“Gun jou die tyd om nuwe herinneringe saam met vriende, familie en selfs vreemdelinge te maak in ’n wêreld wat kultuur en samehorigheid kweek,” sê Saartjie Botha, direkteur van die Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees.

LEEFSTYL

Vir die leesvrate wat ook lekkerbekke is, is daar vanjaar 13 demonstrasies uit blinknuwe kookboeke, met jou gunsteling-TV-kosmense, sosialemediasterre en kosskrywers wat ’n storm loskook in die Hofmeyrsaal se demo-kombuis.

Reinée Terreblanche-Brand van Tamatie-straat kom deel resepte uit haar jongste boek, Tussen-in-between, waarin sy die storie van Tamatiestraat deel, maar ook meer vertel oor hul persoonlike reis. Andriette Georgiou, stigter van die koekiemaatskappy Mondvol, bied twee heerlike bakervarings vol koekies, stories, proeë en geheime bakwenke aan.

Gesondheidsafrigters deel die voordele van gefermenteerde kos in die boekgesprek “Fire for Life: Gut Health”, waar jy ook van dié happies kan proe.

Sluit aan by Kenneth Tebogo Middleton vir ’n demonstrasie uit Paradise, ’n kookboek vir diegene wat nie net eet om te leef nie, maar ook leef om te eet.

Kos kraai ook koning op die skone KleinBlouKlip-plaas en -venue.

Die Kokkedoor-wenners Hanna en Dirk van der Westhuizen vier die bekendstelling van hul nuwe resepteboek, Knuppeldik aan Kinkelkos, met ’n vyfgangfeesmaal geïnspireer deur die Karoo, familieherinneringe en kreatiewe kinkelkos.

Louis Jansen van Vuuren kom spesiaal van die Franse platteland af om te gesels oor Biltong en Dior, sy kostelike vertellings oor die vreugdes en uitdagings van die lewe in Frankryk. Jak de Priester gaan sorg vir die vermaak, en gaste kan aan geurige baguettes smul.

Armand en Sean Aucamp-van Noordwyk leer gaste om pasta te maak (en poësie te waardeer) in “Pasta, poësie en die platteland”.

Stellenbosch se ster-sjef Bertus Basson bied sy immergewilde Speelkamersessies by Eike Restaurant aan. Geniet ’n heerlike feestafel ná ’n verbeeldingryke kookdemonstrasie van eg Suid-Afrikaanse geregte.

SAAM (AAN TAFEL)

Soos gewoonlik word die Langtafel onder die eike van Ryneveldstraat gedek met feestelike kos, musiek en samesyn.

Vanjaar is die spyskaart van sjef Mynhardt Joubert geïnspireer deur die feestema. “Dis hoog tyd” dat ons saam om die tafel sit, mekaar in die oë kyk en ons glase – gevul met die beste Stellenbosch-wyne – hoog lig op hierdie mooi lewe. Bespreek vroegtydig.

IN DIE OOG, IN DIE HART

Vanjaar se visuele kunsaanbod is uit die boonste rakke: uitstallings, ervarings, lesings, werkswinkels, staptogte en selfs vroegoggend koffie-raves.

FEESKUNSTENAAR

Die plaaslike fotograaf Daniel Naudé is die feeskunstenaar, en by sy solo-tentoonstelling Still Life in die US Museum kry feesgangers die geleentheid om sy monumentale nuwe reeks foto’s van insekte te sien.

Die kroonjuweel van vanjaar se uitstallings is die kontemporêre kunswerke wat in die stadsaal ten toon gestel word as deel van die Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees en Strauss & Co se vyfde kunsveiling en -uitstalling.

Die veiling plaas artistieke uitnemendheid op die voorgrond en beklemtoon die sigbaarheid en erkenning van kontemporêre kunspraktyke.

Strauss & Co se uitstalling Anything but Static in die Oude Leeskamer, is ’n keur van moderne en kontemporêre stillewes wat ondersoek hoe identiteit, kultuur, mitologie en oortuigings vasgevang word en kommentaar lewer deur die gebruik van ikonografie, simbole en objekte. Die uitstalling is ’n voorskou van werke wat later deur Strauss & Co opgeveil word.

Verder kan feesgangers weer besoek aflê by 20 plaaslike kunstenaars se werksruimtes, te danke aan die Ateljeebesoeke-inisiatief.

Woordfees-atelier is ’n verteenwoordigende uitstalling van hierdie deelnemende kunstenaars se werk en is by Die Stal te sien, byeengebring deur Ilse Schermers van IS Art.

SPIER TONEEL

Groot produksies open by die Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees, en die afwagting om hulle op die planke te sien, is tasbaar. Stukke soos die komiese My kind druip (met Shimmy Isaacs), Skanse (met Dawid Minnaar), Vlindervry (met Cindy Swanepoel), ’n Middel (met Tinarie van Wyk Loots), Grootmeisie (met Daneel van der Walt), wat die 2026 Reinet Nagtegaal-teksprys gewen het, Krapp se laaste band (met Carel Nel), I Lord Hamlet (met Carlo Daniels), Elke briljante ding (met Albert Pretorius) en Wie call die shots? (uit die pen van Miché van Wyk) bring ons topteatermakers op die verhoog byeen.

Ander trekpleisters sluit in Atropa onder die regie van Marthinus Basson, Die ander dogter met Sandra Prinsloo, en die verwerking van Kirby van der Merwe se roman Eugene.

EasyEquities SKRYWERSFEES

Die woord sit nie verniet heel voor in die Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees se naam nie: Boeke en skrywers bly die hartklop van die fees. Daar is meer as 50 aanbiedings op die EasyEquities Skrywersfees, wat deur die digter Bibi Slippers saamgestel is.

Lesers, denkers en boekmense kan uitsien na boeke oor alles van rugby tot resensies, geld en geskiedenis, huwelike, honde, en hoe om ’n bestaan te maak op ’n leë stuk grond in die Karoo.

Vanjaar word daar vyf boekklubs aangebied. Heindrich Wyngaard gaan met Dennis Cruywagen gesels oor Dennis se biografie van Allan Boesak, Dominique Botha is in gesprek met Danie Marais oor haar roerende outobiografiese fiksie in Die huilende bruid & ander versinsels, en die TV-joernalis Lourensa Eckard voer ’n onderhoud met James-Brent Styan na aanleiding van sy boek oor Markus Jooste.

Die legendariese Tobie Cronjé gesels met die skrywer Chris Vorster oor die biografie Tobie, en die impakspeler Steven Kitshoff bespreek die rugbymemoir wat hy saam met Michael Vlismas geskryf het.

