La Vie Magazine Launch Edition by La Vie - Issuu

La Vie Magazine Launch Edition

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The Birthday Celebration edition

La Vie

The premier Winelands living and lifesTyle magazine

Blaauwklippen

celebrates 333 years

of excellence

Salt of the Earth at Fleur du Cap

Quarter of a century for Le Quartier Franรงais

New rector for Stellenbosch University Launch Edition R24,95


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contents Food & Wine 25 years Le Quartier Français

Arts & Entertainment 04

Iconic LQF 25 years later, with executive chef Margot Janse at the helm of The Tasting Room at LQF for 20 years

333 magnificent years of wine history

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Fleur du Cap Flower of the Cape

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50 years for Theatre Awards Golden anniversary of this annual theatre highlight.

Painting with light

Light becomes the paintbrush in these exquisite oil painting-look photographs.

Wellness 34

Yin & yang in perfect harmony

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Nia, the perfect mind–body dance.

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Blaauwklippen celebrates a huge birthday and showcases the South African first they created for this occasion.

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Home of the famous Die Bergkelder, Fleur du Cap offers so much more than just its award-winning wines.

Salt, our gift from the Earth

Regulars

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Salt has become the wine pairing ingredient du jour. Explore this unique taste experience.

Dreams do come true with vernuft

A family created a very special deli, attracting visitors from far and wide.

The Salt Guy

FInd out what makes a salt guru tick.

CHEF PETE'S EATS

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ART AROUND

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THE SALTY CHEF

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DIE LAASTE DIS

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Celebrity Chef Pete Goffe-Wood cooks real food for real people.

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Salt aficionado Chef Craig Cormack shares a salt and wine pairing.

51 Communities 10 years for StreetSmart children

A look at the abundant art happenings all around us.

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Innovative fundraising initiative with top restaurants.

‘Boerekos’ has the last word.

Education Leading Stellenbosch University into a bright future

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21 years of innovation and creativity

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Professor Wim de Villiers recently took the helm as new rector of SU.

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Waldorf shool leading its learners to face the challenges of the future.

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SUBSCRIBE Subscribe to La Vie for one year (six issues) at a 30% discount on the future cover price of R34,95 per issue. Three subscribers for one year will also receive a copy of A Life Digested, by Pete Goffe-Wood, in addition to their discount. Subscribe to La Vie for six months (three issues) at a 10% discount on the future cover price of R34,95 per issue. Three subscribers for six months will get their subscription for free.

To subscribe, email subscribe@laviemag.co.za Part memoir, part cookbook, loaded with funny anecdotes of his own cheffing adventures, epic meals, formative influences, pet peeves and packed with some of his most cherished recipes, A Life Digested is a fantastic look into the life of one of South Africa’s favourite chefs. A Life Digested is publisherd by Quivertree Publications

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Fraser Tel: +27 (0)83 627 1656 www.quivertreepublications.com

T&Cs: The 30% discounted rate applies to a bimonthly subscription of six issues of La Vie, to the amount of R146.79. The 10% discounted rate applies to a bi-monthly subscription of three issues of La Vie, to the amount of R94.37. This offer is valid until the end of July 2015 and is only available to South African residents. International subscriptions can be made via our website www.laviemag.co.za. Please note that the subscription will only be activated on receipt of payment and we can therefore not guarantee that it will start with the next edition. Subscriptions and promotions include VAT and postage.

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Editorial Welcome to La Vie coloured lenses. Our wines are a true metaphor for life in all its splendour and diversity and just general fabulousness. La Vie rests on the three pillars of inspiration, innovation and indulgence. Each edition will provide plenty of all of these, for your entertainment, information and personal growth. This first had to be The Birthday Celebration Edition, with the launch of this magazine not the least of some of the auspicious birthdays we are featuring, the most notable being Blaauwklippen Estate celebrating 333 years of winemaking (page 14).

La Vie is a celebration of life in the wider Cape winelands, in all its hues and tastes and aromas. We invite you to join us on a journey of the senses. Music, art, food, wine, festivals and much, much more will inspire you to experience more in the Cape winelands and surrounds than you have ever dreamt of. We are all familiar with the expression la vie en rose – life through rose-coloured lenses. There is not exactly a French expression la vie en vin, but we thought it most apt to create the expression for what we are celebrating here – life through wine-

EDITOR Marika Truter WRITERS Hanneke Gagiano Helen Naudé Eugene Giya DESIGN & LAYOUT David Silberbauer

CONTRIBUTORS Margaret Laubser Margi Biggs Nicolette Waterford Gudrun Clark Allison Foat Corli de Kock PHOTOGRAPHERS Eddie Wilson Sam Burrows

The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français has just been listed as one of the top 100 restaurants in the world, and we feature this colourful (in many senses) establishment and all its various offerings (page 4). We have been enthralled by the Fleur du Cap at Die Bergkelder wine and salt pairings, and not only do we bring you an overview of this iconic destination (page 28), but also take a deeper look at salt itself (page 36), as well as bringing South Africa’s salt guru on board for a regular contribution (page 51). Our feature on the deli Vernuft showcases the people making dreams happen in a family driven success story for all (page 44). There are further offerings of art, wellbeing, education, community and regular contributions revolving around art and food for your enjoyment. Even though the focus of La Vie will be on Franschhoek, the undisputed culinary capital of the South Africa, and Stellenbosch, the heart of the Winelands, we will be showcasing the entire region, and even beyond, going both on and off the beaten tracks. Please join us in exploring, experiencing and enjoying la vie en vin!

ADVERTISING Marika Truter

Published by Connect Communications (Pty) Ltd PO Box 192 Lynedoch 7603

EMAIL marika.truter@laviemag.co.za ads@laviemag.co.za

Printed by CTP Printers WEB www.laviemag.co.za Facebook /lavie Twitter @laviemag

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25 years 25 years Le Quartier Français

Le Quartier Français

It was an audacious idea to add a top-class hotel to a popular restaurant in a village that was not a tourist destination. Twenty-five years later, that village is the gourmet capital of South Africa, and for Le Quartier Français it is the celebration of an auspicious birthday. Helen Naudé traces the history of this iconic establishment with its owner, Susan Huxter.

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A lightness of being effortlessly carries a wealth of awards garnered over the years.

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25 years Le Quartier Franรงais

Interior design at Le Quartier Franรงais is all about individuality and the stylish expression thereof. 6


Le Quartier Français is one of the Franschhoek Wine Valley’s most accoladed establishments. These oversized bronze bunny sculptures by Guy du Toit encapsulate the playful and creative spirit of this establishment perfectly.

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here is an honesty at Le Quartier Français (LQF) that enriches the experience of visiting this smallish establishment with its mammoth reputation. One is tempted to call it unpretentious when noticing it isn’t really grand, but then realises it is very stylish in an understated, personal and relaxed way. Taking in the interior design with its unexpected colours, the message is ‘This is what we like,’ instead of ‘Look, we’re following the latest trends.’ The hotel, an extended single-storey building, is a comfortable balance between conservation and commercialism, acknowledging the heritage of the Valley as well as catering to the expectations of modern hospitality. Its international reputation attracts guests from far and wide, although this past summer saw the highest percentage yet of South Africans staying at the hotel. When Susan acquired the already popular restaurant in 1989, she just about single-handedly started a new French revolution that catapulted Franschhoek from being a lovely, serene moutainous valley into becoming the

highly sought-after tourist destination it is today – not to mention becoming South Africa’s gourmet capital. She has ensured that LQF today is both a world-class accommodation and food destination for a discerning local and global clientèle. Being a passionate hotelier, owning a restaurant without accommodation was not an option for Susan, and she set about building the hotel she wanted, the result being the Auberge, a beautiful 14-room establishment. Four years later she converted her home next door into the Auberge Suites, which overlook a garden and pool in a lovely Cape Victorian courtyard with ‘broekie’ lace and old-fashioned street lamps. The following year saw yet another addition: four spacious luxury suites, the Four Quarters. These suites overlook a central courtyard and lap pool, have exquisite finishes, display local artwork, and (of course) have a butler in attendance. To complete the offering of LQF, Susan added a five-bedroom, no-frills hotel, serving as a counterpoint to the luxury suites. Delicious Hotel was welcomed into the fold.

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Joostenberg Vakte duck, Boerenkinders purée and grape

ée, che affin arlot boipu and linseed h C e p e P d turn fermente

Executive Chef Margot Janse

The Tasting Room

World-renowned chef Margot Janse celebrates her twentieth year with LQF this year. Ten years ago, the restaurant was changed to The Tasting Room. True to the vision she shares with Susan, they decided not to do what was fashionable, but rather to do something they would like – a tasting menu. Dishes were designed and paired with good wines and a bold, beautiful tasting menu was launched. It’s a menu for which the words ‘contradiction’ and ‘balance’ are used in the same description and for which diners are advised to set aside three-and-a-half hours. However, things are never static at LQF. In 2012, Margot’s brother, scenographer Herbert Janse, designed a makeover for The Tasting Room. He innovatively used elements such as wood from the Franschhoek Valley to make the tables, a coloured rope sculpture reflecting the mountains, and wallpaper made from Parisian candy foil wrappings. The pleasing result is a restaurant Herbert describes as ‘a room for unexpected tastes’.

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Snow globe, num-num and rice crispies


25 years Le Quartier Français

Cosy spaces and Susan’s ‘follies’

The Lounge Bar

Although the core business of this hospitality landmark in the Cape Winelands is defined by the hotel and The Tasting Room, Huguenot Street frontage provides immediate access to The Lounge Bar, which wears its fresh colourful stripes like a spring coat. Here, and on the terrace with its soft cushions and lime-green umbrellas, guests and visitors stop for drinks and anything from a petite breakfast to snacks or a light meal. Behind the bar, The Garden Room, with its cosy fireplace and wonderful view through floor-to-ceiling windows, hosts breakfasts and functions throughout the year. Fitting in nicely are additional attractions that Susan amusingly calls ‘my follies’ – The Boschendal Screening Room (a small movie theatre), a beauty salon called b.gorgeous, and a pop-up Le Creuset shop.

