stanford food heroes

Mead and the Medieval Feast

Stanford’s Home of Mead and the Harvest Kitchen celebrated the revelry of the Middle Ages

Noble knights and their lovely ladies descended upon Stanford Harvest on Friday, 27 July, for the launch of a ‘Meadieval’ Feast during the Blood Moon eclipse. The decor consisted of flags, shields and weapons, and long wooden tables decked with earthenware, goblets and candles. Outside, the fire pits, stocks and banners transformed the restaurant and surrounds into a magical, medieval setting filled with magic and excitement.

Going Medieval at Stanford Harvest

Young maidens welcomed the noble guests with song and dance on the lawns, whilst wandering minstrels serenaded the handsome crowd. All enjoyed the sunset whilst sipping Athol McOnie’s centuries-old, family recipe for Mead, described as the Drink of Gods.

The staff of Stanford Harvest together with Viv & Athol looked striking in their cloaks, masks, tights and hats. Raucous laughter could be heard as more people arrived, dressed in magnificent costumes, wearing crowns and jesters’ colourful, pointy hats. The mood for revelry was set!

And then the Vikings arrived! Outrageous and strapping men carrying long staffs with horns, and sexy warrior women, rolled in looking like they stepped off the set of Game of Thrones.

The Vikings arrived

Royal trumpet fanfare announced the arrival of King Peter & Queen Jami from Castle Herriot descent as they made their way to the top table, lording it over the wenches and lackeys.

Queen Jami and King Peter from Castle Herriott

Viv McOnie and her kitchen team spoilt everyone with a magnificent spread of four courses – most would gladly pay double for that meal. Athol kept the mead flowing, made from bee hives kept on the farm.

Belly dancer, Alyssa Bellingan, and troubadours, Jerry Fourie and John Gnodde, entertained throughout the evening. Guests took home prizes for best dressed, best morale, best cleavage, best limerick, scariest outfit and cutest couple.

Revelry and shenanigans

Stanford Harvest knows how to throw a bash that will live on in the memory books. Book now for birthdays, stag nights, bachelorette parties and end-of-year functions. The Stanford Harvest Team will work its magic to conjure up the most fun you can have in one place. Contact us on 083 409 8126

Words by Janet Marshall and Phil Murray

Recipes through the seasons: Koffie en melktert

While it sleets, snows and hails across the Western Cape, we are staying snug with coffee and milktart, Stanford style. Thank you to the Stanford Food Heroes at the Grootbos Foundation for this perfectly timed recipe.

 

INGREDIENTS
Pastry
2 cups flour
1 egg
½ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
125g butter
pinch of salt

Filling
4 ½ cups milk
2 ½ tbsp cornflour
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
pinch of salt
2 ½ tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
a big spoon of butter

METHOD
Pastry
Cream butter and sugar well together and add the egg, before beating well.
Add all other ingredients – making a stiff dough.
Press into one or two round cake tins/pie dishes.
Bake blind for 15 minutes at 180°C (use wax paper to cover the pastry and place dry beans/rice over the paper to weight the pastry down). Then remove the paper and beans/rice and bake for an additional 5 minutes until light brown.

Filling
Bring milk to a gentle boil.
Beat eggs well and add sugar, flour, cornflour and salt.
Mix well.
Pour boiling milk into the mixture and stir well.
Return to stove and stir for 10-12 minutes on medium heat until the mixture thickens.
Add butter and vanilla essence and mix through, then pour into cooked shell.
Allow to cool in the fridge (you do not need to cook the tart any further)
To decorate, sprinkle with cinnamon.

We are pairing this South African favourite with a local Cuppa-Jo. Choose your favourite local brew and smuggle it home in travel mug where you can kick off your gumboots, slip into your stokies and curl up on the couch with a slice (or 2) of melktert!

For tip-top posh coffee in Stanford, try Ou Meul Bakkery, Coffee Corner, Yum Eat Cafe, Graze or La Tratorria or just outside the village at Stanford Harvest.