FEESDIGTER

Vanjaar se feesdigter is Tom Dreyer, wat onlangs met die Hertzogprys bekroon is vir sy debuutbundel, Nou in infrarooi. “Dis egter sy nuwe bundel, Brief op veertigduisend voet, waarvan die titel so mooi met ons feestema oorvleuel, wat hom die ooglopende keuse gemaak het,” sê Bibi. Hy is daagliks betrokke by boekpraatjies, filosofiese gesprekke en verskeie voorlesings wat digkuns toeganklik wil maak vir alle feesgangers.

DEUR DIE EEUE: KLASSIEKE MUSIEK

Met die gewilde Klavier-extravaganza III kry gehore die geleentheid om te beleef hoe tot twintig pianiste op tien vleuelklaviere tegelykertyd so hittete die kluts kwytraak in die Standard Bank Endler-saal.

Die goue era van Italiaanse sang het drie eeue geduur, en ’n konsert wat die meeste van hierdie tydperk dek, An Italian Songbook, gaan haal dit by Antonio Vivaldi in die 17de eeu en neem dit tot by Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Die basbariton met die fluweelstem, die Koreaan EuiHyun Park, word op die klavier begelei deur Pieter Grobler en bygestaan deur die strykers van ’n groep jong Stellenbossers met Suzanne Martens as dirigent. Dit is ’n verrykende program, vol elegansie en hartstog. Waar orkestrasie en verwerking nodig was, het Willem Vogel die pen opgetel.

’n Hoogtepunt op die laaste aand van die fees is die wêreldpremière van Suid-Afrika se grootste lewende komponis, Hendrik Hofmeyr, se eerste klavierkwartet. Dit is in opdrag van die tjellis in die Gioioso-klavierkwartet, die befaamde Peter Martens, gekomponeer. V

MEER INLIGTING

Dié is maar ’n klein proesel van die volledige program wat in beide Afrikaans en Engels by woordfees.co.za beskikbaar is.

Die Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees vind van 3 tot 11 Oktober in die Eikestad plaas.

Kaartjies is by quicket.co.za te koop.

The post ’n Smorgasbord van Smake en Ervarings appeared first on Stellenbosch Visio.

As part of the “Louvre-Nouvelle Renaissance” initiative to promote dialogue between art of the past and present, and between different cultures, president-director Laurence des Cars invited South African-born painter Marlene Dumas to create a new work for permanent installation in the museum. This commission makes her the first living female artist to join the lineage of monumental decors by contemporary male predecessors such as Cy Twombly, Anselm Kiefer, Francois Morrelet, and Joseph Kosuth. Since November 2025, Dumas’s nine-panel work, Liaisons, illuminates the vast wall of the Porte des Lions atrium, threshold to the Gallery of the Five Continents, close to the Department of Paintings and the Grande Galerie. The work includes several references to ancient artefacts in the Louvre.

Art is not a mirror. Art is a translation of that which you do not know.

MARLENE DUMAS

In her formal motivation for this prestigious invitation on the Louvre’s official website, Des Cars stresses Marlene Dumas’s “remarkable virtuosity and technique, both free and precise”. Most critics agree that the power of the work lies in the fact that Dumas has invented a unique “way of doing”. This refers to an experimental method conditioning what might be her most vulnerable painterly desire: that she herself be surprised by the result. The essence of the method is play and risk-taking during events of manual and gestural bewitching of ordinary materials. From the swaths left by initial free, gestural applications, often of watery ink washes or diluted paint, guided by lifting and moving the paper or canvas, the artist selects elements that can be exploited, heightened or adjusted to contribute to a formally satisfying composition.

Apart from wiping down, dabbing and smudging, deft brush strokes – wet on wet, or wet on dry – are added to enter the contours and details. Not only are traces of initial lines retained when they have been finally “corrected”, but “incompletion effects” are also carefully cultivated. A Dumas painting or drawing mostly includes, as a calculated part of its composition, those marks that refer to the improvisational process of its realisation. Each painting and drawing bears indexical signs of the artist’s hand movements – a hand that always “shows” itself in its traces, marks revealing loose, open, expressive strokes and other gestures and manipulations. The opposite approach would be one that seeks to hide the hand in a blended, “licked” finish.

Largely because of this physical treatment of the picture surface, the viewer’s initial reaction to a work is visceral: goosebumps appear, the heart accelerates, the gut stirs, but at the same time the mind is arrested by the titles. Ambiguous and suggestive, they direct and inform but also complicate the gaze.

Dumas’s career thus far is a testimony to an unflinching exploration, not only of the art of painting but also of the abysmal complexities of the human condition. The themes are often weighty, but the process is pleasurable; in her own words, “the how always smiles at the what”. Her work puts a spell on the viewer because it arouses the senses, eludes final interpretation, is “real” in its reference, and personable in its tenor. It speaks of a sensibility that is both tender and quirky, satirical and whimsical, compassionate and humorous.

Marlene Dumas makes a difference by differing stoically from herself, and by importing the tension of this inner alterity into her work – an immense gift of courage to the world.

Dismantling the Face

The qualities of Dumas’s art are best exemplified in what one can call her neo-expressionist “facework”, a trajectory of interventions in which she, as one in a long line of artists from about the end of the 19th century, has challenged the conventions of Western portraiture with its ideological investment in the identity and subjectivity of the sitter via painterly conventions of mimetic representation. She has found her own point of entry in this movement by reinvigorating the 17th century Dutch tradition of the so-called “heads” (tronies), paintings that functioned as models in artists’ workshops, depicting expressive emotions on the faces of “types”. At the time, these could be bought cheaply to decorate living rooms, while the more expensive portraits were hung in the bedrooms.

The nine new face paintings of Liaisons, arranged in a loosely staggered formation on the atrium wall, are the latest iteration of the facial series format that Dumas has produced over the years e.g. Het Hooghuys (1990–1991), Black Drawings (1991–1992), Models (1994), Rejects (1994 – ongoing), Jesus – Serene (1994), Blindfolded (2002), and Great Men (2004 – onwards). These series or assemblages often consist of unframed faces, presented in rows or grids. It is a set-up that collectivises as well as individualises the faces, enabling both similarities and variation in the whole. In her face paintings Dumas mostly refrains from working solely from her imagination as it might cause rehearsing preconceived images according to her usual manner of doing.

As a starting point, she therefore in the main uses photographs of people (or of paintings or sculptures), choosing those that offer exploitable expressions. Under her adage “one takes a photograph, one makes a painting”, she ambiguates the face in the photographic version, relying on the unpredictable and only partly controlled effects of her technique to discover and trap micro-expressions as they hover and fade around the eyes and mouth.

Rather than representing individuals, it is the psychological drama of “what happens between them” that concerns the artist in her more portrait-like faces. But the narrative situation between two people, with only one of them present in the face paintings, sometimes “dissolves” into “presence”, and the viewers, with no interpretations to hold on to, are “back in the courtroom”, left to face the work as an irreducible and sovereign artistic object. Subjected to its “interrogation”, they must find their own answers.

