A
s a chef, I rarely have
weekends off, so when I
did, I decided not to waste
one moment. Checking the
weather, 48 hours of sunshine
lay ahead and I decided to make
the most of my time.
No supermarket or mega
shopping mall was going to
have the pleasure of my hard
earned moolah, no; I wanted to
see what was happening in my
backyard, market wise, as I had
heard that there were some
wonderful markets locally.
The first market that we
visited was the Stellenbosch
Slow Food market originally
situated at Bosmanscrossing in
Stellenbosch and then moving
to the picturesque Oude Libertas
which is still at the heart of the
market today. To attain the ‘slow
food’ label, products have had
to be harvested, grown, raised,
caught, handmade, or preserved
by the producer themselves. I
have to say right out that in my
opinion this is the best market I
have ever been to. The market
features speciality food and
wine producers, local farmers,
food, wine and malt artisans,
organic and natural merchants,
but designer clothing, jewellery
and seasonal goods. A perfect
combination for both the foodie
and shopaholic alike.
This market boasts quality from
start to finish. If you are a foodie
like me, you will be impressed
with the variety of products
available. What I often find at
food shows and some markets
is the endless repetition of
certain items like olives or
pesto; luckily I can attest to
there being such a variety
available that my palate never
complained! Try the cheeses
from Anura, the Sauvignon Blanc
from the delightfully named
‘Fishwives club’, loose leaf teas
from Raymond Chen, Ghenwa’s
Lebanese cooking, some pesto
from Pesto Princess and wash
that all down with one of the
ice cold microbrewery beers
available. We tried Triggerfish
and Stellenbrau.
Lunch was spent under the
trees, eating a crispy pizza
topped with pancetta, pecorino,
rocket, cherry tomatoes and
12-year-old balsamic vinegar
with a splash of olive oil. It was
sublime. Dessert was purchased
from the charming Arnim and
Elke von Werne’s German
confectionary stand.