Elegantly wasted

Sign up for a Cape Town tour and chances are somewhere along the line you’ll find yourself heading out to Stellenbosch for a wine tour. This beautiful little town in the heart of the Boland region of the Western Cape lies surrounded by a whopping 130 wineries, cellars and wine farms.

But that is not the only thing that Stellenbosch is famous for. Stellenbosch University is the only Afrikaans-medium tertiary education facility in the whole country and was first officially established in 1918 (although there have been accredited education establishments in the town from as early as 1685). In the intervening years, the student body has grown from a modest 500 to an incredible 22 000 individuals that are housed in hostels, student homes and flats throughout the town. Those are the boring stats…

In reality, Stellenbosch is one of the most vibrant student towns you will ever come across. I studied a BA in Languages at this fine institution and can honestly say that there is no way to properly describe the energy that suffuses our beautiful campus. Think tree-lined avenues, beautifully solid faculty buildings, the largest subterranean library in the Southern hemisphere and then add 22 000 kids that just got out from under their parents’ thumbs. You can only begin to imagine the ensuing chaos.

This absolute elation culminates at Carnival, normally held at the beginning of the year when all the First Years arrive, fresh from high school, home school or a gap year abroad. Those who were lucky enough to get place in a hostel are then herded , coaxed and gently bullied into participating in ‘Vensters’ (loosely translated to ‘windows’), the street show portion of Carnival. This basically involves a girls’ and boys’ residence teaming up to produce a street play that is performed throughout town for one evening during Carnival Week. Further festivities include the mandatory floats, a big music festival on the town common and lots and LOTS of drinking.

It is estimated that the clubs in Stellenbosch accrue around 20% of their annual revenue during Carnival time. Interestingly enough, pharmacies also report a 40-50% increase in sales of the ‘morning after’ pill during this time… Get what I’m saying? The first word that comes to mind is debauchery.

Since I first arrived in Stellenbosch in 2003 the idea of Carnival has become less and less appealing each year. What’s so great about running around, losing your friends, your wallet (and at times, a few smidgeons of self-respect) – struggling to find parking and struggling even more to get into a club where you are supposed to be having oodles of fun, all the while struggling to even breathe? Pretty dismal outlook, hey?

The truth of the matter is that you outgrow Stellenbosch. There is a famous drinking song that was written by a local musician/writer called Koos Kombuis that says ‘Stellenbosch is no-man’s land’. Nothing could be truer. The first few years of studying in Stellenbosch constitutes utter bliss. You simply cannot walk into class, the library, a club or even a restaurant in town without running into someone you know… and then they start leaving. For jobs in the city, for courses at other universities, for other continents. And before you know it, it is four years later and there is not one single person you know in Bohemia. Sad but true.

As cliché as it sounds, the only thing you can really do is live in the moment. Enjoy the crystalline beauty of each moment that you are allowed to be part of it all and look forward to becoming a sentimental alumnus who write blogs about her alma mater just because she misses it all so much (even the debauchery).

The pride and joy of Marianne Wine Farm

Waitressing is a strange profession. Most people hate it, but then there are a few select individuals that find it an easy and lucrative venture. I fall into the latter category. Even though I’ve had various grown-up nine to five jobs, I always manage to squeeze in a few waitressing shifts throughout the week. It’s tax free, cash-in-hand and I am a people person, which means I actually like serving customers. (Well, most of the time. You do get a very broad selection of dining douche bags that should really just stay home.)

The latest restaurant that has the pleasure of my weekend services is Olivello, a beautiful lakeside eatery situated on Marianne Wine Farm just outside of Stellenbosch. Having worked at various franchise restaurants in my time Olivello has been a welcome breath of fresh air. The wooden cottage lies nestled in the crook of a hillside, enveloped in vineyards and flanked by a beautiful lake. Since the setting is so breathtaking the managerial team have take great care not to overpower the venue with unnecessary embellishment. Simply, elegant wooden tables and chairs are complemented by gingham tablecloths and a sprinkling of fairy lights that add a delicious whimsical touch. One simply cannot imagine a more beautiful place to work.

Lynne and Laurille, the enigmatic proprietors, have a genuine love for the hospitality industry. After an exciting, but quite hectic, decade spent managing Café Paradiso in Cape Town, they have brought all their combined knowledge of the industry to the table. Lynne Aberdeen is the food lover and the brain behind Olivello’s inspiring menu’s; while Laurille Krug’s wine knowledge informs the tasty, yet affordable, wine list.

