Talking about food is almost as important as eating in our family. Each in our own way we are obsessed with food. I love food but I’m not much of a cook. Thank God I’m married to a woman who is a one of the worlds great cooks! Sometimes I’m expected to prepare a meal, but mostly I’m untrustworthy as a cook and expected, simply, to turn up at the table with a good appetite. Eggs, pancakes, porridge their accompaniments are my

safe turf. Oh! By the way I can do grilled fish in a herb crust with a few simple veg on the side. But! – When the meal is served the critiques and the post-mortems begin.

As with most families opposing camps are formed depending upon the subject under discussion. In our family, when Food is the topic, there are the Boys and the Girls. Portia and Lumai, chef and protégé’, will start by circling around the ‘kill’. ‘ Are you sure it’s done?’ My mind purses its lips and whizzes thru the preceding minutes to check that I have followed procedure to the ‘T’. The first fork parts the firm white flesh and the Inspection of the Interior begins. ‘Looks a bit underdone, don’t you think?’ Leo rips into the meal without a moment’s hesitation; ‘Ts great Dad.’ At least I know he’s in the Boys camp. ‘It’s fine –needs a bit of salt,’ Portia puts herb salt on her piece and takes another mouthful. Whew! Passed the inspection!

Leo is usually finished first. As long as there are no funny textures, excessive spicing or the dish is too unfamiliar, Leo is your man. And chicken is top of his List. Moms’ Sticky Chicken Wings are music to his ears. But Dads’ fish is fine as well.

But on Sunday mornings the Girls take over the kitchen. All late breakfast eaters are banished or given marching orders. The preparations begin!

Fish Curry is one of my favourites on Sundays, but it usually only reveals itself when friends are invited. First the kitchen is suffused with the heady aromas of spices toasting gently in the oven. Fenugreek, Star Aniseed, Allspice. I start to fall in love with my wife all over again. Then the utensils come out. An olive green, stone mortar and pestle are set before Lu and she sets to work with pounding as soon as the spices out of the oven. A shining stainless steel dish with a copper bottom appears on the gas hob and the bouquet of olive oil starts to garnish the air. A solid beach chopping board is plonked down on the concrete counter along with a razor-sharp Zwillig blade and diced onions appear under dancing fingers.

The onions are fried briskly, to a golden brown. Grated carrot goes in with the spices and allowed to simmer with the lid on. Once the ingredients are cooked chunks of firm white Kingklip are added, mixed in and the heat is turned up once more. Ten minutes later the Fish Curry smells so good it’s just begging you to eat it.

Did I forget to mention the rice? Well, light, fluffy basmati rice is the only rice for this meal! Portia says: ‘Basmati rice is dead easy to cook. Just take it off when all the water has been absorbed; before it burns!’

The following is some text from our website of the history of our restaurant.  I am pasting it here to offer an introduction to the three family members who own The Africa Cafe as they will soon be making some posts of their own and it’s always nice to know a little about the name behind the message:

“The Africa Café had the humble beginnings of a dream in a South Africa that had yet to transform into the democracy and icon of freedom that it is today.  Portia and Jason De Smidt had no formal training in food preparation, but armed with creative flair and abundant passion they were determined to open South Africa’s first African restaurant.  Their idea was not warmly received by the business community and without much needed financial backing the only option was to open the doors of their small home in the Bohemian suburb of Observatory.  They were determined to fill a gap in the market and create food that would celebrate Africa’s diversity and rich tapestry of tastes and aromas.  There was very much a sense that Africa, through years of oppression, had lost pride in its heritage, and this inspired the dynamic couple even more to challenge and change negative perceptions of what this vast and great continent had to offer.

Portia’s brother, Hector, came down from Johannesburg to complete the team and brought with him extensive marketing expertise to help boost the growth process. Needless to say the word spread and over a period of 17 years the fledgling restaurant grew from strength to strength in the face of much adversity into the much-loved and very popular destination it is today.”

