slice of wholewheat bread with hollandaise sauce, for which I was charged R35 instead of the usual R65.  The menu proudly emphasises for each dish which items are free-range and organic, probably adding a premium to the prices charged, but a commendable touch. Most egg dishes cost R45. Fried egg is served with ‘free-range mozzarella’ (an odd concept), slow-roasted tomato, and home-made mayonnaise.  Bacon and mascarpone scrambled eggs served on a baguette sounded interesting, and would be a choice for a next visit.  ‘BREAD Frenchie’ is a home-made brioche served with bacon and maple syrup.  The Breakfast Cocktail contains organic muesli, ‘free-range yoghurt’, and ‘organic mountain honey’.  The ‘Morning Yorkie’ is a take on Yorkshire Pudding, served with banana, bacon, tomato pesto, and maple syrup.  A croissant with ‘free-range cheese’ and preserves costs R35.  

Starters are soup of the day (R30), a platter of breads, dips and patés (R35), and tapas from R25 each.  Salads cost R55 – R60, and some are unusual: Chicken and Chorizo, Kudu Loin carpaccio, Butternut and Danish Feta, Camembert and Fig, and a warm Bocconcini Bowl.  Sandwiches range from R45 – R65, and include Wild Turkey, Spicy Prego, Smoked Salmon bagel, Club sandwich, roast beef, Green curry wrap, and garlic chicken.  Main courses include ‘Lucky Fish’ of the day, lamb burger, chicken burger, melanzane, and prawn tagliatelle, all under R100, and ‘Sir Lowry’s Medallions’ 25-day aged sirloin (R120), and ‘Beef on the Bone’, being oven-grilled short rib (R110).  The dessert offering is the pastries from the Boulangerie, costing R10 for croissants, and R15 – R25 for the tarts.  I took home a most delicious, rich, creamy chocolate mousse topped with strawberries in a BREAD-branded container. 

The winelist has an unspecified red and white wine by the glass at R25. Rosés are by Boschendal (R70), Delheim (R80), and ‘Solms’ (R100).  Twelve white wines are separated by variety, being Chardonnays (R100 – R170), and Sauvignon Blancs (R85 – R160) in the main.   Twenty red wines, not all identified by vintage or variety, range from R95 (Beyerskloof Pinotage) – R1000 (Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2005). The cappuccino costs R19, and was served with a mini-meringue on the side.

Upstairs is a collection of rooms with beautifully displayed furniture, decor items, hand-made leather ballet shoes by Coastal & Koi (on my wishlist despite the R1100 price tag!), clothing items, jewellery, handbags, paintings, and sculptures.  No-photography signs are visible upstairs, and I was given permission to photograph when I told the manager that I wanted to write a story about this amazing design centre. About a week ago, Top Billing featured the launch of a new clothing range by designer David Tlale, which was held at The Bromwell during Cape Town Fashion Week, I was told by Daniel.

I’ll be back to try more of the BREAD menu, to eye the shoes again, and to buy some of the wonderful bread.  Waiter service was disappointingly slow, even though the restaurant was not full, and there appearing to be enough staff on duty.  The lady in the Boulangerie was very service-driven, being proactive.  Daniel was helpful in copying the menu for me, offering this service. He told me that they are working on an integrated POS system, which allows the restaurant to add Deli and Boulangerie items to the bill, which caused a hiccup in my case, and had to be added by hand.  I liked the health focus of BREAD, many products supplied by Mushrooms & Things, Eureka Milling, Espresso Lab, and Imhoff.

BREAD Café, Boulangerie, Deli.  The Bromwell Boutique Mall, 250 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town.  Tel (021) 447-4730.  www.breadcafe.co.za. (The website has the menu, but no Image Gallery, nor a link to The Bromwell Boutique Mall website). www.thebromwell.co.za (The website is a collection of photographs, and contains a link to the BREAD website).  Monday – Friday 8h00 – 17h00, Saturday 9h00 – 17h00. 

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