Cape Town: Culinary Explorations

After the early morning mugging, our three days in Cape Town was marred by our feelings of not being safe. Since the keys were one thing that had been stolen, the hotel sent a locksmith straight away to change the locks. And for a day, we sat in our room in the Waterfront District contemplating with a view of Table Mountain in the distance.

Much later that day, we found our way out for dinner in neighbourghing Bo Kaap, a once racially segregated district reserved for the 'coloured' of South Africa, a term widely used (and accepted there) for mixed race, Asian and other not-black-but-not-white individuals. The neighbourhood has had a very recent regeneration/gentrification and is known for its colourful buildings and quirky architecture. 

Despite this, we were constantly looking over our shoulders; nothing felt particularly calm or relaxing and we most definitely didn't get the best out of the city. Everyone we encountered along the way went out of their way to make us feel welcome but the damage was done. 

Starting afresh on Day 2 we made our way to our pre-booked Cape Town Culinary Tours and spent 3-hours with our local guide and a small group of complete strangers, two of whom ate nothing raw, pasteurised or carbohydrate filled. Odd choice for them, a food tour. 

We didn't let that stop us from trying an array of local specialities and, feeling safer traversing the city in a group with a local at the helm, we dove into the tastes of South Africa. The first stop was at Origin Coffee, established in 2006 as both a coffee shop and barista training school, the biggest in the country. The coffee was excellent and the staff really knew their stuff. We watched various steps in the brewing process before jolting ourselves with caffeine for the walk ahead.

Our next stop took us to Cafe Charles, a local Bo Kaap establishment, home of Bobotie. Simply put, this is a South African version of meatloaf with egg wash on the top. Definitely not veggie friendly and I was given something else equally nourishing but somewhat less memorable. The dish was served with Mrs Balls chutney, a classic sauce so good that we bought some in the local grocery store. Turns out it's imported to the UK so if you fancy trying it, just look for the long glass jar. 

Subsequent stops took us to Butcher Man, the home of Biltong, where my friends indulged in different kinds of SA jerky and boerewors, a type of spiced sausage. They made approving noises. 

My favourite stop, at Beluga, nestled into a converted warehouse building called The Foundry, we drank champagne and had an oyster or two. No pictures, because clearly I was enjoying the experience too much at this point.

Because the final stop to the recently done up V&A waterfront was quite long (like 15 minute walk!) we stopped for a craft beer tasting at Cafe Extrablatt

before making our way to our final stop for some dessert and cheese at a place on the waterfront itself.  The name of this place eludes me but the setting, right on the waterfront, and the cheese, a delight, were both something to write home about. 

From here we departed our guide and guests, whose comments strayed into passively racist as the day continued. It was painful insight into people thinking they're doing a good job at understanding the complex social problems of their country but really not. Unsettling at its best and enraging at its worst. 

Since we found ourselves at the V&A waterfront, we had a wander through the built up and rather beautiful market area. This is clearly a tourist area and buskers mingled with tourists mingled with various hospitality workers. Table Mountain again loomed in the background and the winter weather continued to play much nicer than any London winter I've ever known.

Jolting us back into reality, we were also reminded of the severe drought the city was undergoing. Reminders of Day Zero, the day the city council would turn off the water supply, were looming as water levels across the city dwindled. Had it come to fruition, Cape Town would have become the first major city in the world to 'run out' of water. Learn more here.

Keeping our water consumption to a minimum, we wound our way back to our accommodation and planned out one final local, low-key evening in Cape Town before an early morning wine tasting departure the next morning. We'd have one final day-ish in the city on the way back and hoped we'd return feeling a bit more confident. 

But I'll be honest, when our ride arrived in the city the next morning and we drove out towards wine country, there was a collective exhale. Our tension melted away and that wasn't just the wine speaking.