Words: Phil Murray

Keeping up with the Stanfordians

Have you noticed how it never rains, and then it pours? The beautiful drenched Market Square in Stanford is testament to how much it has been raining in Stanford, and the puddles and deep cool tussocks of grass fill us with childish glee. The wild sprouting mushrooms push their way towards the sunlight 3 days after the rains so keep your eyes peeled for those illusive mushroom foragers who are trying not to make eye contact and give away their hunting ground secrets.

And another thing that fills us with glee is the up-and-coming weekend which is about to sweep us off our feet. Are you ready for it? This is how we plan to fit it all in and you are invited to catch us if you can…

WEDNESDAY

Aerobics Revival in Stanford. See you there in lycra as the village meets in the Community Hall from 18:00 – 19:00. R10 per person is practically still 80s rates!

THURSDAY

Stanford Full Moon Tree Walk

Join our monthly Wandelpad Stroll and learn how to join the heritage Committee’s Significant Tree Survey. Afterwards…sherry!

FRIDAY

Take a deep breath, light a fire and drink some local wine. We are going to need our energy for tomorrow…

SATURDAY

First thing’s first, don a hat for Haturday and post a selfie using the hashtags #Haturday #Visitstanford to stand a chance to win a prize.

Then it is time to browse through the treasures on display at the Stanford Junktique Market in the Tourism Courtyard, 09:00 – 12:00. Breeze a little further down Queen Victoria Street to fill your basket with weekend foodie treats at the Saturday Morning Market on the stoep of the Stanford Hotel, also 09:00 – 12:00.

 

There is also time to take a slow drive on the Papiesvlei Road to the Open Day at Eikenhof Orchid Nursery. It will take you just over 10 minutes to drive there, but it will be oh-so-worthwhile to see the orchids and cymbidiums in full bloom, and for sale at special prices.

And then, pack a jersey for Hops at the Hills, a celebration of local craft beers at Stanford Wine Estate. This afternoon event is full of live music, fun for the kids, good food and beer, and usually sees people dancing under a rainbow, alongside a roaring bonfire. Make no mistake, Hops at the Hills is full-on fun.

SUNDAY

This day is for winding down. Make it about good food at one of Stanford’s restaurants, or good clean air as you walk off the ultimate weekend on one of the walking trails inside, or outside the village. Do the self-guided heritage walk around the town with a map available from the Tourism Office, and drop in at the shops open along the main street.

Phew, what a great week!

*Make sure you read our weekly ‘What’s on’ every Thursday for all events in and around Stanford. Ask to join our mailing list by emailing ask@stanfordinfo.co.za

Words: Phil Murray

Recipes through the seasons – Sorrel Pesto in Winter

This great, seasonal recipe has been generously shared by Rishi, one half of the dynamic duo at Goodwill Mountain Farm.

Sorrel Pesto 

Sorrel pesto is a quintessential Stanford Food Heroes recipe as it’s local, seasonal and sustainable. These days, sorrel grows abundantly everywhere around Stanford, so get your scissors and baskets out and go hunting for these heart-shaped beauties. The great thing about foraged food is that it is, per definition, organic and super fresh, which is more than you can say about most of the food in the supermarkets! Sorrel is a nutrient powerhouse especially rich in Vitamin C which is great for a mid-winter immunity boost, and the nuts and seeds in the recipe are high in fats to keep you warm on these cooler days.

Ingredients

A big bunch of sorrel (approx. 120 g)

15-20 leaves of kale with stems removed (spinach would work too)

1 cup cashews, soaked for 30 mins in hot water and drained

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

4 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

1 tsp salt

Dash of olive oil

Method 

Start by dry-roasting the sunflower and pumpkin seeds together on a frying pan. They’re done when they start cracking and splitting. Let them cool off before adding to the rest of the ingredients to avoid the pesto oxidizing too fast. Add all other ingredients to a food processor and pulse until it has a creamy texture with some chunks left – pesto texture, basically. If the pesto is too tart for your liking, more kale can be added, and if it’s not creamy enough, more cashews can be added. This pesto goes well on pasta and sandwiches and can be loosened with olive oil to make a salad dressing. Also excellent to eat on crackerbread standing by the kitchen counter late at night! Store in an airtight container in the fridge where it will keep for at least a week.