How are we to “account to” the enigmatic, intimidating “presences” that make up Liaisons? Are we confronting a jury? May we, considering the title, ask what dangerous, illicit and intimate relations they entertain and with whom? Or do they “liaise” in the sense of communicating as representatives? But with whom?

In an interview with Donatien Grau to coincide with the opening of the exhibition of Liaisons, Dumas remarked that she painted the new work in the shadow of the current genocidal wars, thinking of the people forced to flee from these catastrophes, only to arrive in foreign countries where they are branded as aliens.

From the painter’s self-description, marked by an enduring existentialist sense of alienation in the present era, one might surmise that Liaisons also carries an echo of violent forms of Western colonial expansion, during which many of the artefacts in the Gallery of the Five Continents were “collected”, often appropriated, from premodern societies where they once fulfilled specific ritualistic functions. One could suggest that the artist’s faces in the atrium might “liaise” with these isolated pieces in the museum’s glass cases to form an odd team of alien presences linking social contexts of the past and the present.

Of the nine paintings, two had ancient artefacts as sources: a Philippine carving, source for Ceramic Silence and a North Canadian mask for Vermillion Heat. What they share with the other seven faces is indetermination. The expressions on all these faces leave us baffled; none are clearly identifiable in terms of race or gender; they seem to belong to a new tribe, “a community of those who have nothing in common”, to quote Alphonse Lingis out of context.

They are faces only by the skin of their teeth; in their unmoulded “flat” monumentality they are more like facades. Through their intense colour, they refer to the elements (air, fire, water, and earth), as the painter suggests. One also thinks of the nine Muses of Greek antiquity or of the Egyptian Ennead.

The vibrant tints, sometimes applied in half-transparent, glowing layers, are to a greater or lesser degree “facialised” by cursory renderings of mouths, eyes and noses. Similarities and variations are carefully modulated across the panels; some of the heads, for instance, fit in just below the top edge of the canvas, others are “broken” or “leaking” or seem “flooded by light”. Some of the foreheads seem to extend beyond the edge of the picture plane, suggesting a “head burst” of enlightenment or mystical rapture.

The eyes of some faces peer vaguely from behind stark black holes as from behind masks, the lips of others smile vaguely, while the expressions in most of the more fully rendered pairs of eyes are unfathomable. One rolls her eyes upwards in a swoon, like Saint Teresa in Bernini’s famous sculpture, while another has vertical slit pupils, and has been dubbed Snake Eyes in the subtitle supplied by the artist.

The latter’s face arose purely from the imagination, quite the exception in Dumas’s face painting oeuvre, while the absence of a nose in the face of Split Stone was initially suggested by the broken edge between two tints of apricot colour and only later linked to a memory of ancient, damaged stone sculptures.

The process involving source material could therefore be reversed, as also in Alaha’s Light, where the initial layer of orange paint formed the starting point. The painter’s quest for a suitable image that would facilitate the addition of facial features led to the discovery of an Egyptian royal head from the 11th millennium BC. Painting could precede the source, and more painting could follow.

According to Dumas, art works are like unfaithful lovers and will betray not only their creator but all previous interpreters if a viewer with a more attractive interpretation comes along.

The humour of this remark is self-directed, for it is nobody but the artist herself who has consciously cultivated the ambiguity of the work. It ends up being poly-interpretable to such a degree that endless exegesis and reams of ekphrastic (vividly descriptive) art historical and literary writing will ensue. The wordplay is continued in her self-given nickname, Miss Interpreted. We are often reminded by the artist that the point of the paintings is the paintings as paintings, not their “deeper” meanings. But she also pertinently asks: what is a good painting without a serious subject?

Here it is worth remembering, with Wallace Stevens, that if the subject is a blackbird, there are thirteen ways of looking at it. When we look from a distance, the expressions on these faces intrigue us, but then they call us to come closer and enter into the open fields of colour, inviting us to inspect their “skins”– reminiscent of water over stones, moss on fallen trees, rust, patina, lichen, oil, translucent amber, reflections in glass – so that we lose our orientation on the map of the facial features. In our oscillation between, on the one hand the visages and their “looks”, and on the other hand the lure of their abstractly treated superficies, the painter succeeds in mesmerising us. We cannot tear ourselves away; we step up and we step back and step up again. A dance. The painter has moved us.

Let us give Oscar Wilde the last say: “All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.” V

Acknowledgements: Thank you to Marlene Dumas for wonderful hours of conversation in her Amstelveen studio, and for all the insights, ideas, sources, and materials she generously plied me with, also to Willem ter Velde, who manages the Dumas archive, for his professional support, and to my partner, Henda Strydom, who lovingly accompanied the process of research and writing.

Artist’s quotes: From Sweet Nothings, Uitgeverij De Balie, Amsterdam, 1998, and from her writings on the website marlenedumas.nl.

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Vir dié wat hou van grense verskuif bring Karen Zoid se Zoid Psalms rockkitare en kerkorrel in gesprek met mekaar binne die Kruiskerk, en die eindproduk –  ’n rock ‘n roll-show “met ’n sagte hart”. Bertus Basson se Speelkamersessies verskaf ’n meesterlike vertoning waar smaak en stories in die Eike-restaurant ontmoet. Die EasyEquities Skrywersfees sluit aan by die aanvanklike Woordfees se Nag van passie in 2000 en sluit hoogtepunte in soos die bespreking van Antjie Krog se nuwe roman Binnerym van bloed en ’n skrywerspartytjie ’n Aand van passie waar ons terugkyk oor 25 jaar en die glas lig op die skrywers en hul woorde.

Die Toyota Musiekfees-opelugkonserte in die Jan Marais-natuurreservaat nooi jou uit om onder die sterre te dans met kunstenaars soos die Soweto String Quartet tot Mandisi Dyantyis, Early B en Will Linley wat vir seker sal sorg vir jolige atmosfeer. Bring jou piekniekmandjie, kampstoele en maak gereed vir ’n onvergeetlike partytjieatmosfeer en gehaltemusiek. Klavier-extravaganza II bring weer tien klaviere, 200 vingers en die Standard Bank Endler by die Universiteit Stellenbosch se orrel saam in ’n meesleurende musiekviering.

Die Veldhospitaal is ’n opwindende hoogtepunt vir visuele-kuns-entoesiaste. Hierdie produksie speel af by die Libertas-plaas en is ’n smeltkroes van kunstenaars wat met kuns, musiek, vertonings en uitvoerings die kyker gaan bekoor en begogel in ’n nuwe baanbrekerfeeskonsep. Visuele kuns was nog altyd een van die Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees se swaartepunte en vanjaar kan jy verwag om deur  byna 90 kunstenaars en ’n Strauss & Co-veiling nie net kuns te besigtig nie, maar ook te beleef.

Teatergangers kan uitsien na debuutproduksies en klassieke tekste by die Spier Toneelfees met produksies soos Boesman en Lena, Boklied, Huis van sand, The Fugue of Tjebolang en Bridling. 