The Garden Room

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25 years Le Quartier Français

When my sons were small, they travelled with me, and I now extend the same pleasure to others and welcome guests with kids. Tailormade business style

Talent, knowledge and experience give Susan a sure and steady hand in steering her ship. She and her team do not emulate what someone else does better – instead, they do their ‘own thing’ as well as they can, because they want to. This does not, however, lead to complacency on the side of either Susan or Margot. They always strive for more, looking for the next challenge and how they can improve and evolve. They work hard at getting it right, re-inventing and changing that which is called for. Susan says that “being a regular on international and local awards lists for Best Restaurant and Best Hotel is satisfying and good for the team, but it creates expectations and it takes hard work to stay on top. Not that anyone minds – it is after all a business and not a hobby.” Marketing is part of this hard work. There is a rising trend in ‘food tourism’, and Susan travels extensively to market LQF overseas.

Interior of The Tasting Room

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Susan Huxter, doyenne of the South African hospitality industry


Developing Franschhoek’s people

Caring about children extends to the local community. Susan and her team raise funds and prepare meals for crèches in the hotel kitchen five days a week. Training programmes for people from the Franschhoek Valley have been very successful and have led to rewarding career paths in the hospitality industry. Susan explains: “We change lives by giving back to the community. It’s ‘paying it forward’.” Ms Vanie Padayachee presents the cooking classes at LQF.

LQF caters for children in most delightful ways.

Spending time with guests is part of what Susan does and enjoys. In addition, every staff member is keen to hear what they can do for one, comfortable in this place where many of them have been working for more than 20 years. Feedback from guests makes generous use of superlatives, often referring to special attention they received in particular situations. “It’s gratifying, because the team makes a special effort to spoil guests and let them feel they may take their shoes off,” Susan concludes with pride.

The welcoming smile of Mr Themba Ncube, a host at Le Quartier Français, epitomises the abundant authentic hospitality of the establishment. LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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Images Le Quartier Français

The human touch


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333 333 magnificent years of wine history

magnificent years

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Nestled in the slopes of the Stellenbosch Mountain, one of the oldest wineries in South Africa has not only reached a unique birthday this year, but also launched a first in South Africa – a zinfandel méthode cap classique, aptly named Diva.

333

years of history inspiring the future of Blaauwklippen has generated an extraordinary year celebrating this milestone. Rolf Zeitvogel, distinguished and passionate cellarmaster and managing director at this historic estate, is extremely excited about this year of celebrations, which coincides with an exceptional vintage. Blaauwklippen is boasting special events throughout the year, showcasing its proud history in various ways and committing to the community in which it finds itself.

De Blaauwe Klippen – then and now

In 1682, Dutch settler Gerrit Jansz Visser – ‘in de wandeling ‘Grof ’ genaamd’ (nicknamed ‘Rough’) – settled on the banks of the Dwars River. Visser, a potter by trade and probably lured by Governer Simon van der Stel’s offer of land in the Stellenbosch area, decided to try his hand at farming. However, having had to wait ten years for the land to officially become his, he sold it shortly thereafter to Guillaume Niel, a newly arrived Huguenot refugee and progenitor of the large Nel family in South Africa. Two hundred years later and with a number of owners over the centuries, Graham Boonzaaier acquired Blaauwklippen in 1971 and developed the estate to become the premier Cape Winelands destination it is today, offering a wide and varied experience for its local and international visitors, old and young.

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333 magnificent years of wine history

Vine planting started in 1973, with cabernet sauvignon, pinotage and cabernet franc planted over ten hectares. Five years later saw 130 hectares under vine, with a production of around 200 000 bottles. Renowned winemaker Walter Finlayson joined Blaauwklippen in 1975. He immediately built a modern wine cellar ready for pressing in February 1976. Varietals then included pinot noir, shiraz, chardonnay, merlot, sauvignon blanc and zinfandel. Graham recognised the changing patterns in wine buying, with the trend of people visiting and buying directly from estates on the rise. The estate expanded to offer more to visitors, including establishing the Carriage Museum. Regal among the period pieces stand the graceful gala landaus previously owned by the highly respected Cape Malay families of Sale and Samuels. Crafted in 1833 and 1834, these twin classic tourers have provided a cushioned ride in and around old Cape Town for such revered personages as King George V and Queen Mary of England, as well as President Paul Kruger. Blaauwklippen changed hands when it was bought by the Schoerghuber family in

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1999 and has been run by Rolf Zeitvogel since 2003. Under Rolf ’s imaginative guidance, the estate has been placed firmly on the wine tourism map of South Africa, with many offerings to delight old and young. Some of these include The Bistro and The Charcuterie, the popular Blaauwklippen Family Market and the farmyard with its alpacas and curious goats.

The Tasting Room

Regal among the period pieces stand the graceful gala landaus ...


MAGE Marguerite du Plooy

Marius Prinsloo at his studio at Blaauwklippen

Artist in residence Blaauwklippen is well known for their involvement with the arts, and having an artist in residence adds to their integration of the fine art of appreciating fine arts and fine wine tasting. Marius Prinsloo, who is in turn well known not only for his lovely paintings, but also for his love of painting in public, such as at art and culture festivals, was appointed as curator of Blaauwklippen’s art offerings in 2013 and can be found in his studio in the Tasting Room, which is also the art gallery at Blaauwklippen. Marius still paints in public at the Sunday Family Market at Blaauwklippen.

... integration of the fine art of appreciating fine arts and fine wine tasting LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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333 magnificent years of wine history

Long, lazy afternoons at The Bistro

Of family markets and alpacas The weekly family market is a firm favourite for many locals and regulars, with its wide variety of market offerings, delicious food stalls and live music. Families enjoy a picnic on the lawns, with plenty to do for the children, from pony rides to feeding the friendly goats. The alpacas are also a great attraction for everyone.

Alpacas at the family market 18

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Long afternoons of friendship In the time-honoured South African tradition of amiable hospitality, The Bistro and Deli at Blaauwklippen welcomes families and friends to linger on freshly scrubbed verandahs and under the cool canopies of ancient trees as the perfect setting to enjoy a feast on long summer days. As cicadas call their evening song, one is reminded of a simpler time, when food was unhurried and friendships formed for forever. In-house charcutier, Steve Jeffery, believes in the sincerity of wholesome food. Prepared with honesty, The Charcuterie presents an ultra-modern twist to traditional specialties with is free-range, hormone-free, pasture-fed, ethically farmed produce and artisanal hand-cured meats using only the freshest ingredients.

Some of the top artworks in the schools competition on display at Blaauwklippen, with the winning work of Jana Wanza of Idas Valley Primary School top left.

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Leveraging its continuing relationship with the arts, Blaauwklippen fittingly started off its celebration events with an art competition, Blaauwklippen 1682 – Before & After. This competition will visually capture the cultural heritage of this magnificent working farm. Artists were invited to submit entries in various mediums, including painting, printmaking, photography, drawing, multimedia, illustration and sculpture. In staying with this auspicious birthday, only the first 333 entries were accepted. From these 333 entries, 33 finalists will be selected for a three-week exhibition at Blaauwklippen in September 2015. Judges for the Blaauwklippen 1682 – Before & After art competition are Samarie Smith, freelance artist and journalist; Frans Groenewald, popular Stellenbosch artist; Michelle Basson, artist and art lecturer; Marius Prinsloo, Blaauwklippen’s resident artist; and Dot Vermeulen, winner of the 2013 Sasol New Signatures art competition. As a run-up to the final exhibition, Blaauwklippen reached out to 33 local primary and high schools as a community initiative, donating 33 canvases and art supplies to these schools. Winner Jana Wanza of Idas Valley Primary School won R3 000 worth of art supplies for her school, as well as R300 cash, R300 worth of art supplies, and a certificate. LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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Images Sam Burrows | Blaauwklippen

Delicious fare from The Charcuterie

Art high on 333 celebration agenda


333 magnificent years of wine history

It’s only fitting that the first South African winery to release a local interpretation of one of America’s most popular wines, a white zinfandel, is now responsible for another African first, a méthode cap classique made from zinfandel, the Diva 2013 MCC.

Zinfandel pride

Rolf, a third-generation winemaker hailing from Germany, describes the Diva in such poetic tones that one wants to rush out and taste it immediately: “The name Diva pays tribute to the temperamental and challenging – but very rewarding – nature of the zinfandel grape. The wine was carefully crafted to offer delicate yeasty tones layered with toast and refreshing aromas of litchi and crisp apple. The bracing acidity and rich mouth feel results in a long, lingering finish.” He explains that “with Blaauwklippen’s rich and colourful zinfandel history, we are widely regarded as the South African market leader when it comes to the production of this grape varietal that enjoys immense popularity in the States. The Diva, with the colour of sun-ripened straw, was a natural evolvement for us. The base wine was kept on the lees for eight months before the start of the second fermentation in the bottle, as per the traditional method. After disgorgement, the wine was aged for 13 months in the bottle.” A well-known producer of red zinfandel since the 1980s, Blaauwklippen’s decision to release the white version – which is made from red grapes – was driven by the wine-drinking public’s demand for a new wine style and the proven quality of Blaauwklippen’s zinfandel fruit. Since then Rolf, now in his 12th vintage at Blaauwklippen, has grown the zinfandel portfolio at this iconic estate to ten zinfandel-inspired products, including this latest MCC. “South African wine consumers are adventurous and are always keen to try something new. The time was right to present a new style to the South African public. Our zinfandel portfolio is met with excitement among a wide variety of wine lovers,” Rolf proudly enthuses. “Zinfandel is a unique selling point for Blaauwklippen, and we are committed to build on the legacy that was left to us by Walter Finlayson and his team, when they planted the very first zinfandel vines on the farm in the late seventies,” Rolf explains. (Historical source: HN Vos. 2002. De Blaauwe Klippen, Stellenbosch – Historical Survey and Structural Research of an 18th-century Farmyard. Research Centre for Historical Archaeology. Stellenbosch.)

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Rolf Zeitvogel relaxing in conversation in the Spirits Room at Blaauwklippen


Image Sam Burrows

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At Coopmanhuijs, a sense of the history and charm of a bygone era is preserved and teamed with the creations of selected artists and skilled craftsmen. Combined with unexpected detail and quirky surprises in décor, the result is pure enchantment which simply delights.

Our burgeoning Guest Comments Book attests to our sincere and personalised hospitality. Guests are afforded as much attention and privacy as they may require. Since opening in 2010, Coopmanhuijs Boutique Hotel has consistently ranked #1 among all hotels in Stellenbosch. “The perfect place “Friendly staff, centrally located and a great to stay in breakfast” Stellenbosch” - Reviewed November 2014

“A truly fantastic “Traditional meets meal and wonderful modern in perfect ambience” match”

- Reviewed November 2014

- Reviewed February 2015

- Reviewed November 2014

at Coopmanhuijs

Rediscover the flavours and textures of good, honest food – which lie at the heart of South African cuisine in central Stellenbosch.

