Sunday Lunch at Flava Café, Wilderness

While we were staying on the Garden Route, we had been directed to The Girls restaurant in Wilderness, but they were closed. However we discovered they also run Flava Café and on offer was a rather tempting menu with a value Sunday lunch, so we booked for that

The Sunday lunch menu for the 6^th of June

It is a cheerful summery restaurant with a terrace upstairs, but it was warm enough inside on a very cold Sunday

They do have a very respectable wine list, but we wanted to spoil ourselves with some wines from our cellar which we had taken on holiday with us. This 2012 Raats Old Vine Chenin Blanc was beautifully full of mellow fruit and lees and a great start to lunch

They also have products for sale

This 2003 Boudinaud Côtes du Rhône was probably at its peak a few months ago, but was still full of fruit and life. The nose was an overwhelming storm of sandalwood and John also found a few violets. It went well with the lunch

A deconstructed, deeply flavoured beef and ale pie, fresh beans with caramelised onions and a thick portion of a vegetable root bake was sustaining, if a little tricky to eat. Almost a Banting portion, some of us avoided the pastry, others did not.. The stew was a good match for the Côtes du Rhône

Some were willing to brave the elements and eat on the upstairs terrace

Very possibly the best malva pudding Lynne has yet to eat. Very moist and served with a perfect real vanilla custard spiked with Amarula liqueur

They absolutely don’t

Here he is giving in his kitchen

And later giving us a song or two after dinner service was finished

It is a deservedly popular restaurant with locals and visitors. This large group was celebrating a 35th wedding anniversary

Lunch cost us only R 286 with corkage and service

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

The Wild Oats Farmers' Market, Sedgefield

On Saturday morning we drove through to Sedgefield to this very authentic weekly market. It is so nice to see real farm vegetables, free range poultry, plants, good bread and other tempting delights. It was very well attended and we went home with lots of goodies, including a new vegetable to us, rutabaga. We recognized it, but did not know how to cook or eat it. Luckily a German customer told us how to prepare it and she said “ you can even peel it and eat it like an apple”. She was right, it tastes just like a large crisp radish. We bought some really good camembert and baked it that evening and used the rutabaga with carrot, courgettes and tomatoes as crutidés to dip into the liquid cheese. Some will now go into soup. 

Although rain had been promised, it was a sunny (but cold) day

Rustic tables and chairs and covered stalls

Very responsible rubbish separation

This is a proper country farmers’ market, with lots of fresh produce from the local area to buy and take home to cook

Nice signage

Dried fruit piled high and some local badger friendly honey and jams

We bought the camembert on this stand - made at Ganzevlei

The very tempting (but we resisted) Ile de Pain stand with their amazing bread, sandwiches and botterkoek

A place to have a sit down or lunch

An old friend from Ferian Farm, Ferdi Rowan, selling her olives, oils and tapenades. Long ago, she sold us wonderful geese for Christmas

Just one of the fresh fruit and veg stalls. Prices are very competitive

And another old friend, Karen Shuttleworth-Dames from The Little Herb Garden, with her large range of pickles and jams.  We bought one of those enormous jars of rooikappies (pepperdews)

Lots of exceptionally good products for sale

Le Roux Charcuterie had some samples to taste

and we bought some fresh farm eggs here

And the rutabaga

Lovely spring onions

Crisp newly picked lettuce and all organic

White radishes

Another cheese stand giving samples

The crayfish tails were a little, no, much more expensive than we pay in the Cape, but he had lots of fish products to sell

Who can resist fresh juice and yoghurt

A brave statue artist that we encountered the last time we were in Knysna.  SO brave for standing still in the freezing cold, not a great way to make a living, but a living it is

There are several plant and herb stalls, and some very good indigenous plants

Braziers to keep you warm

So fresh and not expensive

Huge beetroot

and fresh leeks

Some of these parsnips came home with us

A clever idea for recycled tyres. We would like to see more of this in town.

More tempting plants. We brought home some red onion seedlings

Fresh flowers

Now this is what they call breakfast rolls

Or the full catastrophe!

Getting closer to lunch time

Only juice to go, the market doesn't have a licence for wine or alcohol or beer

The other part of the market also has lots of fruit and veg

Succulent gardens

Clothing

at The Love Shack

Hand carved items, simple but effective

Breakfast or coffee?

And a stand selling Dutch delights. Tempting, very tempting

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014