Die Woordfees is van 11 tot 19 Oktober, kaartjies by Quicket. Klik hier vir die volledige program.

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Beautiful locally produced products steeped in heritage, can be sent anywhere in South Africa.

Tempting boxes

Die Spensblik full of products for your larder.

Click here for more on the Oom Samie catalogue.

The post Oom Samie se Winkel Gift Boxes appeared first on Stellenbosch Visio.

Nothing if not cosmopolitan, the Winelands’ restaurant scene has welcomed Japanese influence on fine dining, as Richard Holmes discovers. And, he learns, the influence isn’t just culinary …

When South Africa’s culinary star first began to shine, sometime in the early 2000s, it was largely thanks to chefs interpreting European haute cuisine in a Cape vernacular. Continental fine dining was given a contemporary spin, as cooks tweaked the classics with a healthy dose of local produce and African inspiration.

But as our palates have gone global, there’s been a steady infusion of Asian influence to restaurants across the Cape – including the Winelands – as chefs dabble with dashi and toy with the endless ways that Asian culinary traditions introduce umami onto the menu.

From FYN’s trend-setting Afro-Japanese cuisine – which took it to 60th spot on the respected World’s 50 Best Restaurants List this year – Asian cuisine, and Japanese in particular, is proving to be the most exciting dish in town.

In the heart of Stellenbosch, Genki has become a firm local favourite for its menu of sushi, ramen and Japanese tapas, while Gochu Gang brings a bold approach to Asian street food. But perhaps a better bellwether of the trend is found atop the Helshoogte Pass, where a 2023 revamp of Delaire Graff Lodges & Spa saw Indochine restaurant transformed into a contemporary Japanese dining destination

Hōseki (‘jewel’ in Japanese) was originally envisaged as an intimate Japanese eatery, but when head chef Virgil Kahn presented his first dishes to the owner, Laurence Graff, plans quickly changed.

“He loved the menu so much, he decided to switch everything around!” says Virgil with a chuckle. And so the Indochine Lounge was created, serving a menu of global small plates, and the main restaurant was transformed into Hōseki. Elements of Japanese decor were infused into the space and the menu was reimagined into a fine-dining experience that takes its cue from Japanese culinary traditions.

“I’ve always had a love for Japanese cooking and there were a lot of Japanese elements on the Indochine menu, but in opening Hōseki we really had to focus on specific ingredients and techniques and let them shine. And that was the challenge,” observes Virgil.

But he is always up for a challenge and in just two months – including a research trip to Dubai – Virgil and his chefs created a menu filled with inspired interpretations of Japanese plates, all infused with the artistry we’ve come to expect at Delaire Graff.

“Enormous attention went into the experience,” he adds. “There’s a lot of thought that goes into everything, from the crockery to the chopstick rests. Even the menus are hand-threaded.” Similar attention is paid to seasonality and sourcing, all while working within the constraints of a fine- dining restaurant.

“Wherever we can, we work with local fish, but obviously at this level we also need to focus on the luxury experience and there are certain ingredients that we simply have to offer.” So while some may clock up the food miles, yellowfin tuna is usually from local boats and the excellent wagyu – offered on the menu with a marbling scale as a guideline – is from Ken Forrester’s estate just outside Stellenbosch.

There’s a delightful array of ways to experience Hōseki too. Of course, there’s à la carte, and Virgil suggests a sushi starter – the sashimi is exceptional – followed by a selection of cold and hot plates. Lunchtime also offers a four-course set menu, or a bento box for those looking to dine and dash.

But the evening is when Hōseki comes to life, with the eight-course omakase (‘I leave it up to you’) menu that sees the chef decide which dishes to serve.

Across the menu, Virgil brings his own creative take to Japanese flavours, whether it’s the ostrich tartare with tamago or the playful Hōseki ‘pizza’ – a tortilla disc with soy glaze, layered with tuna carpaccio, ponzu and pickled shimeji mushrooms. “We’re not trying to be authentic Japanese,” he says. “We’re in South Africa, working with different produce, but we want to take those flavours and traditions and put our own spin on them.”

Restauranteur Ryan Shell takes a similar approach at Ōku, his charming Asian-inspired eatery in Franschhoek.

“Our ingredients taste different from what you’d find in Japan, so the dishes we produce immediately lose some authenticity,” he says. “Japan is also more cosmopolitan in its food style than people think.

It’s close to Korea, it’s close to China. So we incorporate those elements on our menu.”

And an impressive menu it is too, with a collection of pan-Asian small plates. The heart of the Ōku experience is the 15-course kaiseki menu, a carefully curated tasting menu that showcases the skills of the kitchen. “Kaiseki is a journey, a linear trajectory,” says Ryan. “We make sure there’s a certain flow, there’s a crescendo and a chorus. These are not just individual dishes, they’re chapters of a longer story.”

Across the menu expect a remarkable discovery of Asian cuisine, from the layered complexity of a clear prawn broth through a collection of sashimi and tataki plates to a Norwegian salmon with kombu dashi.

Ryan also subtly introduces local flavours and produce into the experience, including wild springbok and warthog in hunting season, and yellowtail tataki to tap into the best local fish.

A more concise four-course menu is also available, and patrons can select from à la carte options in the quiet winter months. Here, be sure not to miss the incredible Korean fried cauliflower that will make you see brassicas in a whole new light.

But Japanese influence in the Winelands extends beyond the dinner table. In Stellenbosch look to the university’s Botanical Garden, which is home to a remarkable collection of bonsai trees, including a Becky Lucas pine tree from 1940 that is thought to be the oldest example of bonsai in Africa.

A more contemporary expression of Japanese horticulture is found in the private garden of Anne-Marie and GT Ferreira, the owners of Tokara wine estate. The latest addition to the diverse landscaping around the homestead is a remarkable ‘moss garden’ created by South African neuroscientist and moss garden designer Gert van Tonder.

“In Japan, the garden is the most important thing,” says Gert. “Many of the most important gardens are in temples, and while the names of the monks and abbots come and go, the name of the gardener is always remembered.” Locally at least, mosses are an under- estimated and misunderstood group of plants. Most people would associate them with cool and damp environments, but the majority of the more than 750 species of moss found in South Africa grow in the Little Karoo, where they are remarkably adaptable to their environment.

“Mosses really are a cosmopolitan group of plants,” explains Gert. “Fortunately many of the most desirable species, and the staples in Japanese gardens, we also have here.”

In creating the ‘Adamastor’ garden at Tokara, Gert had to work as much with rock as with moss, chiselling and shaping the locally sourced granite that provides form and structure to the garden. With the structure in place and the moss settling in, he is about to begin the final stage of the garden: the installation of a Japanese sukiya-style house handcrafted from cedar and cypress wood. Gert himself will build it, using traditional techniques and precision joinery without the use of nails or bolts. “This is not the kind of garden where you sit on a little bench,” he adds. “You need an architectural space where you can sit properly, protected from the elements.”