Since opening in 2013, Helena’s Restaurant has ranked in the top 10 restaurants in Stellenbosch on TripAdvisor. Tel: +27 (0)21 883-8207

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info@coopmanhuijs.co.za

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33 Church Street, Stellenbosch 7600


10 years of StreetSmart children 10 years of StreetSmart children

StreetSmart chairperson, Melanie Burke, with children of TLC Outreach Projects in Table View at StreetSmart's children’s party in celebration of its tenth birthday.

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treetSmart, the organisation that raises funds for street children R5 a time, is celebrating their tenth year, having raised a record R1 040 000 in their tenth year for organisations that are actively involved with social development and rehabilitation of street children with the ultimate goal of family reunification. StreetSmart restaurateurs and their diners join hands to make a difference in their communities. Funds are raised by adding a R5 donation to each table’s bill at the participating restaurants. This donation is voluntary and diners are able to contribute more if they wish to. Nationally there are currently 92 restaurants embracing StreetSmart’s vision to make a real difference to the lives of street children. In South Africa, the growing number of children who live on the streets is concerning. While there are many reasons that these children end up in this position, and compassion is natural and encouraged, founder of StreetSmart SA, Margi Biggs, explains that giving them money directly is not the answer: “The exploitation of street children is rife. Many impoverished youngsters are used by adults and forced to beg in order to get money – sometimes for food, sometimes for drugs or alcohol. While the urge to give these children money is understandable, it in fact makes begging a viable alternative to seeking proper help and can only perpetuate the poverty and abuse cycle.”

StreetSmart SA was set up in 2005 by a group of concerned Capetonians under the patronage of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and comprises resourceful board members representing business and the hospitality and tourism industries. Similar StreetSmart organisations also run independently in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, the USA and The Netherlands. StreetSmart SA is registered as a Public Benefit Organisation as well as a Non-Profit Organisation and ensures that every cent donated by diners goes towards social and educational upliftment projects for street children. StreetSmart’s goal is to be part of the process of social normalisation and to encourage the public not to give money into the hands of a child, as this keeps them on the streets. In essence, eating and donating at a StreetSmart restaurant is the responsible way to help a street child. StreetSmart SA has collected and handed over R220 000 to their Franschhoek and Stellenbosch beneficiaries for 2015, The Kusasa Project and Home from Home. The Kusasa Project offers educational opportunities to vulnerable children from the informal settlement outside Franschhoek. The funds raised by StreetSmart in Franschhoek will go towards the salary of a social worker, as well the salary of an auxiliary social worker. LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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ImageS Ravi Gajjar | Eddie Wilson – Foto Artist Studio

StreetSmart restaurant Bread & Wine’s Neil Jewell discussing opportunities with Margi Biggs (founder of StreetSmart SA) and Melanie Burke (chairperson of StreetSmart SA). Home from Home provides supported and supervised foster care for abandoned and vulnerable children in small family homes in their own communities. The money raised by StreetSmart funds the partial salary of a social worker, transport, communication and family reunification services in support of the foster mothers in Kayamandi and Cloetesville. “Home from Home is thrilled once again to be the recipient of funding from StreetSmart for our Stellenbosch-based homes. The challenges faced working with children who have been living on the streets are complex. Thanks to StreetSmart’s support of Home from Home’s projects in the Winelands area, our social workers are able to work alongside the foster mothers and children to ensure they receive the appropriate support, guidance, counselling and care,” said Home from Home's development director, Pippa Shaper, on receipt of the funds. Leading the Winelands restaurants to become StreetSmart was Susan Huxter (owner of Le Quartier Français), who started running StreetSmart in Le Quartier Français and Bread&Wine in November 2007. “We are proud to have been part of StreetSmart in Franschhoek since the beginning. The contribution over the years to the community has been invaluable; it has helped us change lives over the years. It is an incredible initiative and we hope that it will continue to grow in the future. R5 makes a difference!” she says. Rust en Vrede was the first Stellenbosch restaurant to sign up in April 2009, with Chef David Higgs, a recipient of the 2010

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Eat Out Top Restaurant, Service and Chef awards. Today, with Chef John Shuttleworth and restaurant manager Andrea Shuttleworth at the helm, Rust en Vrede continues to run StreetSmart successfully. StreetSmart South Africa’s other beneficiaries are Cape Town Multi-Service Centre, Learn to Live, Ons Plek and TLC Outreach Projects in Cape Town, Twilight Children and Kids Haven in Johannesburg, PEN in Pretoria and Masizame in Plettenberg Bay. All these charities are actively involved with the social development and rehabilitation of street children. “Our partnership with StreetSmart has allowed us to ensure that we strive to be the best in the industry and we endeavour to do so in the future. It is remarkable how StreetSmart’s funding has enabled so many children and youth over the years to gain access to education, skills training and job placements,” says Nelly Burrows, Director of Operations and Development at Salesian Institute. “2014 has been another exceptional year for StreetSmart SA! For the first time, StreetSmart will be disbursing over one million rand to beneficiaries nationally. Through steady organic growth StreetSmart will continue its upward trend, with one aim: to help as many street children and children at risk, through successful partnerships and promoting responsible giving via StreetSmart restaurants,” says Nils Heckscher, vicechairman of StreetSmart SA.


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Image Craig Fraser

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CHEF PETE’S EATS Pete Goffe-Wood

Pressed chocolate cake with crème fraîche & fresh berries MasterChef South Africa judge, veteran food columnist and one of South Africa’s most recognisable and entertaining celebrity chefs, Pete Goffe-Wood, will be joining La Vie’s culinary offering from the next edition, enlightening readers with his unique take on life and food and all things good and wonderful. Pete has done his time in some of the best restaurants in the country and abroad. Add to this his varied experience of hosting events, food pairings, demos and weekend markets, as well as his role as a Y-chromosome culinary evangelist with his Kitchen Cowboy cooking classes for men, and you have an invaluable gastronomic guru for South African foodies. We offer a taste of what is to follow with this fabulous chocolate cake, ideal for a cold winter’s birthday celebration.

Ingredients 400g dark chocolate 300g butter 10 eggs, separated 225g caster sugar 4 tbsp cocoa 1 tub crème fraîche 2 punnets strawberries, raspberries or blueberries METHOD Melt the chocolate and butter together over a double boiler. Mix the egg yolks, sugar and cocoa in a bowl. Add the melted chocolate to this mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff and then fold into the chocolate batter. Bake in a greased springform pan at 160 °C for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Unclip the baking mould and put three plates (about the same size as the cake pan) covered in cling film on top of the cake for 20 minutes. Remove the plates and remove the cake from the mould and leave to cool completely before serving with dollops of crème fraîche and fresh berries. In the unlikely event that this gorgeous cake is not devoured in one sitting, it should be kept in the fridge. This is a dessert of the highest order and needs suitable company in the form of exceptional brandy. (Recipe from A Digested Life, by Pete Goffe-Wood. Published by Quivertree Publications. Please see page 2 for our reader subscription offer, where three readers can win a copy of this book.)

LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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Fleur du Cap Flower of the Cape

Fleur du Cap

Flower of the Cape When cellarmaster Andrea Freeborough opens the door to the fermentation cellar, she is dwarfed by the 40 000 litre stainless steel tanks. One cannot help but gasp in admiration at this pint-sized powerhouse for being so at ease around these massive, bulky, towering tanks, striding along the passages, clearly on her home turf, where she and her team create a world of superior wines at Fleur du Cap at Die Bergkelder, the historic cellar in the mountain cut deep into the slopes of the Papegaaiberg on the outskirts of Stellenbosch.

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Image Sam Burrows CLOTHING & ACCEssories Evora HAIR & MAKEUP jd Makeup

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Fleur du Cap Flower of the Cape

Fleur du Cap’s award-winning wines have been carefully shaped by the generosity of nature and the dedication of a devoted team at Die Bergkelder to create a range of wines that add a touch of flair to any moment.

Andrea explains that Fleur du Cap is in the enviable position to use the pick of the crop from diverse vineyard sites, selecting particular regions for their varying terroir, soils, slope orientation and micro climate that best express the sought after flavour profiles and sense of place in the wines. “This all starts in the vineyard where we handpick our grapes. Using our principle of regional excellence, we search the length and breadth of the Western Cape to find the best grapes for each of the wines in our range, which we then handcraft in the cellar. These premium wines capture and reflect that natural style and the elegant flavours in the grapes to bring that rich tapestry of flavours to the lifestyle of our consumers. Using only the region’s best grapes for our wines has become ingrained in our brand philosophy and is central to the way we approach winemaking. “For our premier Fleur du Cap Unfiltered range, the grapes are brought in from specific vineyard blocks, selected for their superior quality and locality, resulting in a range of wines set apart by their exceptional character and finesse. Through a more traditional, hands-on approach in the cellar, these wines are not filtered, resulting in rich, complex wines that simply abound with fruit and flavour expressing their true varietal character. This is all very important, but how the wine feels and tastes to you is what counts, which is why we’ve done all we can to make our wines consistent winners,” she concludes Fleur du Cap’s award-winning wines have been carefully shaped by the generosity of nature and the dedication of a devoted team at Die Bergkelder to create a range of wines that add a touch of flair to any moment. “As one of South Africa’s most awarded cellars with an impressive tally of gold medals and an unprecedented 7th consecutive Platter 5-star rating, we don’t treat any wine differently,” Andrea says. “We want our customers to know that whether they bring a Fleur du Cap wine to a dinner, picnic or celebration, they will have the best there is.”

