South Africa and more importantly the Western Cape is fast becoming one of the world’s foremost gourmet capitals.
With expert chefs and plenty of natural fresh produce around it is easy to see why. Every year the Cape Region holds a number of food and gourmet festivals, each one better than the last. If you are a food-a-holic like me, then this region is heaven!
February sees the Cape Country Picnic Festival taking place at the Bien Donne Farm in Franschhoek. This year it will be held over the Valentines weekend and a special focus on love and the culinary art will be played. It is the perfect day out! You arrive at the estate empty handed and spend a pleasurable morning browsing all the fresh produce and wine stalls picking out your picnic lunch – yum! (It is advisable to bring your own blanket) and then, just when the mornings stroll has exhausted you, you can sit on the wide lawn of the estate and listen to the sounds of great jazz enjoying all your purchases. It is the perfect day out for you and the whole family.
Feel like something more exotic then why not head up the West Coast to Lamberts Bay in April for the Crayfish and Culture weekend. This is the perfect place to see what a local fishing town does for fun. Crayfish is offered at ridiculously low prices to make it available to all and there is plenty of good wine to go with this seafood delicacy. Not to mention great local bands. The West Coast is a less explored part of the Cape Region and as such is very unspoilt. Nature lovers will be enthralled.
Or, in April, Bien Donne is again in the spotlight with its fantastic annual Cheese Festival. Cheese lovers will be able to enjoy old favourites, while being wooed by adventurously new dairy and related products. The festival is a wonderful family day out with lots of different entertainments and a variety of cooking demonstrations and tastings not to mention being able to spend leisurely hours shopping in a market atmosphere.
The Cape Gourmet Festival is billed as “a hedonistic fortnight of culinary and gastronomic pleasures”. It culminates in the Good Food and Wine Show on the final weekend. Celebrity and Michelin star chefs go all out to tickle the taste buds of all their guests. The highlight of the event is the Gourmet Signature Banquet which is always catered for by a top South Africa Chef and show cases the true spirit of South African cuisine. It is truly a gastronomic extravaganza. You can purchase tickets for a seat at the banquet and some of the money goes to local charities. It really is a star spangled night and one to remember.
In June, Robertson hosts the Wacky Wine Weekend, which really show cases this up and coming wine region. Many fantastic wines are now being produced from these smaller wine estates. Many have won international awards such as Graham Beck and Bon Cap. As this is such a fun weekend and has such a variety of diverse activities available for the whole family it is very popular and as such can get crowded. This year the organisers are introducing something called “Seriously WIne”. This day will be dedicated to small groups who will be able to enjoy special master tastings, educational sessions and 1-on-1 interactions with the regions winemakers. If you are a wine connoisseur or just want to learn more about wine, then this is the event for you!
July sees the famous Knysna Oyster Festival. With 25 years of fun and games to celebrate, the ten - day annual Knysna Oyster Festival, is one of the country’s longest running festivals. It boasts a jam-packed programme of sport, entertainment and an impressive 200 000 oysters! There are more than 80 exciting events ranging from super-popular sports events (Pick n Pay Cape Times Knysna Forest Marathon and the Pick n Pay Weekend Argus Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour) and adventure challenges to wine and whisky tastings and even gala evenings. It is expected that some 65 000 people will attend the festival over the 2 weeks it is on. It is certainly one of the highlight events of the garden route. But it is the events true stars – the Oysters that people really go for and this festival has many popular activities including the annual oyster-shucking (opening) competition, the ever-popular oyster eating competition (yum!) and the Oyster & Wine Mardi Gras – a fabulous evening of oyster cooking and wine tasting.
So, next time you think of food – think of the gastronomic delights of South Africa and the Cape region.
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