Every year around September when the air is filled with pollen and many Capetonians are sneezing their way through the day, Mother Nature has a show of her own in an area to the west of Cape Town known as Namaqualand.  Scores of people set out for the day or weekend to witness the blooming of millions of daisies and assorted fynbos flowers.  I never seem to get the timing right but I am always rewarded with similar blooms right in the city on the slopes of Lion’s Head and Signal Hill.  The other morning I captured these beautiful violet flowers with the softest, velvety texture on my cell phone.  Flowers have the power to open your heart and fill your being with joy.  Next time you pass a blossom or a bloom I highly recommend taking a few minutes to stop and admire the simple majesty of nature!

One of the most popular items on our menus is often our bread.  We serve a variety of different breads which change per menu as do the other items we serve.  One of our all time favourite dishes has been Portia’s Cassava bread but the recipe for this is still a closely guarded secret!  Currently we are serving vetkoek and we call it South African but it is eaten all over the continent under many different names.  The recipe is very much a basic bread recipe but what makes them vetkoek is in the baking or rather the frying

Quantity depends on the size of your vetkoek

450g cake flour

10g instant dry yeast

3 teaspoons white sugar

2 teaspoons salt

400ml warm water

vegetable oil for deep frying

Sift the flour, salt, sugar and dry yeast into a mixing bowl, making sure they are evenly distributed.  Make a hollow in the centre and pour in the warm water.  Using a wooden spoon, mix the liquid into the flour.  Finish off the mixing with your hands until you have a smooth dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.  Cover the dough with a tea towel and put into a warm place to rise and double in size.  Heat enough oil for deep frying in a heavy casserole pot.  Using a metal serving spoon for size, scoop lumps of dough, one spoonful at a time and transfer it into the hot oil.  As the vetkoek cooks it will swell up and resemble a puffy ball.  Remove when golden brown all over.  Can be enjoyed for breakfast with hot coffee, dipped into a saucy stew or even stuffed to make a ’sandwich’ with your favourite filling.  One of my unusual and personal bests is a filling of cheddar cheese and honey!

U thando means love in Xhosa.  As many of us believe that it is love that makes the world go round, it is a theme that will probably pop up now and then.  Perhaps in time it will even need its own category!  Today love has come up because the next member of the team that I have decided to introduce is dating the beautiful Nandipha who was recently introduced.  When you work such long hours in the same place people are bound to start coupling up.  In fact all three of our barmen are dating waitresses who also work here which is great unless they are having a tiff hehe.

This is what Azola Zanekani, aged 24 has to say for himself:

I was born in the  Eastern Cape in King Williams Town.  I went to live in Middleburg with my grandmother for a while and then came to Cape Town to live with my sister when I was 12.  I wanted to be an actor and I used to perform in sketches and dramas in the township and I was good at it.  I was naughty and stubborn but also responsible.  My biggest challenge was the language.  I went to a township school and couldn’t speak English as well as the other students.  They used to laugh at me and I wanted to quit but my sister said there were no quitters in our family.  It was very difficult because I couldn’t be a normal person.  I started working at 16 as a driver at Dunes bakery.  The only place that I wanted to visit is Durban.  I wish my dream can come true.

Thanks Azola!

The Africa Cafe is the one and only.  Hmmm now that could be rather misleading with the newly opened One and Only hotel at the V&A Waterfront.  What I really mean is that there is only one Africa Cafe.  There are other African restaurants out there who try and market themselves on our good name and have really confused many consumers.  There is a city bowl neighbour of ours who cooks from our recipe book, grabs any ex staff members of ours that they can, bribes hotel staff and taxi drivers to bring them guests destined for our dining rooms and even goes so far as to say they are us.  Times are tough and people are desperate.  We continue to do what we know best and that is to serve the most delicious African meal experience the city has to offer and not get involved in dirty marketing tactics.  So if in doubt look for our lady who has been dancing outside our building and on our plates for 17 years now.  If you don’t see her you are not at The (only) Africa Cafe.  Remember, all that glitters is not good…

Spinach is eaten in a wide variety of forms throughout Africa.  It is an inexpensive, nutritious dish, which is usually simple to prepare.  In the Northern part of South Africa it is called Morogo, here in Cape Town it is known as umfino and Mulukhiya in the southern part of Egypt.