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LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

Die Bergkelder is home

to exceptional wine and

food pairi


Die Bergkelder – an innovator of note The tranquil vaulted spaces of the bottle maturation mountain cellar sets the perfect tone for guests to experience the award winning range of Fleur du Cap wines firsthand. It must surely be one of the most memorable experiences tasting these wines amid thousands of bottles maturing in the cellar, guarded serenely by old French oak maturation casks that bear carvings depicting famous Cape wine landmarks and family crests. Die Bergkelder is home to exceptional wine and food pairing events, with the majestic French oak maturation casks telling the story of winemaking in the Cape overlooking the festivities. Opened officially in 1968 as the first bottle maturation cellar of its kind in the southern hemisphere, Die Bergkelder is home to some of the Cape’s finest wines. Right from the outset, this famous cellar in the mountain distinguished itself as an important innovator in the wine industry. In the 1970s, it played a pivotal role in establishing the

classic noble varieties (chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot) in the vineyards of the Cape. Die Bergkelder also took the lead in introducing the maturation of quality wine in small casks of new French oak, resulting in the launch in 1998 of the exceptional range of Fleur du Cap unfiltered wines. Made of small, select parcels of grapes using hands-on traditional winemaking practices that allow the full expression of the grapes, these are elegant wines crafted to great complexity and finesse with abundant fruit and flavour showing their true varietal character. Today, the team responsible for these acclaimed wines includes cellarmaster Andrea Freeborough, red winemaker Wim Truter and white winemaker Pieter Badenhorst. They work side by side with viticulturist Bennie Liebenberg to ensure that only the best grapes from some of the Western Cape’s finest vineyards make the journey to Die Bergkelder before it has the privilege to wear the Fleur du Cap label.

ing events.

Bennie Liebenberg

Wim Truter

Pieter Badenhorst

The iconic entrance to Die Bergkelder, the cellar in the mountain.

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Fleur du Cap Flower of the Cape

Winemaking philosophy of regional excellence

Images Fleur du Cap | Shutterstock

“It was certainly the earliest vintage in our time at Die Bergkelder,” says Andrea, who had to cut short her family holiday when the grapes started coming in. “We started on 7 January and although the crop was lighter than expected, the overall quality is extremely promising. All in all, the smaller and earlier crop looks like it has delivered an excellent vintage and we are extremely excited about the wines.” Andrea describes the concentration and complexity in the sauvignon blancs as ‘phenomenal’: “The fruit from Elgin has really stood out this year and there is such an abundance of tropical flavours from all our blocks. Darling sauvignon blancs are also really intense and are showing lovely asparagus and green pepper notes,” she adds. Chardonnays from Robertson and Stellenbosch are looking very good as usual. “There is a lovely minerality on the wines, as well as citrus and tropical notes,” she says. The chenin blancs are concentrated and showing lots of tropical flavours too. Andrea describes the earlier tank from Papkuils (Darling) as ‘aromatic and elegant’, compared with the tank from Windmeul (Paarl) as more ‘full and complex’, while the Elgin tank is still fermenting but looks to be very promising at this early stage, showing ‘melon and peach notes’. On the reds, colour and concentration have been ‘fantastic all round’. The pinotages are big, bold and full of flavour, with soft tannin. The Stellenbosch and Windmeul (Paarl) fruit selected for the Fleur du Cap range is looking particularly good. The top merlots this year come from Stellenbosch grapes, with blackberry fruit dominating Fleur du Cap’s top blocks. Cape Agulhas has again yielded some excellent shiraz tanks. “The wines are displaying loads of upfront fruit and black pepper notes,” says Andrea, adding that the shiraz from Stellenbosch and Somerset West is also looking amazing in terms of complexity and balance, albeit with a totally different flavour profile; “This fruit is not as spicy, but certainly doesn’t lack in terms of fruit.” As far as cabernet sauvignons are concerned, Stellenbosch fruit is standing out in the cellar with an abundance of flavour and fullness on the palate. “The cooler nights have enhanced overall quality and there is great colour, extraction and ripe tannin in these wines.” (At the time of going to press, it was just announced that Andrea Freeborough will be the new cellarmaster at Nederburg, and that Wim Truter will be the new cellarmaster at Fleur du Cap at Die Bergkelder.)

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LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

Fleur du Cap wines are crafted with nature in mind based on the winemaking philosophy of ‘regional excellence’. The winemakers follow universal guidelines to ensure environmentally friendly winemaking practices and strive towards making well-versed wines ‘the way Mother Nature intended’. This requires great care from the winemaking team, as each step of the intricate winemaking process has to be gently and sensitively handled to produce wines that express their terroir and true varietal character.

Wines from the Cape Floral Kingdom

Fynbos of the Cape Floral Kingdom Fleur du Cap grape producers are all situated in the area known as the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of only six such plant kingdoms in the world. Home to some 9 600 plant species – more than the whole of the northern hemisphere – it may be the smallest, but it’s certainly the richest. Fleur du Cap strives to protect this unique biodiversity by adhering to the Integrated Production of Wine (IPW), a system introduced in 1998 that focuses on every stage in the production process from environmental impact studies and the correct preparation of soil, to the use of recyclable packaging.

The Wine Museum A stroll through the Wine Museum offers wine lovers a snapshot of the country’s wine history, spanning over 300 years.


Image Sam Burrows CLOTHING & ACCEssories Jade & Velvet HAIR & MAKEUP jd Makeup

There is a lovely minerality on the wines, as well as citrus and tropical notes.

Cellarmaster Andrea Freeborough in the maturation cellar at Fleur du Cap at Die Bergkelder. The cellar holds more than 20 000 wine barrels. LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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50for Theatre years Awards Fleur du Cap Flower of the Cape

excellence distinguished artists

The annual Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards honours in acting, directing, staging and technical abilities, and this landmark birthday event has hailed yet another crop of from all spheres of the theatre world to receive awards as the best in their field over the past year. Awards panel member Eugene Yiga reviews this auspicious event on the arts calendar.

D

irector Christopher Weare (a past recipient of four Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards) created a ‘vintage celebration’ theme, incorporating the Theatre Awards’ unique role in the growth of South African theatre and celebrating the synergy and partnerships over the past 50 years between theatre spaces, actors, creatives, technicians and Distell, the sponsors of the awards ceremony. Established in 1965 as the

Three Leaf Awards, with six categories and 17 productions, the prize became known as the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards in 1978, and this year saw 18 categories in 74 productions. The inimitable Alan Committie was in fine form as the MC and the glamorous audience of around 1 500 guests was made up of the Who’s Who of the South African theatre scene, dignitaries, and members of the public.

Images Allison Foat | Andrew Brown

Actress Lizz Meiring and stand-up comedian Marc Lottering enjoying the afterparty at the Theatre Awards.

Emily Child makes her acceptance speech for winning the award for Lead Actress in a Play (for Laura in The Pervert Laura). 34


Richard Rushton, Distell’s Managing Director, affirmed: “Today we live in a democratic South Africa where everyone has the right to dream. Distell helps to preserve that space in which the arts can flourish, because we believe that the arts is a catalyst for social transformation; that the arts helps people reach out and connect. Through the arts, we express our wishes, fears, hopes, and love. Throughout our country’s history, the arts have given us a safe place to bare our souls and to transcend boundaries, differences, and obstacles in our everyday lives.” The awards consist of a silver medallion and a R15 000 prize, and while there wasn’t a single dominant production, as was the case last year with prison drama Rooiland and madcap musical The Rocky Horror Show, one of the evening's big winners was Louis ‘Uncle Loo’ Viljoen. He took home the Rosalie van der Gucht Prize (for new directors) and Best New South African Script (for his political drama The Kingmakers). Viljoen's explicit psycho-drama The Pervert Laura, also nominated for its script, won Emily Child the award for Lead Actress in a Play. The award for Lead Actor in a Play went to Albert Pretorius for his performance in Playland, which Athol Fugard describes as the ‘most emotionally exhausting play’ he’s ever written. Rondomskrik, a play about the gruesome rape and murder of 17-year-old Anene Booysen in 2013, won awards for Supporting Actor (Richard September) and Supporting Actress (Lee-Ann van Rooi). The Sound of Music, a R28-million production that is still touring abroad with its local cast, topped the list with seven nominations and won Janelle Visagie the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Music Theatre Show. On a smaller, but no less memorable, scale, was medieval comedy Fergus of Galloway, with Sne Dladla (recently seen in David Kramer's Orpheus in Africa) winning the award for Best Actor in a Musical or Music Theatre Show. The Cape Town-based Handspring Puppet Company took home the prize for Innovation in Theatre, with its production of War Horse winning the award for Best Puppetry Design. Since its creation in 1981, the company has participated in the creation of over 16 productions, presented in more than 30 countries. “Few people have an award for puppetry, so thank you for this,” said artistic director Adrian Kohler and executive producer Basil Jones. “Puppetry is an ancient art, but only recently are we beginning to understand how unique and powerful it is. New plays now get to see the light of day and enjoy a long life across the world. We are hugely grateful.” The immensely talented multiple award winner theatre stalwart Marthinus Basson was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to theatre over a long and still very successful career. The Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards is the most established event of its kind in South Africa, ranking high on the Mother City's cultural calendar each year.

Musicians Xabiso Damba and Yolanda Yawa (also a fahion designer) glamming it up at the Theatre Awards.

List of 2015 winners BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY: Albert Pretorius for Playland as Gideon le Roux BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Emily Child for The Pervert Laura as Laura BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY: Richard September for Rondomskrik as various characters BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Lee-Ann van Rooi for Rondomskrik as various characters BEST PERFORMANCE IN A REVUE, CABARET OR ONE-PERSON SHOW: Khayalethu Anthony for The Champion as Thulani BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW: Sne Dladla for Fergus of Galloway as various characters BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW: Janelle Visagie for The Sound of Music as Mother Abbess AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING STUDENT: Sive Gubangxa (UCT) BEST DIRECTOR: Jaco Bouwer for Balbesit BEST LIGHTING DESIGN: Wolf Britz for Balbesit BEST SET DESIGN: Patrick Curtis for Fishers of Hope (Taweret) BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Leigh Bishop for Slowly BEST SOUND DESIGN, ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSITION OR ORIGINAL SCORE: Nceba Gongxeka for Fishers of Hope (Taweret) BEST PUPPETRY DESIGN: Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones for War Horse BEST NEW SOUTH AFRICAN SCRIPT: The Kingmakers by Louis Viljoen ROSALIE VAN DER GUCHT PRIZE FOR NEW DIRECTORS: Louis Viljoen for The Kingmakers and The Pervert Laura AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN THEATRE: Handspring Trust for Puppetry Arts LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Marthinus Basson LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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Fleur du Cap Flower of the Cape

Salt, our gift from the Earth

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Salt is all around us. Regarded by alchemists as the fifth element, salt is underground and on the Earth’s surface in the dried-up residues of ancient seas. Some salt has even arrived from outer space in meteors. The biggest source of salt is in our oceans.