And good news for garden lovers is that the

Tokara garden will be open for the public to admire this spring, with the Rare Plant Fair and Open Garden taking place on Saturday, 26 October 2024. Once you’ve wandered the garden, you certainly won’t go hungry.

The post Of Moss and Umami appeared first on Stellenbosch Visio.

WHEN THE TWELVE young opera stars competing in Operalia dazzled the audience on 5 November 2023 at Artscape, it marked an evening of firsts, not only for Cape Town, but for all of South Africa. It was also a first for the streaming platform Medici.tv, with a record 120000 people from all five continents sharing in the event.

I had the privilege of being present at the thrilling event, listening to Operalia founder, Maestro Plácido Domingo, the world‐renowned Spanish tenor‐baritone, sing the praises of the stellar line‐up of competitors as well as of Cape Town.

To crown the event, Domingo, who also chaired the panel of adjudicators, conducted the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO). His performance testified to the talent and remarkable stamina of this silver‐haired 82‐year‐old.

Thirty years ago, Domingo initiated the competition to bring attention to upcoming opera singers and secure invitations for stars of the future on the world’s most famous opera stages. The competition has been presented in cities like London, Paris, Madrid, Hamburg, Tokyo, and Milan.

“Operalia only chooses cities with a good international orchestra, and we are the only city in Africa that could guarantee, within two days of announcing the finalists, that we would have been able to rehearse the music for the final gala concert,” recounts Louis Heyneman, artistic director and chief executive of the CPO. “When the organisers asked us a year ago to present the competition, I did not think twice.”

The grand affair featured 34 singers from 15 countries out of more than 800 applicants. Only 22 reached the semi‐finals, and eventually, 12 finalists advanced to the last round.

Choosing Cape Town was synchronistic. “Only a few days after South Africa was crowned as the World Cup champion on the rugby field, the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill‐Lewis, in jest referred to Operalia as the ‘World Cup of Opera’,” Louis says with a chuckle.

Two of South Africa’s foremost singers, Pretty Yende, from eMkhondo (Piet Retief) in Mpumalanga, and the tenor from the Free State, Levy Sekgapane from Maokeng (Kroonstad), won in 2011 and 2017 respectively. Today, they conquer hearts worldwide – from La Scala to the Met.

Some of the world’s most famous present opera singers like curly‐top heartthrob, tenor Rolando Villazón, American mezzo‐soprano Joyce DiDonato, and the fiery Russian soprano Aida Garifullina, to name just a few, are Operalia’s ‘discoveries’. Last year’s South African finalists, Nombulelo Yende (32) and mezzo‐soprano Siphokazi Molteno (31), enchanted the audience.

Everyone had hoped that Yende would follow in her big sister’s footsteps. And shine she did, also in her silver creation.

With an aria from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, she won the special Cultur Arte Award. Molteno smouldered in a black dress and drew loud applause. She received an encouragement award as a finalist in the zarzuela category for a song by Ruperto Chapi. Domingo’s parents, by the way, were well‐known zarzuela singers. This Spanish opera style is also a category in the Operalia competition.

The 26‐year‐old French soprano Julie Roset was the overall winner of the competition among female singers, and the South Korean bass Stephano Park (26) won the male section. Roset and Park each won $30 000 (about R570 000). Eugénie Joneau (28), also from France, was the female singer winner in the zarzuela category with her rendition of the Chapi song. The Armenian baritone Navard Hakobyan (25), winner of the male section of this category, enchanted the audience with his Amor, vida de mi vida.

Magdalene Minnaar, artistic director of Cape Town Opera, was the only judge from Africa on the Operalia panel. According to her, Domingo couldn’t stop talking about the quality of South African talent.

“I realised again that, although South Africa is so far from Europe and America, the hub of opera, we don’t have to stand back or play second fiddle.Just think of the 35th Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition for young opera singers, which took place in Cape Town in 2016. “To present two acclaimed opera competitions proves that South Africa is of world class and can compete with opera houses in Paris, New York, Berlin, Sydney, Tokyo – just name it,” Minnaar says.

Last year Minnaar was one of four women and five men on Operalia’s panel of judges, the ‘blue blood’ of the international opera world. The other adjudicators were Peter Mario Katona, director of casting at the Royal Opera House in London; Samuel Gelber, creative director at the Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Centre; Jonathan Friend, artistic adviser of the Metropolitan Opera House and the Irish National Opera; David Lomeli, chief artistic officer at the Santa Fe Opera, tenor and alumnus of several renowned training programmes for opera stars; Robert Körner, casting director at Wiener Staatsoper; Carolin Wielpütz, director of artistic administration at MusikTheater an der Wien; Annette Weber, director of opera at Opernhaus Zürich; and Evamaria Wieser, director of the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival and European casting consultant for the Opera of Chicago.

“Surrealistic,” is how Minnaar describes the experience “to breathe the same air as one of the greatest tenors of all time, to ask him questions. He is so approachable,” she says about Domingo. “To see how people handle opera companies in the rest of the world and to network, stand us as South Africans in good stead.”

Heyneman says CPO and Cape Town Opera broadcasted short promotional videos on Medici.tv during the competition, boosting Cape Town and South Africa’s international image.

How can one ever forget the Maestro’s sexy Spanish accent in which he referred to “your beautiful Mother City” in his speech?

Operalia certainly did wonders for South African tourism. “Participants as well as adjudicators are begeistert by South Africa’s beauty and want to visit our country again and work here,” says Minnaar.

So does Domingo. One of his well‐known quotes is: “I hope I have given back half the joy music has given me.” More than half, Maestro, much, much more! V

* Operalia is part of the Rolex Perpetual Arts Initiative in which the latter supports leading artists and invests in the long term in the cultural and artistic heritage of the arts.

The post The Sound of Success appeared first on Stellenbosch Visio.

Vergelegen Rose Terrace

A charming new attraction for breakfast, tea, and light lunch enthusiasts is blooming at Vergelegen Estate in Somerset West. The Rose Terrace Tea Room, which offers a delightful escape into a world of floral elegance and delectable treats, has just opened its doors. The Rose Terrace is perfectly located beside a glorious rose garden, where the blooms’ breathtaking beauty creates a serene, scented atmosphere. Guests can satisfy their sweet cravings with an ever-changing range of cakes, and there are also savoury specials such as smoked salmon bagels, quiches, and coronation chicken open sandwiches.

Instagram @vergelegen_wine_estate

Take Four Piano Quartet

Take Four is a women’s piano quartet consisting of lifelong friends Zanta Hofmeyr on violin, Elna van der Merwe on piano, Susan Mouton on cello and Jeanne-Louise Moolman on viola. Individually, they are considered to be four of South Africa’s most talented and best-known classical musicians. In August 2022, they decided to join forces and perform together for the first time as a formal ensemble under the name Take Four – celebrating friendship and women!

