The Cape Winelands, from the Constantia Valley to Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl, Wellington, Worcester and Tulbagh, hold the combined history of many different nationalities who, over the centuries, travelled to this most southern part of Africa to start a new life. As they adapted the recipes of their homeland to new surroundings and ingredients and shared their culinary skills with one another, a new cuisine was born. Cape Winelands Cuisine is the result of a culinary collaboration unique to this region.
Passionate about the history of food in South Africa, Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche, Culinary Consultant, together with the Pierneef à La Motte chefs, have been researching and collecting recipes for many years, dedicating a lot of time and passion to the development and innovation of these traditional recipes. With the encouragement and support of Hein Koegelenberg, CEO of La Motte and his wife, and owner of La Motte, Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg, these special recipes are available in a hard cover cookbook with beautiful photography. Readers will find that despite the long and rich history, the recipes collected in the book are far from outdated, and makes out part of everyday life in the Winelands.
Cape Bokkom Salad
“What really makes this book so special is that it is the first time in the history of South Africa that such a complete and detailed traditional recipe book with historical, scientifically based recipes is published”, says Hein Koegelenberg. “It was a daunting task finding these recipes, researching them into their finest detail and then adjusting them to work for modern day living as many of these recipes have never been published before.”
The first and oldest recipes were brought to the Cape by European settlers during the seventeenth century after Jan van Riebeeck, commander of the Dutch East India Company, settled in the Cape in 1652. Tasked with establishing a halfway station between Europe and the East to supply fresh victuals to ships passing the southern tip of Africa, fresh food was one of the most important reasons for the establishment of a community in the Cape. Europeans who joined Van Riebeeck, most of whom were Dutch, German-speaking, Flemish and French, brought the influences of their European cuisine as well as Middle and Far East herbs and spices. Many of the French Huguenots who came to the Cape, settled on farms such as La Motte in Olifantshoek (later renamed Franschhoek) and also introduced a wealth of recipes to Cape cooking. Chefs at the Cape had to improvise and adapt their recipes in accordance with available ingredients, which set the table for creativity in our local cuisine. Cape Winelands Cuisine unlocks the history of food in South Africa and serves as a valuable guide to a wealth of food knowledge that was almost lost by our generation.
A selection of traditional Cape curries.
Through the centuries, all the different cultures that make up the colourful South African nation, made a contribution, big or small, to the further shaping of Cape Winelands Cuisine. Originating from the Old-Cape chefs’ “lost” recipes and “forgotten” knowledge, from collections of favourite and family recipes, from all the crazes, cultures, flavours and fancies from which the enjoyment of food emanated at the southern tip of Africa, a wealth of ideas has been gathered, all of which represent extraordinary ingredients of the regional cooking as depicted in the book, Cape Winelands Cuisine.
The book is available from all major book shops as well as the La Motte Farm Shop (R395) on the estate.
Cape Winelands Cuisine cookbook
Title: Cape Winelands Cuisine – The La Motte Cookbook by Hetta van Deventer-Terblanche and La Motte
Publisher: Human & Rousseau
Pages: 288
Recipes: 106 Recipes + 19 Basic recipes at the back
Pictures: 120 Colour Photos
Binding: Hard Cover