S

alt is one of the four basic tastes in addition to sweet, sour and bitter. A natural mineral composed of two elements, sodium and chloride, salt occurs naturally in many parts of the world and has been used for thousands of years in food preparation and preservation, for medicinal purposes, and with untold household and commercial applications. As far back as 6050 BC, salt has been an important and integral part of world history, as it has been interwoven into the daily lives of countless civilisations. Salt was highly valued and its production legally restricted in ancient times, hence it was used as a method of trade and currency. The word salary comes from the Latin word salarium, as Roman soldiers were paid in salt. There are at least 180 different varieties of salt in the world and many varying production techniques. Generally, salt is harvested in one of three ways: deep-shaft mining, solution mining or solar evaporation.

LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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Fleur du Cap Flower of the Cape

Fleur du Cap artisanal salts Hawaiian Red Alaea Traditional Hawaiian sea salt enriched with clay. Deep reddish to pink colour. Dry, low salinity with mellow earthy tones. Iron-oxide enriched.

Persian Blue Rare Iranian blue rock salt. Bold and confident with strong undertones of rich spice that gives way to a subtle, gentler taste sensation.

Khoisan Flaked Salt Fine grain sea salt of the purest quality. The abundance of trace elements and minerals ensures A variety of the artisinal salts at Fleur du Cap

Images Fleur du Cap | Sam Burrows CLOTHING & NECKLACES Jade & Velvet EARRINGS Evora

Salt of the Earth at Fleur du Cap

a bold, distinctive taste sensation.

Black Lava Hawaiian sea salt. Created in the fusion of sea

Just as there are regions of excellence in wine production, there are regions superior for harvesting salt, such as lava salt from the volcanic rock pools of Hawaii, sea and desert salt from the arid West Coast of South Africa, rock salts of Iran, mineral salts of India and salt crystals from river beds in Australia. Though salt has a distinctive taste, there are different flavours and colours, depending on where it comes from. As with wine, area, climate and elements dictate the character of the salt. Salt can have a significant impact on food and wine pairing. The taste of food and wine should be balanced and one should never dominate the other; the wine should remain unchanged so as to create harmony. When expertly paired, salt can improve the wine and lend a richer, smoother texture. Sweet wines can be paired particularly well with salt, especially in desserts. Cabernet sauvignon stands up well to salt, as do young, acidic wines, and full flavoured wines matured in wood.

water and black lava pools. Rich in charcoal with

Joining salt and wine passions

Peruvian Salt

Well-known chef Craig Cormack, generally hailed as the world’s foremost salt aficionado, is so fascinated with this gift of nature that he has spearheaded a unique salt tasting experience with the intention of building up a collection of salts from all over the world (he currently has 125 of the known 180 different types). Craig designs each dish for a particular flavour and taste, to pair with the flavour profile of each of the wines in the Fleur du Cap unfiltered range. Craig believes that these wines, crafted as nature intended in the style determined by the grapes themselves, are ideal for salt pairing, as the wines have greater complexity and richness. It is this affinity with nature that complements the artisanal salt in the food so perfectly. The result? A unique sensory experience. 38

LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

nutty, earthy, smoky notes. Natural detoxifier.

Oryx Desert South Africa’s natural white crystal salt. Unprocessed, unrefined and sun-dried, this salt retains its essential trace minerals for a better taste and healthier living.

Kala Namak Indian mineral salt. The salt has a pinkish-grey colour and contains essential minerals including iron and sulphur. Distinctive mineral notes with smoky, spicy undertones.

This light pink Inca salt originates from a salt water spring near Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes. The water from this high altitude spring runs down and collects in terraced ponds where it evaporates by the heat of the sun, leaving behind a pure and natural salt.

Caviar Salt Rare South African sea salt. A light, pleasing crispness gives way to a deep, rich flavour sensation.


The alchemy of elegant wine and artisanal salt pairing Nadia Ferreira waxes lyrically and with great depth and passion about what happens to the palate when pairing the selected wines and salts when she presented myself and classical pianist Wendy Reay with a first experience for both of us. We were wowed by an acolyte, sharing her knowledge and own experience of the learning curve Fleur du Cap and Craig Cormack surmounted together to create the unforgettable experience of exploring the alchemy that happens when the right artisanal salt is paired with the right unfiltered wine. This resulted in pairing a fine collection of local and international salts with recipes that meld seamlessly with their range of wines. The wine and salt pairing experience includes a line-up of five top-tier Fleur du Cap Unfiltered wines, with each pairing designed to accentuate the inherent flavours of these superbly balanced wines. Nadia presented us with the refreshing Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc partnered with sulphur-rich Kala Namak salt and dolmades, followed by the Unfiltered Chardonnay paired with rich green olive pesto and Black Lava Salt from the lava pools of Hawaii. The robust Unfiltered Merlot creates a sublime pairing with chicken liver pâté and Peruvian salt, whilst the elegant Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon is paired with full-flavoured sun-dried tomatoes and six-month-matured Gouda cheese and Khoisan salt from the South African Atlantic coast. (As the down-to-earth Nadia says, “You didn’t know that a good old cheese-and-tomato could taste like this!”) To round off this unique sensory experience, the Platter 5-star Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest paired with delicious fudge salted with Hawaiian Red Alaea left us sighing with delight. Editor

(These and many other recipes are now available in a concise booklet that is sure to satisfy every palate when paired with Fleur du Cap wines, whether it’s salt-crusted chicken, beef Carpaccio with blush tomatoes, pastrami trout with blanched potatoes, or a dessert of salted peanut chocolate and banana mousse. Fleur du Cap has 10 of its recipe booklets to give away. Just send us an email to treats@laviemagic.co.za with ‘Fleur du Cap recipe booklet’ in the subject line.)

Nadia Ferreira, Fleur du Cap's wine and salt pairing expert

Salted fudge paired with Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest provided the perfect combinations for a deluxe sensory experience.

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Art around Barclays l’Atelier competition

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arclays l’Atelier is one of South Africa’s most prestigious art competitions. Held annually, it is open to artists aged 21 to 35. Historically, this award has not only ensured that South Africa’s young and emerging artists were recognised, but has also afforded them the opportunity to develop their talents abroad. This year, the competition has been opened for the first time to some neighbouring countries. At the Western Cape Regional Selection,

17 artworks from the following artists were selected; Astrid Gebhardt, Christine Cronjé, Danielle Bischoff, Francois Knoetze (two works), Gaelen Pinnock, James Nilsen-Misra, Kirstie Nel, Miranda Mos, Nicola Fouché, Nora Kovats, Paul Senyol, Sethembile Msezane, Simphiwe Ndzube, Stephane Edith Conradie, Swain Hoogervorst and Zarah Cassim. The Western Cape judges were Luan Nel, Willie Bester, Liza Grobler and Barbara Wildenboer.

Ek is (I am) (black perspex and fluorescent tube) by Christine Cronjé was chosen as one of the Western Cape finalists in the Barclays l’Atelier competition.

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Fluit-fluit, my storie is uit F

The Fish Eaters

Joan of Arc

Heidi

Cenicienta/Aspoestertjie

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ImageS Eddie Wilson – Foto Artist Studio

luit-fluit, my storie is uit added an artistic twist to the annual Franschhoek Literary Festival (FLF) this year, with Marinda du Toit’s signature three-dimensional assemblage sculptures intertwined with mixed-media collages by Aidon Westcott. Inspired by stories from all over the world, Marinda’s work creates a world where story meets art in an exhibition of storybook characters assembled mainly from recycled objects. Aidon’s collages provide a rich storybook tapestry with multiple layers of meaning to be explored and created as the viewer engages with the collages. Both artists have exhibited their works extensively in local art galleries. Westcott exhibits regularly at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, and du Toit featured specially designed sculpture characters as well as music compositions for the short animation film Little Bang. The exhibition has been curated especially for the FLF 2015 and the artwork can still be seen at The Gallery at Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate.


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Leading Stellenbosch University

Leading Stellenbosch University into a bright future full circle

Professor Wim de Villiers has come when he was inaugurated as rector and vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University (SU) on 29 April, in front of the Ou Hoofgebou (Old Main Building), where his father, Professor AB de Villiers, was Dean of Law, and in which hallowed halls the and vicechancellor often visited his father as a young boy.

T

oday, Prof. de Villiers is committed to moving the university into its second century by being deeply committed to the community, the country and the values of the Constitution. In his inauguration speech, Prof. de Villiers reiterated SU’s commitment to transformation, inclusivity and diversity, especially in terms of redressing past injustices and creating a better future. “We want to create a university that works for all of us, a national asset – in fact, a continental and global asset, to help make the world a better place by finding solutions to developmental challenges and societal problems,” he said. Prof. de Villiers pointed out that in 1990, the year Nelson Mandela was released, SU only had 762 black, coloured and Indian students. In 2015, that figure has risen to “more than 11 200, or nearly 38% of our student body.” He added, “Today, inclusivity is one of the cornerstones of our new policy framework, our institutional intent, and our strategy.” In the spirit of transformation, inclusivity and reconciliation, Prof. de Villiers announced the establishment of a bursary fund for descendants of people who were forcefully removed from Die Vlakte, an area close to the town centre of Stellenbosch, in the 1960s. Addressing the language issue, he said SU is a worldclass multilingual university that works hard to ensure that language is “not a barrier to access, but a tool for success.

Stellenbosch is not an Afrikaans university; Stellenbosch is not an English University; Stellenbosch is not a Xhosa university. Stellenbosch is a multilingual South African university – one of the few in this category, which is sorely needed in a country with 11 official languages.” He also referred to SU’s position as one of the top 300 universities in the world and one of the leading institutions in ten subject areas, including biological sciences, chemistry and mathematics, saying that “although SU is well-positioned, there is room for improvement, in striving to be locally relevant and globally competitive.” Mr Mduduzi Manana, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, said SU has done well in choosing a person of Prof. de Villiers’s calibre and that his department trusts that he will continue to grow the diversity and relevance of SU within our democracy. Prof. Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand and Chairperson of Higher Education South Africa (HESA), encouraged Prof. de Villiers not to lose sight of SU’s transformation goals, while student representatives expressed the hope that he will build on current successes, lead the University to even greater heights and collaborate with students. Professor de Villiers is the 12th rector and vice-chancellor of SU.

