African Relish

Wine glasses in hand, we settle down to a sumptuous meal.   It is shortly after two o’clock in the afternoon.  We begin with sweet potato and lentil soup with freshly baked bread, still hot from the open wood fired oven.  Then we dine on Kudu sirloin with tarragon cream sauce, pampoen poffertjies (pumpkin fritters), slaphaakskeentjies (pickling onions cooked in a sweet and spicy cream sauce), and some broccoli to feel a little virtuous.  Finally we indulge in sinfully delicious Malva pudding with crème anglaise.

We have made the entire meal ourselves.  In a manner of speaking, of course --- it would not have been possible without the expert and relaxed help and guidance of our instructor, Jeremy Freemantle.  It has all been enormous fun.  We are at African Relish, a recreational culinary school in Prince Albert.

White stones on a hill top -- typical town markers in the Karoo

African Relish Cooking School

African Relish

All attention on Jeremy

The school is flooded with air and light

This was a private lesson for the four of us:  me and Graham and our friends, Elaine and Randall (visiting from Durham, North Carolina).  We had the entire cooking school to ourselves from early morning til after we had finished our leisurely meal mid afternoon.  We had chosen to prepare a menu typical for the Karoo -- this dry, arid part of the country.   There is something deliciously incongruous about finding a culinary school of such caliber and style in this small, remote and totally charming town of Prince Albert (about 4 hours drive from Cape Town).

Let the fun begin

My husband, Graham, a master at keeping many pots on the go!

Wine break

Gay's dairy at the edge of town -- source of the rich cream in our meal

There is something very special and authentic about Prince Albert. Being there is like stepping back in time and geography. Ancient rugged mountains rise at one side of the town and at the other the arid Karoo stretches empty into the distance. A white-washed church dominates the small town, water out of the mountains still flows down stone channels at the sides of streets to feed small private dams. There are thorn trees and windmills, a good art gallery, olive groves, bougainvillea-splashed guest houses and several atmospheric restaurants and coffee shops. 

  

Leaving Prince Albert to enter the Swartberg Pass

At the base of the Pass -- see the rock cross above me

Walking at sunset above the town

There is something about the clarity and quality of the light, the way it plays on 

the mountains at the edges of the day and makes things sharp edged and unequivocal, 

drawing the eye to examine all it sees, reconnecting one to nature.

There is a particular Karoo aesthetic.  it is pared down and celebrates the beauty in simplicity, 

in nature.  Nothing gushy or ornate or unnecessary.  It is in perfect step with the 

spare harsh beauty of the environment ---clean cut, basic, true.

comment:

"This is one of the most beautiful journal posts I have  read. I appreciate your attention and insight to your African Relish and Prince Albert experience. For international guests to to feel so immersed and appreciate not only the culinary but also the town and surroundings so much is really gratifying to us; the owners of African Relish. Thank you. Lisa Key"