To book Take Four for your next event, contact leone.pitts@gmail.com.

Delaire Graff Wine Estate Lodges & Spa

Delaire Graff Wine Estate’s Lodges & Spa have reopened following an extensive refurbishment. Inspired by the landscape, culture and natural beauty of its setting atop the Helshoogte Pass, Delaire Graff Estate now boasts 16 luxurious lodges and the Owner’s Villa, alongside its award-winning wines, as well as a tranquil spa and a new Japanese restaurant, Hõseki, which opened its doors in 2023. Implemented by the renowned David Collins Studio, who has worked with the estate since its inception, and guided by the vision of the owner and renowned diamantaire Laurence Graff OBE, the interiors have been reimagined and refined while honouring the original ethos and spirit of Delaire Graff Estate.

The new interior architecture is simple in colour yet rich in texture to complement perfectly Laurence Graff’s extensive collection of African art. Warm, comforting golden oranges, yellows, greens, and natural textures reflect the African sky, the estate’s vineyards and indigenous gardens and the imposing Stellenbosch valley below.

African motifs are paired with European touches, and David Collins Studio consciously worked closely with local artisans and artists, ensuring a spectrum of materials that include chiselled woods, stone and copper, and hand-woven textiles. The result is exceptional: the contemporary, aspiring, light, and elegant interiors are the epitome of quiet luxury while remaining grounded in the locale. Each space is distinctive, yet the excellent service for which the estate is renowned, draws every element together, ensuring that guests feel relaxed, special and at home.
“Delaire Graff Estate is my happy place. I love visiting because of the people, the hospitality,” says Simon Rawlings, chief creative officer of David Collins Studio. “This makes every project at the estate very personal and special to me. Our collaboration with Laurence Graff is longstanding and successful. For these reasons, I think Delaire Graff Estate instantly makes guests fall in love with it, embrace its warmth, enjoy its personality and leave with wonderful memories.”

Instagram @delairegraff

Sea Walls

The inaugural Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans public art project in Africa has left a lasting legacy for ocean conservation and community activism in Cape Town. PangeaSeed Foundation’s Sea Walls South Africa, presented by the Save Our Seas Foundation, saw 18 mural artists, including four from overseas, adorn the walls of 16 buildings around the city with powerful works on important ocean topics – from the scourge of plastic pollution to the need for community action to protect ocean livelihoods.

Shani Judes, the project director of Sea Walls South Africa, in partnership with SJ Artists and Wavescape, says the 10-day programme was set up to give a talented and diverse group of artists a chance to express themselves about the urgent need to protect marine ecosystems, but also as an important way to celebrate a unique camaraderie that binds us to a common humanity.
“These walls have a lifespan of up to seven years and will serve as a constant reminder to Capetonians and visitors to the Cape of the interconnectedness of all life on our planet, the importance of collaboration in these difficult times, and the vital role of the oceans in sustaining life on earth,” she adds.

Instagram @seawalls_

International Public Arts Festival

The 8th edition of the International Public Art Festival (IPAF), in collaboration with Baz-Art, a trailblazing non-profit organisation established in 2016, once again recently transformed the streets of Cape Town into a vibrant canvas of public art and community engagement.

Melissa Cucci, co-founder and creative director at Baz-Art and co-founder of IPAF, spearheaded the initiative with a vision to revolutionise place-making through art. “As we unveil the 8th International Public Art Festival, we are reminded that art is not just a mirror held up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it,” said Melissa ahead of the festival. “Our mission is to turn every wall, every street, every corner into a conversation, into an opportunity for change. Here in Cape Town, we’re not just creating art, we’re crafting the future, one brush stroke at a time.”

This year’s IPAF set out to create groundbreaking public artworks that contribute not only to the aesthetic landscape, but also to economic development. This year’s theme, ‘CoACT | CoLLAB’, focused on creative collaboration across various disciplines, sectors and cultures.

Instagram @ipaf_festival_sa

Danie du Toit se Nuwe Noord

Danie du Toit, hoofsanger van die alombekende Stellenbosse musiekgroep Spoegwolf, is nie net bekend vir sy stories wat hy deur lirieke vertel nie, maar ook dié wat hy deur gedigte vertel. Ná die vrystelling van drie digbundels bring Danie vir lesers nóg ’n bundel met stories van “soek maar nooit vind” in Nuwe Noord.

Nuwe Noord word beskryf as ’n bundel vol gedigte oor wat mooi en wat mal is; ’n versameling woorde wat gesing word of op klein servette gelos word. “Die idee agter die bundel is dat jy jou lewe lank soek vir een ding, en dan besef jy in ’n stadium jy moet van rigting verander en die skip moet draai na ’n nuwe rigting; ’n nuwe noord,” sê Danie.

Instagram @danie_reenwolf

Republique Coffee

Republique, a recent addition to Stellenbosch, is a French-inspired speciality coffee shop. The fusion of French decor and a passion for all things coffee defines their celebration of life. Republique proudly champions speciality-grade coffee, the ultimate testament to the artistry of coffee cultivation. Its certified baristas are excited to brew your favourite cup from either the elegant La Marzocco Modbar or the experimental Slow Bar.

Republique’s roots run deep, as it grew out of one of Stellenbosch’s oldest businesses, Fidder’s Gifting & Lighting, dating back to 1945. This unique union blends history and beauty, offering not only exceptional coffee, but a selection of homeware, gifts and lighting. Republique invites you to experience life’s pleasures by browsing and savouring a meticulously prepared brew.

Instagram @republique_stellies

Cape Cobra Leathercraft

Cape Cobra Leathercraft is a South African luxury specialty leathergoods company handcrafting all products locally in Woodstock. As a third-generation family run business, Cape Cobra Leathercraft has a long legacy of manufacturing bags for luxury fashion houses around the world, including Tiffany & Co, Dupont, and Michael Kors. Established in 1972, they are Africa’s largest exporter of luxury exotic leather goods. Their atelier handcrafts sustainably farmed Nile crocodile, ostrich, and python skins into timeless pieces in a variety of vibrant colours and styles. Having just launched their FW 23-24 collection, Cape Cobra Leathercraft invites you to visit their shop at 43 Bree Street in Cape town, as well as their online store at capecobra.com.

Instagram @capecobraleathercraft

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

The 11th edition of the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Africa’s largest art fair, recently took place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The curatorial theme for the 2024 edition was ‘Unbound’, focusing on emerging and ‘unbound’ voices.

Art becomes a compelling catalyst amid global challenges and offers individuals a platform for expression and a space where diverse voices can be heard. ‘Unbound’ serves as a conduit for exploring alternative possibilities and breaking free from constrictive narratives.