300 g spinach                                                    4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped in half

1 teaspoon salt                                                   1 teaspoon black pepper

1 egg                                                                      1 cup corn flour

1 medium onion finely chopped                    1 cup frozen peas, defrosted

oil for shallow frying

Wash Spinach very well in lots of water, making sure that the sand and little bugs all wash away.  Chop roughly and put into a pot with a lid.  Steam the spinach over a slow flame, until it has reduced in the pot.  Make sure the spinach cooks dry.  Open the pot and let the spinach cool.  Meanwhile cook the potatoes until soft in a different pot.  Add salt and mash the potatoes.  Empty cooked spinach, mashed potatoes, egg, corn flour, chopped onion, defrosted peas and black pepper into a large mixing bowl.  Using a potato masher, mix all the ingredients together.  Form flat patty shapes and set aside.  Heat oil in a frying pan and fry irio until crispy on both sides.

It’s been a while since we have had a lesson in speaking Xhosa.  I realise that if we carry on with only one word every week or so we are never going to get anywhere.  So here are a whole bunch of phrases as well as a recap on what we have already covered (which is only ‘hello’ and ‘how are you?’).  You will also see that there is an alternative for “How are you?”.  When it comes to pronunciation you’ll have to stop someone on the street, ask them if they are Xhosa speaking and I am sure they will be more than happy to help you out with a quick lesson.  South Africans are known to be amongst the friendliest people on the planet – just another great reason to visit our beautiful country

Hello – Molo
Hello (two people or more) – Molweni
how are you? – Uphila njani?
I am well Thank you! – Ndiphilile enkosi
Sorry - uxolo
Please – nceda
I don’t understand – andiqondi
I don’t know – andazi
I come from.. – Ndivela
Do you speak English? – uyakwazi ukuthetha isiNgesi?
Yes – Ewe (eh-weh)
No – Hayi

Nandipha has become the “face” of Africa Cafe.  She is featured as the hostess on our website as well as our brochures and many banners over the years.  This is her introduction to you:

I’m a proud mother to a 9 year old humble daughter – the one person I turn to whenever I need comfort or am going through a rough time.  I’m a strong African woman from a huge family that went through a lot of crisis but came out tougher than ever by gaining strength in handling situations from my supportive and strong mother.

I’m a grateful person with lots of dreams and ambitions.  I tend to sell myself short at times because I’m scared of failure but I am working on it!  I’m a kind individual and am filled with lots of love.  I feel that it is time to give back some love to people especially after what I call a “near death experience” recently.  The support I received was phenomenal.  The experience taught me not to take anything or pain for granted.  Basically I am extremely grateful to be alive!!

- as are we Nandipha – Remo

The Africa Cafe is not only famous for serving the most delicious African food in Cape Town.  Our bar is also well know for making some of the best fresh fruit cocktails which we serve both with and without alcohol.  Jason shops at the fresh produce market to make sure that only the freshest ingredients are used and the proof really is in the taste.  Here is the recipe for our world famous Mala Mala:

Makes 6

800g fresh pineapple cut into chunks

1 tablespoon fresh granadilla pulp

120ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup white sugar

6 tots of white rum (optional)

1 litre plain soda water

Pulp pineapple pieces in a blender until smooth.  Add the lemon juice and sugar.  Mix until sugar has dissolved.  Lastly, add the granadilla pulp and blend briefly, taking care not to crush the pips.

To make one cocktail:  Put one tot of rum in a large cocktail glass or omit, fill the glass to 1/2 with the above mixture and top up slowly with soda water.  Watch out that the fizz does not overflow the glass.  Stir with a swizzle stick or spoon.  Sit back, relax, watch the sunset and enjoy