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IMAGE SU photographer

new rector


do vernuft

Dreams do come true with vernuft

Dreams

come true

with

{vernuft, n. Dutch. skill}

early morning hours

The little girl woke up at three o’clock in the every day to iron the foil caps onto the milk bottles to be delivered by horsecart to households in Montague. Working non-stop on her aunt’s farm, little Hester Hogendijk did everything there was to do – , picking fruit, pruning trees and vines, and tending horses. At the tender age of ten, she was fascinated by the properties of milk and what could be made from milk.

milking cows

F

ast forward about 40 years. The little girl is now a mother of five with a dream: she wanted to make cheese. For cheese, one needs milk. For milk, one needs cows. Hester started doing flower decorations for weddings with the help and support of daughter-in-law, Kari Hogendijk, to raise money to buy cows. After one year, she had enough money to buy three cows. She milked the cows herself and started providing amasi to customers in the streets of Tembisa, a sprawling township north of Johannesburg. The local people raved about the superior quality of her amasi. Her herd grew from three to 50 cows, during which time she has mastered yet another skill: artificially inseminating the cows to get them pregnant, as they produced their best milk when they had suckling calves. In between these extremes in her life, she has completed a degree in home economics at Stellenbosch University, got married and relocated to Pretoria. She and her husband, Chuck, bought a farm in rural Irene, and built their house with their own hands. Hester’s inventiveness and ability to work hard has never stopped. She made all their children’s clothes herself. She could not stand the barren soil with only kakiebos, so she planted 260 pecan nut trees and 400 rose bushes all by herself, lunging four-gallon drums to water all the trees and bushes.

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Fond memories of cheese

Hester reminisces about her first cheeses: “The first batch of cheese was made in a black rubbish bin, with an electrical element and a tripod!” She made cottage cheese and feta. Cheese needs fast heating and fast cooling; the swimming pool came in handy for the cooldown. Today, Hester’s cheese and yoghurt brand, Hijke, runs on a high-tech computerised system of filters and membranes – a far cry from straining yoghurt manually in cheese cloths! However, to this day, the yoghurt is strained to remove the liquid, leaving only the pure, melt-in-the mouth deliciousness of her product. Hester’s yoghurt is real ‘slow food’, made without thickeners, colourants, flavourants or stabilisers.

Hard times

Hester regales the story of her first delivery to Emperor’s Palace in 2002 (which still buys her yoghurt and cottage cheese to this day), at a time when she had no cooling truck. The petite cheesemaker had to heave 20-kilogram crates of yoghurt from one end of the delivery bay to the other, with no help from the attendant, “You do it yourself; it’s not my job.” Later, they fell over their feet to help this feisty, no-nonsense, can-do powerhouse.


Hester with their family’s precious painting of their self-built Irene home, by Marie Vermeulen-Breedt. 45

Image Sam Burrows

Like a veritable Karin Blixen in Out of Africa and with her mind made up, Hester packed her car and trailer with a bed, a cupboard, a chair, and her ‘porcelain, silver, crystal and Limoges’.


On any given day, there will be fresh produce sourced locally in season. Expect to see luscious wine-red figs, grapes bursting with colour, purple and blue berries, or succulent strawberries.

One of Hester’s specialties – a real cheese cake! 46

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Dreams do come true with vernuft

Kari and Hester enjoy Eleonor’s Chenin Blanc during a rare moment of being off their feet at the bustling Vernuft.

A spate of farm attacks (ten in one year) convinced Hester that it was time to move from their property in Irene to a safer environment. Three of her children lived in the Cape, and she thought it the obvious place to move to. This was a hard decision for her family, as their house was like a monument to their lives. Like a veritable Karin Blixen in Out of Africa and with her mind made up, Hester packed her car and trailer with a bed, a cupboard, a chair, and her ‘porcelain, silver, crystal and Limoges’.

Deli-cious in Stellenbosch

An inheritance from her mother and shrewd property investments made it possible for Hester to start her deli, Vernuft, in Stellenbosch. In the space of just one year, she and Kari have built Vernuft into a deli destination of choice for many. The display cabinets groan under huge rounds of Gouda, parmesan, pecorino and Edam, and scrumptious quiches and pies. Add to this the wines made by her winemaker daughter, Eleonor Visser, and a mouthwatering array of home-made produce, artisan breads and Stellenbrau beer on tap, and Vernuft has become a preferred breakfast and light lunch destination. On any given day, there will be fresh produce sourced locally in season. Expect to see luscious wine-red figs, grapes bursting with colour, purple and blue berries, or succulent strawberries. In addition, microgreens and fresh herbs are grown on the premises. Eleonor, Hester’s elder daughter, and Zoë, her younger, now take care of marketing and selling Hijke yoghurt across the Western Cape. Zoë is a capable chef in her own right, having completed professional cheffing and events management courses at the Institute of Culinary Arts, and they use many of her recipes Vernuft’s delicious fare.

Three sons bulding a factory for their mother Hester’s highly talented sons have been an endless source of support beyond the call of any familial duty. Her middle son, Gus, a medical doctor, spent evenings during his mandatory year of community service after graduation at Tembisa Hospital to built her a 400-litre cheese bath and pasteurising pack, all in stainless steel. This led to the production of 20 cheeses, including Gouda, cheddar, Parmesan and pecorino. Five years later, Gus interrupted his career as general practitioner at the Karl Bremer Hospital in Bellville to help Hester with her new venture to build a cheese and yoghurt factory. During this time, Gus did locums to retain his medical licence. Her eldest son, Christiaan (a doctor in genetics), also took time off his career for two years to help Gus to build the factory for their mother. Riaan, the youngest son, had his own steel works on the family farm, and assisted with design and other help.

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Hester’s yoghurt is real ‘slow food’, made without thickeners, colourants, flavourants or stabilisers.

ImageS Sam Burrows

Heart and soul and people

Hester’s hands are never still. She always has more creative ideas and she finds the time to execute them all. She handknits socks with proper German sock wool. She makes wire flowers to display in solar jars. She still arranges flowers. She constantly browses cookery books for culinary ideas. And yet, despite all the busy-ness, she excudes a grounded confidence and calm and restful demeanour, always finding time for a chat to her clientèle and catching up on their lives. One quickly notices the regulars, from celebrity chef Reuben Riffel and crime writer Deon Meyer, to singer and coppersmith Randall Wicomb and artisinal beer brewer of Stellenbrau, Deon Engelbrecht, and many other familiar faces who frequent this pleasant deli at Woodmill, away from the midtown madness that is often Stellenbosch. This multi-award winning cheese and yoghurt maker now looks forward to starting their own charcuterie at Vernuft, and has recently started selling their own range of wine, made by her awardwinning winemaker daughter, Eleonor Visser. Eleonor has, amongst many other accolades, won the Landbouweekblad Woman Winemaker of the Year award and also became the first women winner of Wine magazine and TOPS at Spar Chenin Blanc Challenge. It is fitting that her first wine as independent winemaker is the Vernuft Chenin Blanc. The Vernuft Cabernet Franc has also been bottled and the Vernuft Merlot and Pinot Noir are in the pipeline. Here’s a toast to Hester, Kari and Eleonor at Vernuft – three formidable women bonded by family ties and their food and wine talents, creating their unique brand of Cape winelands’ food and wine experiences. They can only go from strengh to strength.

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Vernuft’s yoghurt terrine, stuffed with tomato salsa and topped with guacamole.

The Vernuft team: Simthembile Mpupu, Chantel Malan, Sylvia Bloem, Hester Hogendijk and Kari Hogendijk in front of the beautiful mosaic of the Vernuft logo.


Dreams do come true with vernuft

The

accidental winemaker T

he genes to be industruous and to excel by making the most of one’s talents have certainly been passed to Eleonor from mother Hester. Having matriculated from Birchleigh High School, Kempton Park, Eleonor wanted to follow her dream to study at Stellenbosch University to become a physiotherapist, but as she did not get selected for the course, she tried her hand at nutrition science for two years. Then one day an excited Hester called her to watch a television programme on oenology. Eleonor, who had no interest in wine and didn’t even drink wine, was hooked and completed a BSc Agric degree in Viticulture and Oenology. She started reading everything about wine she could lay her hands on, devouring magazines such as Wynboer and Wine. She started doing wine tastings and her natural ‘nose’ became a great asset. (Hester relates how Eleonor would always know exactly who visited their home while she was at school, by smelling the lingering traces of perfume.)

Eleonor would always know exactly who visited their home while she was at school, by smelling the lingering traces of perfume. Following her graduation, Eleonor spent six months in the Nappa Valley at Quail Ridge Cellars and Vineyards in California, and also at Haselgrove Premium Wines in McLaren Vale, Australia. Similar to her mother, she operated forklifts, washed tanks, drove tractors, analysed wine, and whatever else needed to be done. Following a stint as assistant winemaker at Thelema, Eleonor joined Spier in 2000 as ‘assistant all-rounder’. When senior winemaker, Ben Radford, left Spier, cellarmaster Frans Smit increased her responsibilities. In 2003, they wanted another winemaker and appointed Kobie Viljoen, who just made red wine. The position of white winemaker was filled by Eleonor. The petite blonde winemaker was in her element being in charge of a winery that crushed over 700 tons of white wine a year.

Eleonor enjoying a glass of her first wine as independent winemaker, the lightly wooded Vernuft Chenin Blan LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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ImageS Sam Burrows

Dreams do come true with vernuft

She went from strength to strength to win the Landbouweekblad Woman Winemaker of the Year 2006, with three wines in the top ten – Spier Private Collection Viognier 2005, Spier Vintage Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2006 and Longridge Chardonnay 2005. This prestigious prize sent her to the Loire Valley to expand her wine knowledge. She accumulated more accolades by becoming the first women winner of Wine magazine and TOPS at Spar Chenin Blanc Challenge for her Spier Private Collection Chenin Blanc 2004, continuing to blaze a trail for women in a traditionally male-dominated industry. This prize made it possible for her to visit Bordaux. In August 2008, Eleonor moved to Rudera Wines (from where winemaker Teddy Hall has also won the Wine magazine and TOPS at Spar Chenin Blanc Challenge before). After four months, she had to learn that the brand is being sold and that the new owner was also a winemaker and not in need of her. She was eight months pregnant with her first child, Hannah, who was born in January 2009. She got a contract at Wildekrans in Botrivier, to assist with their 2009 harvest, where she crushed bubbly grapes with the week-old baby. A month later, her husband, Reinard, came close to having his leg amputated because of a rugby injury. In September of 2009, she and her sister Zoë decided to start selling Hijke cheese and yoghurt in the Western Cape.