This year’s edition of Investec Cape Town Art Fair saw the city of Cape Town play a far more significant role in bringing to the fore the art fair’s activities and artists for its local and international audience of collectors and institutions. As fair director Laura Vincenti says, “The city’s geography is an integral part of Investec Cape Town Art Fair’s success. Cape Town is a vibrant cultural hub, with a supportive community. It is very attractive to international collectors, with the great combination of diverse, cutting-edge art and a favourable exchange rate.”

With more than 20 new exhibiting galleries, both local and international, and close to 380 exhibiting artists, the Investec Cape Town Art Fair continues its work of providing an annual platform for artists, galleries, curators, museums, cultural institutions, collectors and art enthusiasts to connect and interact in the name of art, says Laura.

Instagram @investeccapetownartfair

De Vrije Burger at Time Out Market Cape Town

Time Out Market is a food and cultural market in the V&A Waterfront that brings the best of the city together under one roof – a selected mix of the best chefs, drinks and cultural experiences. This year, Stellenbosch’s very own De Vrije Burger by chef Bertus Basson forms part of the market’s culinary line-up. The first to open on the African continent, Time Out Market Cape Town is home to the city’s award-winning chefs, much-loved local gems and up-and-coming talents to offer a taste of Cape Town and the surrounding areas’ diverse and exciting food scene. This foodie destination offers 13 kitchens, three bars and a dedicated wine bar.

“We are excited to expand our horizons to Cape Town! It is also nice to be in the V&A Waterfront, where Time Out Market Cape Town is located, and have esteemed local chefs as our neighbours in the market. Being part of
an international concept and brand like Time Out Market is also very cool,” says Bertus.

He hopes that, after eating a De Vrije Burger at Time Out Market Cape Town, guests are inspired to visit other restaurants in Stellenbosch. In addition, he hopes that the ‘best burger in Stellenbosch’ will soon become the ‘best burger in Cape Town’.

Instagram @devrijeburger & @timeoutmarketcapetown

The post Autumn News & Reviews appeared first on Stellenbosch Visio.

’n Hele paar jaar voordat ‘kwarantyn’ deel geword het van ons alledaagse woordeskat, was dit Giovanni Boccaccio se Decamerone wat my gelok het na Fiesole, die dorpie net buite Florence in Italië. Fiesole was die plek waar Boccaccio se brigata, ’n groep van sewe jong meisies en drie jong mans, in afsondering die somer van 1348 deurgebring het terwyl die Swart Dood in Florence verwoesting gesaai het. As jy, soos dié groepie, die middele gehad het, kon jy die builepes vryspring wat tussen 1347 en 1351 soveel soos 45% van Europa se bevolking uitgewis het.

Om die tyd in Fiesole te verwyl, het elkeen van dié adellikes twee weke lank elke aand die geleentheid gekry om ’n storie te vertel. Dit was behalwe Sondae en ook een aand per week wat aan takies gewy is – met ander woorde, tien dae lank (van daar die titel van die boek wat “tien dae” beteken).

In hul gekoesterde omstandighede het hulle vorendag gekom met stories oor goed wat hulle geraak het, oor gierige en korrupte kerklui, oor geld en die tekort daaraan, oor liefde (opwellende sowel as mislukte liefde) maar ook oor wreedheid, verraad en uitbuiting.

Hoewel Boccaccio nie die naam van die villa noem waar hulle vertoef het nie, is daar getuienis dat dit die imposante Villa Palmieri (soos dit tans bekend staan) kon wees. As simbool van die groepie se paradyslike omstandighede te midde van die pes, beskryf Boccaccio die tipiese Middeleeuse tuin met ’n sentrale vywer, pergolas met lowerryke wingerdranke, en sitrusbome, rankende rose en jasmyn, aangeplant en getroetel op terrasse.

Deur die eeue het baie van die tuine in die Fiesole-omgewing heelwat veranderings ondergaan – die invloed van die Renaissance en Barok is oral te sien – hoewel ’n mens op wandelings bewus word van tyd wat stilgestaan het. Dit sien jy in die geduld van statige sipresse en hoor jy in die sikades (hulle klink net soveel anders as ons sonbesies) wat 673 jaar later steeds sing van son en volop somers. Dit ruik jy in die oeroue geur van lourier wat jy van lang latte kan stroop.

Tuin, soos ek daaroor dink, is meer as om plante te sien groei (soos wat reis meer is as om plekke te besoek en soos lees meer is as om inligting te bekom). Dit is ’n manier om die lewe draagliker maak; noem dit ’n meganisme om welstand te koester.

In Decamerone maak Boccaccio van tuin ’n teelaarde vir stories, ’n plek waar die tien jongelinge geil fiksie kan ontgin terwyl die dood dreig. Dit word die plek waar die genesende krag van verhale gedy, juis in ’n tyd van isolasie. Wat uitstaan van Decamerone is dat ons stories nodig het om ons te help uitmaak wie ons is as alles om ons so op losse skroewe begin staan. En dat ons ook mense nodig het om na ons verhale te luister.

Eeue later spoor Boccaccio ’n mens nog aan om na te dink oor jou verantwoordelikheid jeens ander, oor meelewing en geselskap en gulhartigheid. En moedig hy sy lesers aan tot verdraagsaamheid en hoflikheid teenoor dié van wie jy verskil. Kortom, om na te dink oor die waarde van ’n lewe en straks ’n beter lewe te versin ná ’n pandemie.

Lank reeds terug van die reis na Fiesole, kook ek steeds met die bondels lourierblare wat ek daar gepluk het, en voed die volgeur van die blare almal om my tafel, genees die lourier iets van die alleenheid wat kom met ’n nuwe pandemie en dae van kwarantyn, en wakker die aardse smaak my aan om eendag weer te reis. Dalk terug na Fiesole.

Die bekroonde digter, denker en kunskenner Johan Myburg se ontginning van die verlede bring hom uit by ou waarhede en oor waarom ons verhale nodig het.

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Living a real-life fairytale that recently culminated in being rated the finest creator of Méthode Cap Classique in the country is a journey of nearly 40 years of experiencing and learning from the best how to produce the finest.

For Nic and Ferda Barrow, this journey of constantly striving for excellence started in 1984 in the Little Karoo town of Oudtshoorn, far away from the bustle of city life or the picturesque landscapes of the world’s acclaimed wine regions.

While Nic started a law practice in Oudtshoorn, Ferda taught accounting. Soon they wanted to spread their wings and on 7 December 1992, Rosenhof Country House opened its doors. Ferda always had a love for gardening, fine cuisine and the delicate detail of interior designs. It was her love for roses that gave Rosenhof its name.

The diverse achievements of Nic and Ferda are characterised by far more than their combined traits of entrepreneurship, creativity and business acumen. Attention to detail and an insatiable drive to improve and do more for others – like expanding significant parts of a town – define them. Nic received a special award from the Oudtshoorn Business Chamber for enhancing tourism, job creation and the local economy. Among their many accolades and achievements, they both have been honoured by the Simon van der Stel Foundation for their role in preserving old heritage buildings in the southern Cape and have won the Sanlam Business Partners Entrepreneur for the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces.

