Out & About in Stellenbosch

Here's where to eat, stay and play when you visit the beautiful Town of Oaks (Eikestad)...

TREAT YOUR TASTEBUDS

Where’s there’s good wine, there’s always good food. The Stellenbosch food scene is thriving, with new hotspots popping up all the time. Don’t go on a historical walking tour without first carbo-loading at De Oude Bank Bakkerij (021 883 2187). Pair their dark rye or sourdough bread with a local produce platter and their quinoa fritter seasonal salad, and indulge. Just down the road in Church Street is the popular Best Bistro (021 883 3629) which possibly makes the best gourmet burgers in town (044 386 0005).

LAP UP THE LUXURY

From historic Cape Dutch homesteads to Victorian villas and five-star hotels, Stellenbosch visitors are spoiled for choice when it comes to accommodation. If you’re looking for an authentic experience in the thick of town, try De Oude Werf Hotel (021 887 4608). Established in 1803, it’s said to be South Africa’s oldest hotel and the modern touches to its Georgian style add to its understated elegance. You could also stay on the edge of town on a working wine farm at Kleine Zalze Lodge (021 880 0740), where their tasting cellar and the award-winning restaurant Terroir is just a scenic stroll down the road. Play a round of golf or hop on one of the lodge bicycles for a bit of exercise before dinner.

TRACK DOWN TREASURES

If it’s luxurious, trendy or proudly South African, the shops of Stellenbosch are bound to stock it. Relish the opportunity to do some sidewalk shopping far away from anything resembling a shopping mall, and enjoy exploring some of the gems to be found in the little side streets. Be sure to browse the range of products hand-woven from mopani worm cocoons at Africa Silks (021 882 9839) for a unique gift that supports a job creation project in the North West. There’s also Arabesque (079 200 1003) in Plein Street for gorgeous scarves, jewellery, decor items and wooden furniture, and the sparkly Fidders Lights & Gifts (021 886 4655) for handmade crockery, chandeliers and glassware.

SOAK UP THE HISTORY

There are almost as many historical sites in and around Stellenbosch as there are wine farms. A good way to orientate yourself and form a mental overview of the town’s design is on a guided walking tour by the Stellenbosch 360 Tourism Information Bureau (021 883 3584). The locals who take you on these tours are strict with their watches, be warned, but they are very informative and have wonderful anecdotes and personal memories to share along the way. Highlights include the Burgher House (today the central office of the Historical Homes foundation in South Africa), the NG Moederkerk and Stellenbosch Village Museum.

BROWSE THE ART GALLERIES 

A walking tour of Stellenbosch will take you past numerous art galleries and an extraordinary amount of outdoor street art. Home to renowned galleries such as The Rupert Museum (021 888 3344), which is set on the banks of the Eerste River and houses industrialist Anton and Huberte Rupert’s private art collection, the Stellenbosch art scene is well respected for its innovation and is often at the forefront of trends. Also worth a visit is the Vincent Da Silva Gallery (021 855 0583) in Church Street, Stephen Rautenbach’s The Studio Gallery (021 886 7005) just down the road and the SMAC Art Gallery (021 887 3607)  in the De Wet Centre.  

DRINK THE FRUIT OF THE GRAPE

With well over one hundred members, the Stellenbosch American Express® Wine Routes (021 886 4310) is a formidable yet delightful challenge for avid wine tasters. Your best bet is to visit www.wineroute.co.za to see what the different routes offer. There’s information on private wine tours, child-friendly wine farms, wine walks, wine blending, wine and food pairing and much more. 

*Article first published in the August 2013 issue of SA Country Life magazine.

*Article and photos by Natalie Bosman.

Flavour First

Read her great new cookbook Jackie Cameron Cooks At Home and learn how to  create extraordinary dishes from traditional favourites

Food has been a passion of Jackie Cameron’s ever since she can remember. Certainly long before the likes of programmes such as MasterChef came onto the scene and fuelled the dreams of many an amateur chef looking for a slice of the action.

“All I had on TV was Floyd and Two Fat Ladies. And Jamie Oliver had only just come onto the scene,” she admits with a chuckle. “I think I entered this industry at the perfect time. I really started this career because I love cooking, not because of a quick walk to fame, and I think a lot of young chefs are doing that.”

Jackie was brought up to believe that hard work would get her anywhere in life. She arrived at Hartford House in KwaZulu-Natal in 2002 and has filled the position of head chef ever since. In the last ten years she has worked hard to elevate culinary standards at the five-star boutique hotel, and ensure that the dishes coming out of her kitchen retain a consistently high standard.

Much to the delight of her fans, the 30-year-old chef recently released her cookbook, Jackie Cameron Cooks At Home. If you’ve ever eaten Jackie’s food at Hartford you’ll know that she prioritises flavours, freshness, technique and quality ingredients above all else. The recipes in her cookbook do the same. They’re a collection of some of her favourite recipes that are simple enough to try at home, yet still teach home cooks how to master the basics – make a home-made mayonnaise or give a simple dish a restaurant-style tweak, like a pear custard ice cream to top a roasted butternut soup.

Of all the recipes in the book, the grandfather’s brawn with mustard and gherkins probably holds the fondest memories for Jackie. Her grandfather was a well-known local butcher, owner of A & D Butchery in Pietermaritzburg. He passed away in the December that Jackie graduated, but she remembered her mother raving about his brawn recipe and decided to track it down via a butcher who had been trained by her grandfather.

“When I met Peter Spiers he said he wondered when I was going to start calling him – and I don’t think I’ve stopped calling him since.  He told me that my grandfather always kept things very simple, just highlighting the main flavour, and I actually got a lump in my throat because that’s exactly what I do.”

Jackie’s chuffed at having a first cookbook at such a young age, but is even more excited at the thought of sharing her recipes with a wider audience.

“At Hartford I can only ever reach a certain number of people on a day to day basis but, with the release of the book, happiness is flowing into other houses, and people are going back to the basics of proper cooking. My love of food really is about the happiness it brings and the memories. Everything always happened around the kitchen and dining room table at home, so a large part of the book is about trying to rekindle that.”

* All photos are supplied.

*Article first published in the August 2013 issue of SA Country Life magazine.

*Jackie Cameron’s cookbook Jackie Cameron Cooks At Home is published by Penguin.