Honest Foods still distributes Hijke products on a weekly basis to Cape Town, Somerset West, Stellenbosch and Paarl. Yet, the winemaking kept calling, and in 2012, Eleonor decided that she wanted to make wine again. She approached garagiste winemaker Clive Torr, who told her to “get 400 kg grapes and let’s make wine!” In 2013, she crushed her first ‘own’ grapes – one barrel each of chenin blanc and cabernet franc.

She approached garagiste winemaker Clive Torr, who told her ‘to get 400 kg grapes and let’s make wine!’ Eleonor’s first wine as independent artisan winemaker was bottled in 2014. This chenin blanc under the label Vernuft could not have been a more fitting way to start this new journey. The grapes for this wine came from the Durbanville area. It is a lightly wooded wine, barrelfermented naturally, and spent thirteen months in a used French wood barrel. A second and third harvest followed, during wich a pinot noir and merlot was added to the Vernuft range.

Fully licensed deli Hours: 08:00 to 16:30 Monday to Friday 08:00 to 13:00 on Saturday

Breakfasts | Light lunches | Coffees & teas Cakes & confectionery | Beers & wines | Functions & platters Frozen take-away home-cooked meals 50

LA VIEfree LAUNCH EDITION| Large play area for children | Indoors and outdoors seating Ample parking


Salt Guy The Salt Guy

The

Craig Cormack has not only cooked for Queen Elizabeth in Zimbabwe, he has also established a new trend in South African fine dining – salt and wine pairings. Hanneke Gagiano got the lowdown on this fascinating culinary experience and the chef who started it all.

C

hef Craig Cormack’s food journey started when he worked in the officers’ mess in the South African Air Force during his national service. A traineeship at Southern Sun’s St George’s Hotel in Cape Town was followed by stints at various hotels, including the Victoria and Alfred Hotel at the V&A Waterfront, the Millerhowe in the United Kingdom and Ellerman House in Bantry Bay. He then joined the Cape Grace Hotel as executive chef, where he was part of the team that was voted the ‘Best Hotel in the World’ in 2000. He founded All Things Culinary, a catering company, in partnership with Bertus Basson, and opened two highly rated restaurants with Bertus: Overture and Sofia’s. Craig’s his first foray into salt and wine pairings was at the Stellenbosch Food and Wine Show some years ago. Of the approximately 180 different types of salt, he has collected 125 – and is hunting down the balance to have a complete collection. He jokes that most of his holidays are spent near salt mines. People who know of his obsession often bring back salts they have discovered during their travels. (And yes, he does bath in salt!) His four-year long collaboration with Fleur du Cap as their ‘salt ambassador’ LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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The Salt Guy

ImageS Fleur du Cap

The names of the salts – Kalahari Desert, Hawaiian Red Alaea, Black Lava, Kala Namak, blue Iranian and Baleni, and coal salt from Germany – dance on one’s tongue.

Some of Craig's salt collection

Pink Himalayan rock salt slabs used for cooking

has seen him introduce more than 1 200 people to his passion for pairing salt – in all its glorious colours, including black – with food and wine. His salt and wine pairings are informative – he explains to diners why he complements a wine with a particular dish, why he used a particular salt for the dish and the wine, gives information about the various salts used and lets the diners have a taste of the unadulterated salt. Of course, with salt having a bad rap sheet health-wise, he also explains the difference between ordinary table salt – which he agrees should not be used in any way – and the pure, healthy salts he uses. When designing a dish, Craig uses different salts to fit the flavour profile of a wine: “Moderately sweet wines both complement and compliment salt. Cabernet sauvignon stands up well to salt, as do young and acidic wines, and those that are slightly wooded.”

Craig now also imports and sells salts under the Amoleh brand. One of his salts is extracted by Tsonga women from mineral-rich water near the Kruger National Park, and he has led a culinary and cultural safari where people could experience this first hand. The names of the salts – Kalahari Desert, Hawaiian Red Alaea, Black Lava, Kala Namak, blue Iranian and Baleni, and coal salt from Germany – dance on one’s tongue. Craig keeps a lot of (wine) bottles in the air. As if running his restaurants, presenting salt, food and wine events, talks and trips and the retail business are not enough, he also presents cooking courses (often as part of a team-building exercise), is planning a TV series, is a member (and past chairman) of the South African Chefs Association and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Bailliage du Cap, and is a board member of the Culinary Academy.

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LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION


The salty chef Craig Cormack

Birthday breakfast on salt slab Craig Cormack, South Africa’s artisinal salt guru, will be entertaining La Vie readers with a unique artisanal salt recipe experience and wine pairing in each edition. For this first edition, he chose to make a simple birthday breakfast – and what could be better than eggs and bacon, with some boerewors, mushrooms and tomatoes? But wait – cooked on a slab of salt? Now there’s a new experience! And of course it has to be accompanied by a specially selected wine, in this instance the ‘breakfast in a glass of wine’, aka Fleur du Cap Chardonnay Unfiltered.

Image Sam Burrows PROPS Sitting Pretty

Ingredients 1 egg | 3 streaky bacon rashers | 1 piece of boerewors | 3 onion rings | ½ tomato | 1 brown mushroom | 20 ml olive oil | Handful of microgreens Utensils Salt slab (20 cm square × 3 cm high) Egg ring

Method Heat the oven to 240 ˚C (or as high as it can go). Put the salt slab in the oven for two hours. Remove the salt slab and place it on a plate or a napkin. (Take care when taking it out – it is very hot.) Place the egg ring on the salt slab and pour the olive oil into the ring and on the salt slab. Crack the egg open into the ring. Place the the bacon rashers, boerewors, onion slices, tomato and mushroom on the slab. Allow to cook for 5 to 6 minutes – the food should be cooked. Garnish with microgreens. Pour a glass of chardonnay and celebrate!

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Yin and yang in perfect harmony

Yinin&yang

perfect harmony

What could an educational psychologist with a successful practice and a corporate caterer in high demand, who are in just about every way imaginable, possibly have in common? The thread that brought them together and formed an unbreakable bond is the practice of Nia, the sensory-based movement practice that leads to health, wellness and fitness, empowering people of all shapes and sizes by connecting the body, mind and soul.

opposites

Image Carla Schnetler

mind–body

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Classes are taken barefoot to soul-stirring music in more than 45 countries.


W

hen Mia Steyn (Nia Brown Belt instructor), who has been eyeing the Nia flyer on her fridge for over a year, called Lucia Brand (Nia Brown Belt instructor) about two years ago and said, “I am overweight and stressed out. I don’t want to jump – I just want to dance,” and Lucia replied, “Come to class tonight,” she had no inkling of the impact that Nia would have on her life. With no previous experience or knowledge of Nia, she jumped in and went that very night. Mia started her Nia practice in the midst of juggling the extreme demands of motherhood and running her own business. After three months of regular Nia practice, she felt that she could ‘finally exhale’. She found healing through her own body–mind connection and a practice that worked to help balance her life. She soon realised that she has found her life’s path and started her training to become a qualified Nia instructor. Stepping into teaching just over three years ago, she found that instead of juggling yet another thing, Nia was the answer to her living more mindfully, actually building reservoirs of energy instead of depleting it, and enabling her to healthily deal with the stresses and strains of life. Mia regards it as a ‘lifesaver’ and is excited to delve in deeper and deeper to bring more purpose to her own and others’ lives by exploring endless possibilities all grounded in the blueprint of following the body’s way.

In her teaching, Mia focuses on the uniqueness of each participant, and the exploration of how spirit and body come together in the practice of ‘transubstantiation’. She explains, “For example, if your body is firmly grounded, you have more mobility in your upper body, and will find it easier to express yourself.”

Lucia Brand and Mia Steyn, the vibrant Nia instructors at Nia Stellenbosch

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Yin and yang in perfect harmony

Finding Nia

Almost three years ago, Lucia lost her husband after an eight-year-long cancer experience. She is very clear that her ongoing practice of Nia throughout her husband’s illness and after his passing played a key role in her healing. She says, “Nia has provided a safety net during my mourning process.” Nia has brought both emotional and physical healing into her life and gave her the opportunity to express all feelings – the dance became not only her medicine, but also medicine for others. “Pain and pleasure changes the habits of the body. Nia provides me with the opportunity of sharing the medicine of dance with my community – the subconscious is invited to express suppressed emotions to change the body and soul into an expression of pleasure,” Lucia explains.

ImageS Carla Schnetler

Nia is for everyone

People of all ages, with varied interests and from all walks of life, practice Nia. People who love to move, are passionate about change, and desire a conscious, fun, expressive and pleasurable way to get healthy and fit while enriching their lives are drawn to Nia. Lucia explains that “Nia is a practice for mindfulness. It addresses the body’s five main sensations: flexibility, strength, mobility, agility and stability, and focuses on conditioning the body and the nervous system. It utilises the body’s natural design to improve function. The biochemistry and joint and muscle action are triggered by using imagination, music, emotion and vocal sound.” Mia elaborates, “The methods used to deliver the Nia experience follow the body’s map and design, and align with your body’s own way. Repetitive jogging and jumping are replaced with grounded movements that combine steps, stances, and kicks. Body education is integrated into each workout, resulting in ‘sensory IQ/body literacy’. Some of the methods used include nine movement forms, five sensations, three intensity levels, vocal sounding and emotional expression. In addition, a variety of sonic landscapes and music support creative expression and cellular stimulation of the nervous system.”

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LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

Lucia and Mia in the Nia zone

The benefits of Nia Increases the pleasure of living in your body Facilitates weight loss and proper weight maintenance Strengthens muscles, improves muscle tone, and increases muscle definition Calms the mind and relieves stress Improves endurance Increases grace and flexibility Balances the autonomic nervous system Improves posture and even increases height Improves organ function, particularly that of the heart and lungs Enhances sensory awareness Heightens sexual function Builds reservoirs of chi energy Alleviates emotional problems, including depression, anxiety, and stress Improves circulation of blood and improves lymphatic drainage Strengthens immunity Improves concentration and cognitive function

Lucia teaching a Nia class


The Nia promise The Nia promise creates health and ‘attunement’ through the body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Workouts deliver holistic conditioning and movement training. Conditioning includes cardiovascular (aerobic and metabolic/anaerobic) conditioning, voluntary (conscious/ mindful) conditioning, and reflexive (spontaneous/unconscious) conditioning.