And in 2013, for the Klein Karoo Klassique concept it founded, the Barrow Family Trust was a finalist in the category for Business and Arts South Africa’s Increasing Access to the Arts Award.

While travelling in France, Nic and Ferda explored the Loire Valley, which is widely known as the Garden of France thanks to its abundant vineyards, orchards and fields of artichokes and asparagus. It is also notable for its historic towns, architecture, wines and majestic chateaux. One of the beautiful villages they came across was Le Lude, with its incredible rose gardens. They fell in love with it immediately and knew this was what they wanted to establish in Franschhoek.

After all their years of tastings in the Champagne region, the Barrows were sure they had a sound idea of what a good Méthode Cap Classique should be: bubbly, lightish, with exceptional refreshing colour – and as playful as a prima ballerina on her toes.

Specialising in Méthode Cap Classique, Le Lude has won numerous accolades for excellence, including a 97/100 rating from the Decanter World Wine Awards, the highest score to date for a Méthode Cap Classique wine. The estate’s success is built on the essential traditions of winemaking coupled with an excellent crafting method. Only when the grapes distinctly express the site and terroir of their vineyard are they coaxed into a premium product of unrivalled excellence. Innovation in the cellar and a restless, uncompromising pursuit of perfection in the bottle have made Le Lude one of the most exciting new producers of Méthode Cap Classique with a brand that is becoming internationally renowned for its finesse, elegance and refinement. The distinctively dark and heavy bottle in the Italian style is unique in the South African market.

Le Lude’s pioneering approach is underscored by its cellar becoming the first in the country to produce an Agrafe® (Tirage Liège) Cap Classique, paving the way to greatness for a sector of the South African wine industry. Agrafe is fermentation of the wine under the cork instead of the crown cap, resulting in a more integrated aroma profile and texture.

A recent accolade for Le Lude is the joint top score of 95/100 for its Reserve Agrafe 2013, as scored by French wine experts Gilbert & Gaillard in a selected summer 2021 rating of Crémant de Bourgogne and Western Cape bubblies. The tasting panel of seven, which included five expert tasters from France, stated that the Le Lude Venus Brut Nature Millésime 2014 “will age forever”.

Paying tribute to his wife, Nic says the many gold and silver accolades underscore Ferda’s delicate touch in the blending and master crafting of the bubbly offerings of Le Lude.

The cultivated hospitality found on refined wine and Méthode Cap Classique estates in the Franschhoek Valley gives visitors to the region a premium opportunity to experience the Cape Winelands, and the accommodation in Le Lude’s Lily Pond House accentuates this custom.

Situated at the far end of the estate, Lily Pond House is a spacious home-away-from-home with all the requirements for contemporary living and comfort.

Harmonising with the winery and accommodation of Le Lude, the Orangerie Restaurant is tucked just around the corner from the cellar. Here the most refined cuisine is prepared by Chef Nicolene, daughter of the Barrows. After studying at a hotel school, Nicolene honed her skills by working with chef Michel Albert Roux (previously known as Michel Roux Jr.) for two years at the famous two-star Michelin restaurant Le Gavroche in London.

Her gourmet dishes are complemented by excellent service and an impressive wine list, including an ample selection from cellars in the valley and region to pair the best food with delectable wines. Chef Nicolene provides an exciting and sumptuous à la carte menu to suit all tastes. She is also prepared to share some of her culinary secrets with curious guests, not shying away from explaining exactly how a specific dish was prepared.

While still a scholar, the Barrows’ oldest daughter, Olga, began assisting her mother with design projects at the family’s various hotels. She graduated from Stellenbosch University and completed a DipISD at the renowned Inchbald School of Design in London before going on to work for leading architectural design firm Lawson Robb in its King’s Road office in Chelsea, where she focused on high-end residential projects in the UK and abroad. Now an international designer, Olga still makes time to work hand in hand with her mother, designing the impressive Orangerie at Le Lude and the renovation of other parts of the estate.

Nic and Ferda Barrow are ardent about the finer things in life and they put heart and soul into everything they undertake. As the masterminds of the Franschhoek Chamber Music Festival that will take place over the last weekend of February 2022, they are very excited that their town will host such a premium event for those who love not only chamber music, but also the finest-crafted Méthode Cap Classique wines.

As a special celebration during the Chamber Music Festival, Le Lude will be hosting – among concerts and haute cuisine events – a Champagne tasting of the finest from France and the best of Franschhoek, says Nic.

The post Le Lude: a Franschhoek fairytale appeared first on Stellenbosch Visio.

THURSDAY, 24 FEBRUARY

7PM CONCERT 1: NG KERK | A Bit of Baroque

• Vivaldi: Concerto for two trumpets
• Marcello: Oboe concerto
• Bach: Brandenburg Concerto no. 5

FRIDAY, 25 FEBRUARY

9AM CONCERT 2: LA MOTTE Bach and Elgar

• Bach: Goldberg Variations arr. for string trio by Sitkovetsky • Elgar: Salut d’Amour arr. for piano quartet by Victor Yates

11AM CONCERT 3: NG KERK Symphonic Woodwinds

• Haydn: London Trio no. 1
• Bizet: Carmen Suite for wind quintet
• Mozart: Symphony K550, arr. Joachim Linckelmann for wind quintet

4PM CONCERT 4: NG KERK Mozart and Brahms in Miniature

• Mozart: Divertimento K136
• Brahms: Trio Op. 40 for French horn, violin and piano

6PM CONCERT 5: NG KERK Souvenir de Florence

• Hugo Wolf: Italian Serenade
• Mozart: Piano quintet in G minor K478
• Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence

SATURDAY, 26 FEBRUARY

9AM CONCERT 6: NG KERK The Classical Masters – a celebration of youth

• Haydn: ‘Gypsy’ Trio
• Mozart: Horn quintet K407 • Beethoven: Op. 18 no. 1

11AM CONCERT 7: NG KERK Cello and Piano Recital

• Schumann: 3 Fantasiestücke • Beethoven: Sonata in A major Op. 69
• Popper: ‘Tarantella’

4PM CONCERT 8: NG KERK Magical Mozart

• Mozart: ‘Lodi’ String quartet no. 1 KV80
• Mozart: Wind sextet
• Mozart: Adagio and fugue arr. for brass quintet

6PM CONCERT 9: NG KERK Bach to Beatles

• Bach: Orchestral Suite no. 2 Allan Stephenson: Concerto grosso for two violins and strings
• Beatles: ‘Yesterday’ arr. for six cellos

SUNDAY, 27 FEBRUARY

11.30AM CONCERT 10: NG KERK Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

• Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
• Mendelssohn: Concerto for piano, violin and strings
• Dvořák: String Serenade

The post Franschhoek Chamber Music Festival 2022 Programme appeared first on Stellenbosch Visio.