LETTER
From the Editor
SPRING-ING
There’ s something about spring that pulls us outdoors again. The braai gets dusted off, the garden starts talking back, and suddenly everyone has an opinion on which wine goes with what. This issue is very much a celebration of that shift: lighter, brighter, a little more playful than the seasons before it.
We open with Zandeleen van Zyl’ s Coffee-rubbed Beef Fillet with Chimichurri on the cover, a dish that captures exactly the kind of confident, unfussy cooking this season calls for. From there we dig into heritage flavours old and new: a proper braai bobotie, a biltong avo potjie that shouldn’ t work but absolutely does, and a fresh, irreverent take on koe’ sisters that had our test kitchen divided( in the best way).
Elsewhere, we’ ve had fun exploring where AI fits into a modern kitchen, poured over our favourite wines of the season, and shaken up a few cocktails worth trying before the sun goes down. And because spring is as much about what’ s on the plate as what’ s in the glass, make sure you don ' t miss the Rhodes Quality Beetroot Chocolate Cake, Cucumber Sushi Boats and Marinated Eggs scattered through these pages – bright little things to liven up the table and get the conversation started.
As always, this issue is for anyone who believes a good meal is worth the effort, and worth sharing. Here’ s to a spring full of both.
Happy cooking!
Milou Staub
Editor editor @ essentialflavours. co. za
@ essentialflavours _ sa
4 | Spring 2026 • essentialflavours. co. za