Snapshots from some of the theme-based workshops with food to complement the dance, a popular part of the Nia experience in Stellenbosch.

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21 ofyears innovation 21 years of innovation and creativity

&creativity

What is the future asking of young people? What is the present day asking of teachers, parents and communities to enable young people to take on the tasks that are coming to meet them? Margaret Laubser explores these questions by looking at the Stellenbosch Waldorf School and what if offers to learners in the 21st century.

T

he words adaptability, resilience, problem-solving and, of course, creative response and innovative thinking, together with an empathy for the environment and their fellow human, are up there on the list. The Stellenbosch Waldorf School’s living curriculum offers these critical capacities – and much more – to its 300 students. All schooling aims to educate learners and to school them to their potential, in order for them to contribute to social and economic citizenship. Waldorf education strives for this and creates the environment for essential engagement with subject matter, enlivened by a creative interface that is fundamentally developmental and generative. In 2014, the school came of age as it turned 21, and also saw the first students complete their school journey, many of whom were in the class that launched the high school initiative in 2009. The vision for a full spectrum of learning and experience has become a reality, from the wonder of kindergarten to the independent thinking in high school, through a journey that is academically rich with a broader education for life. 58

LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

During the celebratory year, the Stellenbosch Waldorf School joined ISASA (Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa) family, striding into the future similar to the young people it ushers into the world, who, in their own authentic way, will make their marks on a world canvas that is calling for confident and courageous young people. ‘How?’ you may ask, is this achieved and what is different in a Waldorf school environment to that of mainstream education in South Africa?

Enabling global citizenship

In 2012, IBM published a study based on face-to-face conversations with more than 1 500 chief executive officers throughout the world, addressing the questions about what capabilities are required to manage the future. The overriding outcomes were that ‘creativity was the most important leadership quality’ and that ‘complexity is on the rise and more than half of the CEOs doubted their ability to manage it.’ IBM used the term ‘standouts’ for the companies best able to handle complexity. The three main factors that led


History of Stellenbosch Waldorf

Stellenbosch Waldorf School opened its doors in 1993 between the mountains, the farmlands and the cool sea breezes, where children from diverse communities are accompanied on a process of learning, from being toddlers in kindergarten through to becoming young adults in high school. The school campus is now on the beautiful Spier estate, with the backdrop of the meeting of the Boland and Hottentots Holland mountain ranges. It has been a long journey from a back room at Bloemhof School in Stellenbosch, to a residential garage, a research building and an old farmstead, and now finally on a spacious, expanding campus with expansive views on a working biodynamic farm. These elements all consciously create the territory for fundamental learning and appreciation of the environment and an aesthetic observation that is facilitated from an early age. LA VIE LAUNCH EDITION

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ImageS Eva – PhotOriginal

to the success of these companies in a complex environment were embodying creative leadership, reinventing customer relationships and building operation dexterity. These are the indications of the global citizens that Waldorf schools offer to the world. This keen sense of awareness and creative engagement offers a clue to what lies behind the key outcomes of a Waldorf schooling and with that comes a window of how students interface with complexity and new ways of knowing Thomas Südhof, MD and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013, described his Waldorf experience: “It helped me discover a creativity that has supported my scientific work throughout my life.” Stellenbosch Waldorf School is one of an increasing number of Waldorf Schools worldwide, totalling 1 026 schools, that include a steep rise of Waldorf schools in China. There are 2 000 additional kindergartens. There are 18 Waldorf schools in southern Africa, coordinated by the Southern African Federation of Waldorf Schools.


Painting with light

Painting with light It seldom happens that visitors to an art exhibition are invited to take off their shoes and walk on the beach sand – especially if the venue is The Gallery at the Grand Provence Heritage Wine Estate. Krisjan Rossouw, an entirely self-taught photographer, indulged his wish to have acres of beach sand (enough to cover the floor of the exhibition space), heaped shards of broken sea shells and clumps of dried sea bamboo and kelp to reinforce the theme of his second exhibition, we never dreamt of seas ‌ . Hanneke Gagiano met him there on 'the beach' to find out what inspires him to create his marvellous photographs.

Adam I 60


Krisjan Rossouw still loves his army boots. (He was part of the last intake of compulsory military conscription in 1993.)

K

risjan still uses the Nikon D5000 (and kit lens) his mother bought him several years ago to create his images. He had to invent ways of circumventing his lack of equipment and works without a tripod. His creative use of lighting – bedside table lamps, LED lights and torches – puts a singular stamp on his photography. He explains that although he does have proper photographic lighting these days, he prefers not to use it since it ‘kills colour’. Krisjan does not merely pose his models – he sees his work as a collaborative effort between all involved in an organic process. Whereas photography captures a single moment, he searches for a painterly interpretation, or ‘an image that has depth’. The images for his first exhibition, Dark Paradise, were shot over a period of more than two years in an underground bunker of the house where he lived, the concrete walls distressed and coloured by water seepage and time. Its cool blues, greens and greys were a perfect foil for the lushly green botanical props. The exhibition space at the Castle of Good Hope was available for one night only, and Krisjan, jumped at the opportunity to exhibit there. This one-night event led to an invitation to exhibit his works at The Box Gallery in Hamburg, Germany, and he has since held solo exhibitions at the New Heritage Gallery, the Cape Town Art Fair and the Ebony Gallery, all in Cape Town. His work has also been included in various group exhibitions.

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ImageS The Gallery at Grande Provence | Marika Truter

Sanele 1 we never dreamt of seas … was created in a much shorter timeframe, but continues his trademark of super-saturated colours and unconventional lighting. As in Dark Paradise, the models radiate both sensuality and elegance. The models are intentionally barely discernible from the background at times. The background – a steel sheet – was painted on one side and left to oxidise on the other, the colour palette setting off the models and bamboo and shells to perfection. From a distance, one is sometimes unable to tell if photographs or paintings had been hung. (The steel sheet was given a second life: the exhibition title signage was laser cut from it.) In two of the most striking images, the model, Sanele, was covered in seashells glued to parts of his body – only hours before he had to catch a flight to Johannesburg. “We did give him a good bath afterwards, though,” Krisjan says, laughing at the memory. Summing up his new creative offering, Krisjan says, “The previously poetic play of botanical accents from Dark Paradise evolved into what I see as a deeper, more wistful study. It has become an expression of self amidst the metaphor of broken, lost, and discarded things –the still strength of will, a quiet war won.”

The previously poetic play of botanical accents from Dark Paradise evolved into what I see as a deeper, more wistful study.

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Gallery owner Trent Read, Krisjan Rossouw and Jake Read at the opening of we never dreamt of seas …


Painting with light

Patricia IV

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Die laaste dis Adri M van Zyl

Tamatie-en-brandrissieolie – natuurlik opʼ n vuur

ImageS Eddie Wilson – Foto Artist Studio

D

ie vinng-naderende winter kan jou hart bollemakiesies laat maak en jy kan dalk weer lus raak vir kook na al die koue biere en klingelglase witwyn vol ys, met die gepaardgaande slaaie en miskien 'n koue sop, afgewurg voor een of ander aspirant meestersjef se “Hoe is dit? Hoe smaak dit?” afwagtende blik. “Nee, swaksleg, dankie. Sit hier hanneviervoet in my keel en die trane is nie uit verwondering nie, maar uit vrees dat die koue goed gaan terugspring bak toe.” Geen beter manier dan as plat op jou agterent voor ‘n lae vuurtjie, met ‘n lekker ou rooie neffens jou regterboud, en sagte oë anderkant die vlamme wat jou dophou. Die is deelkos. Mekaarvoerkos. Neem daai wok wat jy gekoop het toe al wat mens daarin wou maak, stirfry was. Sit hom op die vuur. Jimmil, die lewe is te kort om te skrik vir potte en panne op ‘n vuur. Bederf daai pan met ten minste ‘n koppie olyfolie. Maar as jy mildelik van hart, en lig van voet is, gooi nog! Neem nou die handvol vars knoffel wat jy sommer so rofweg in skyfies gesny het. Indien jy enige ander knoffel in gedagte het, staak onmiddelik om my woorde met jou oë te gryp. Loop na n wegneemplek en gaan eet ‘n slegte burger. Vars knoffel dus – sommer so vyf of ses of agt huisies. Die lewe is kort. Doen dit met oorgawe. Wanneer jy eet, moet jou mond blink. Gooi die knoffel in die olie, en gooi skelm ‘n rooi brandrissie in wanneer jou hande nie dopgehou word nie. Dit lyk mooi in die vlamme en dans saam met die gesnyde knoffel tot die olie deurtrek is met die geur, maar moenie dat die knoffel begin verkleur nie – dit moet net sag gebraai wees in die olie voor jy dit versigtig met ‘n lepel uitlig en eenkant sit. Twee blikkies tamaties moet nou in die olie ingegly word. Pasop vir brand! As jy rustig is en tyd het, gooi twee of drie pakkies kersietamaties in die

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olie, eerder as gebliktes. Vryf en jaag die tamaties met jou ouma se houtlepel tot hulle gaar en laf skitter in die pan. Van hulle is velloos; ander ruk harte oop en ontbloot guitig die pitte. Hardloop huis-in en gaan haal ‘n kleinvuis growwe sout, ’n skeut varsgekraakte swartpeper en ‘n vet lepel hoog-hoog van heuning. Meng als deur – ook die knoffel en brandrissie – en neem die pan die huis in. Belowe jou geliefde jy’s nou-nou terug. Neem jou blitz-ding – daai met die vinnige lem. Slaan daai pitte en velle en olie en knoffel en brandrissie en alles anders tot ‘n pienk sous (dit gebeur spontaan met die lug en emulsifisering van die bestanddele) Onthou net dit spat, so gooi als in ‘n dieper pot of houer voor jy dit doen. Gooi terug in die wok en proe of daar genoeg sout in is. Staan effe terug en voel of die brandrissie jou tong soen. Ja? Gryp ‘n ciabatta onder jou arm, die wok in jou hand en gaan breek brood. Voer mekaar diepgedoopte souserige brood. Skink nog wyn. Celebrate die liefde. En as jy wil sweet … gooi nog rooipeper by as die brandrissie ‘n pissie was. Be blessed!


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