*Wood sorrel (genus Oxalis) has heart-shaped leaves and is often confused with clover. The leaves are a little bigger and taste sour, as do the yellow flowers. Kids in Stanford call them sour flowers. Go on, try them!

Words by Rishi from Goodwill Mountain, and Phil Murray

Stanford Food Heroes in partnership with FoodforUs

The Stanford Food Heroes is a collective of Stanford growers and producers who live and work in the area surrounding Stanford. You can inhale the scent of their herbs and aroma of their buttery bakes, roll their tomatoes and lemons around in your hands and breath in the spices of their charcuterie at the weekly Wednesday Morning Farmers’ Market at Graze, and the Saturday Morning Market on the Stanford Hotel stoep. Besides these markets, some heroes supply or run their own restaurants and delis. Their identity is that they hold home-grown, local produce dear and believe in keeping the supply chain local and lekker. They believe that the best things in life take time.

In 2017, a small group of ideas people identified the Stanford Food Heroes and the increasingly foodie identity of Stanford, and approached them to ask if they were interested in being a part of a new phone application trial aimed at marketing fresh surplus to the closest market, and reducing food loss. What a great idea for a communications app to team up with a group of growers and producers – the Stanford Food Heroes could really sink their teeth into this partnership.

The new FoodforUs app is a United Nations-funded application that links local growers and buyers. It was designed to ensure that edible and nutritious food is not wasted at farm level but instead fulfils its primary purpose of feeding people. It will do this by linking local groups of growers (farmers at all scales) and buyers (feeding schemes, early childhood development centres, restaurants, guesthouses and individuals) through a convenient mobile app. The app will provide an overview and images of what is available from each grower and enables growers and buyers to communicate on payment and delivery methods.

Food is wasted at farm levels for a variety of reasons. Retailers sometimes cancel orders at the last-minute leaving farmers unable to find appropriate markets for their produce in time, or farmers can produce a surplus that they have not planned for in terms of marketing and sale. The FoodforUs app provides farmers with immediate access to a group of local buyers.

The app is available on the Google and iTunes play stores. Once registered, participants will be sent a password that they use to log into the app to view the produce available. This research trial is being conducted in Stanford, Worcester and two pilot sites in the Eastern Cape. Once the initial phase is complete, users’ feedback will be incorporated into a revision of the app’s features and the platform will be released to a wider audience.

Follow the project on Facebook @foodforusza or contact the team directly on info@foodforus.co.za.

FoodforUs looks forward to working with Stanford’s innovative food networks to trial the app that helps to reduce food waste by linking local growers and buyers. More information can be found on the project at www.foodforus.co.za.

*For more on the Stanford Food Heroes, click here

Words by Phil Murray and Stephanie Swanepoel

Having lunch at Havercroft’s

If you like the idea of a sitdown Sunday lunch, soaking up winter sunbeams outside in a sunny courtyard, or inside next to the crackling fireplace, then Havercroft’s is the perfect cottage restaurant to be. The simple white-washed walls and cotton table cloths, with unpretentious clay water jugs, and even a bit of peely paint, allow guests to linger and feel quite at home. Innes welcomes guests in her brusque but warm way, throwing a few jokes and witty comments their way to make sure they unwind and loosen their collars. Havercroft’s is about good food, relaxed chatter, loud laughter and warmth, and Innes’ unique brand of humour and sarcasm is meant to put people at ease. She proclaims she is an unwilling waitress but she is attentive and alert, topping up every sipped wine glass and drained water jug. Her anecdotes and impromptu poetry performances make her part of the experience as she works the floor effortlessly.