The venue operates on an A’ la Carte basis from Wednesday to Friday. Saturdays are normally reserved for a function (such as weddings, birthday parties or cooking demos) and Sunday’s for the Mediterranean Table, a buffet-style dining experience that has people flocking to Olivello from far and wide. If you’re anything like me, the word ‘buffet’ conjures up images of limp vegetables and overcooked meat in your mind. Not so at Olivello. By the time the waiters sign in on Sunday mornings the kitchen staff had already been at it for hours, chopping, slicing, kneading, basting, you name it. Simple, fresh food is what Lynne does best, which means that everything from the lip-smacking Limoncello to the fragrant seasoning salts are made right there in Lynne’s kitchen.

By noon the restaurant is set, each glass gleaming, each piece of cutlery meticulously polished. As the guests start to arrive Lynne and her team begin by putting out the soups and antipasti’s. (A word of caution: if you ever to end up making the trip to Olivello, be careful. Filling up on the starters is an amateur mistake I’ve seen newcomers make time and again. DON’T DO IT. Keep space for the main course – it’s worth it I promise). These vary from week to week and include everything from dolmades to hummus and all kinds of pretty dishes with names I really can’t pronounce.

Next the blinds to the kitchen area are drawn up and the doors thrown open, inviting diners inside to dish up the main course. Again, there is something different every week, but you can expect treats like Mediterranean lamb, vegetable frittata, fresh fish, etc. Add to this a sumptuous dessert menu that features, amongst other things, a provoking Pavlova and a charming chocolate torta, and you can understand why this little wooden cottage is filled to the brim with customers every weekend, come rain or shine.

Working at Olivello has really opened up my eyes to what the world of restaurant dining is supposed to be about. It’s supposed to be about creating an experience, about offering your customers a relaxing spot in which to enjoy the food and drink they’ve come so far for. Restaurants are meant to facilitate escapism much in the same way as good movies and novels do. Sadly we live in an era of mass production and instant gratification and many restaurant proprietors seem to subscribe to the minimum input/maximum profit management style. The only good way to express my disgust at this notion is by means of an Afrikaans expression: “SIES MAN!!!”

So, next time you feel like getting out of the city and taking a Cape Town tour, why not venture out to Olivello? I guarantee the setting (and Lynne’s unique brand of Cape Comfort food) will have you smiling in no time.

Eat, drink and be merry in Cape Town

In wine lies the truth, or so maintained the ancient Greeks. Those of us who live in the Cape Winelands tend to agree.

I originally hail from the small wine producing community of Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland region of the Western Cape. Situated in the midst of what is generally considered a grain growing area, the town nestles at the foot of Kasteelberg, a small mountain range dramatically at odds with the rest of the undulating landscape. It is this little hillock, however, that makes the Riebeek Valley so fertile – rain bearing clouds blow into it, increasing rainfall and with it, the richness of the soil.

Having grown up in this beautiful town as the eldest daughter of a professional winemaker I took my knowledge of wine and the wine industry for granted until I moved to Stellenbosch to study after school. Immersed in that culture since the day I was born I assumed that everybody knew merlot was pronounced with a silent ‘t’ and that pinotage was a uniquely South African cultivar best enjoyed with red meat and venison dishes. To my dismay it turned out most of my new friends’ knowledge of wine was limited to the plonk served at student pubs.

Fortunately, since Stellenbosch is smack bang in the middle of the Winelands, wine tours are a dime a dozen and opportunities to introduce newbies to the culture of the vine abound. Many people are initially put off by the snobbery that seems inherent to most wine connoisseurs and the circles they move in, and rightly so. One can only stand so many references to a ‘forest floor aroma’ or ‘brazenly cigar box aftertaste’ before all of it starts to seem a bit ridiculous.

My opinion is that wine should be enjoyed. Full stop. The truth of the matter is that you don’t need to know all the fancy lingo or name-drop celebrity winegrowers to take enjoyment from a glass of good vino. If you do feel your wine knowledge could do with a bit of a sprucing-up though, don’t hesitate to set out for one of the many cellars and farms that dot the countryside around Cape Town. An informative cellar tour or tasting session might be just the inspiration you need.

Anna-Bet Bester