The chalk board menu is short and simple, but don’t assume that will make your choice any easier. Innes says she has not been able to take the starter of Devilled Lamb Kidneys off the menu in 15 years so we had to try them. The kidneys kickstarted the meal with a clout of red wine and paprika, served on a crispy, savoury  rosti of potato and parsley – packed with flavour and a sensory mixture of textures. We also ordered the creamy cauliflower soup which came with nubs of strong blue cheese and buttery cheese straws shaped like paddles, perfect for swirling through the velvety velouté!

The main course was equally difficult to choose so we settled on trying the Chicken Ballotine and the Pork Belly. The chicken was soft and tender, and the stuffing – sweet and savoury with onions, garlic and dates. A pomme dauphine of choux and mashed potato whipped together to form a quenelle was served along with a mustard cream sauce – quite exquisite! The belly of pork was an enormously generous serving, served with  nutty lentils, winter veggies, beetroot and apple chutney, and two spears of flawless crackling – a sensory experience.

We were certainly sated after mains but it is not every day one gets to eat Brydon’s food, so we put good manners aside and dived into the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream and nutty brittle sprinkles. It made us sigh with pleasure.

Brydon packs full flavour into every dish. He and Innes work hard and are proud of their cottage restaurant. They share their best food, favourite local wines and their energy with their guests, and the experience of eating at Havercroft’s is an intimate one. People leave with bellies full of great food, and warm chuckles.

 

By Phil Murray

 

Winter Long Table at Beloftebos

The Winter Long Table and Wine Pairing at Beloftebos was a magical night that saw 150 guests seated under twinkling lights, enjoying an elegant meal that was full of surprises. The rain beat down on the soft top of the ivory bedouin tent while the wind battered the wall of glass windows reminiscent of London’s Crystal Palace at the turn of the last century. Sparks flew from crackling braziers creating a natural fireworks display in oak tree garden, and inside, guests were toasty and relaxed, warmed by the enormous fireplace, gas heaters and smooth local wines.

Chef Corneli pulled out all the stops as guests were greeted at sundown with glasses of Hermanuspietersfontein Bloos, Raka Sauvignon Blanc and trays of canapes around the braziers. Smoked salmon served on cucumber discs, bobotie springrolls, and amuse bouches of braised beef got the juices flowing before guests were invited inside to a table cleverly laid with bite-sized roosterkoek, Klein River cheeses, local honey and preserves.

Three long tables of raw sanded wood were simply set with an array of simple vases and fynbos, and guests slowly found their way to their places, each lovingly labelled by hand with a simple sprig of rosemary. Andries de Villiers welcomed everyone in his warm, relaxed and cheerful manner, thanking his wife and the close family team at Beloftebos. The local Stanford Mill cut all the local wood for the venue renovation, while Grant Anderson helped with the architectural drawings. Beloftebos is now an all-weather venue which can comfortably accommodate weddings, conferences, and parties all year round.

And you feel like family when you go to Beloftebos. The venue and decor has captured country chic at its best without any rustic stumblings and rusty excuses. The sense of simplicity and beauty is visible everywhere from the outdoor and indoor lighting and garden pathways, to the bathrooms. The warm easy smiles and laughter of the staff, and comfortable couches put everyone at ease. The band played an excellent line-up of fresh covers, and the vocals and harmonica added quality to the two guitars.

Four courses which cleverly mixed salty, sweet and savoury tastes of modern South African cuisine showed off the wines, grown by neighbours and friends of the de Villiers family, Hermanuspieterfontein and Raka. The guinea fowl risotto was a first for many, while the orange and ginger glazed and roasted patats were a triumph in themselves. The snoek samoosas would have impressed Marco Pierre White himself, but Chef Corneli had one more surprise for everyone after the 4th plated course. Wooden boards laden with little espresso cups of Crème brûlée with glazed oranges and chocolate brownies were set down the middle of the tables and completely stole the show!

The Winter Long Table and Wine Pairing was an utterly delightful evening filled with sensory spoils. Beloftebos is the perfect venue for all seasons.

 

by Phil Murray