Innholdsfortegnelse for Autumn 2024 i Cape Etc

At first, I became comfortable with it as a season of in betweens — when leaves gently turn golden and the air systematically cools, easing us into winter. I'd created my charming little box and sealed it with a burnt-orange bow, but that was ripped to shreds in the first week of April when the Cape turned into a scene that was … Biblical, for lack of a better explanation. One stormy Sunday, the wind hauled a trailer truck over the edge of the bridge before the Huguenot Tunnel; Blaauwklippen, one of the oldest wine farms in Stellenbosch, was torched in a blaze, and the ocean was filmed moving backwards (also the work of the wind). There was more: Fish Hoek was on fire, multiple roads were closed due to…

FIRST IMPRESSIONS Andrew Sutherland is inspired by wanderlust and the narratives that underlie human encounters with the natural world ‘I knew this was Sutherland's work because of the little people,’ an admirer said on social media after spotting Andrew Sutherland's paintings at this year's Investec Cape Town Art Fair. It's true, his Colossal (ii) does have a little person. Still A Way To Go, a diptych, doesn't, but it remains distinctly Andrew with its broad brushstrokes of oil paint. Both were on display this year, and both gathered gawkers. Andrew was born in South West Africa in 1982. During his teenage years, he and his family spent time in the UK before settling in Cape Town – where he is still based. ‘I finished high school here and, in 2001, enrolled…

TIDES OF TASTE Let's investigate what's been brewing in the Deep South of the Cape Peninsula Aegir is a family-friendly restaurant set in the sleepy suburb of Noordhoek with an excellent brewpub menu designed to complement its flavourful craft beers. After learning how to brew beer on a work-and-travel trip through New Zealand and Scotland, Rory Lancellas returned home to launch Aegir Project Independent Brewery at The Red Herring Trading Centre. This was in 2015 when South Africa's craft beer industry was growing more popular. The brewery took off, attracting a devoted following of beer aficionados and townsfolk eager to have a new place to hang out and sip on pints of Rory's bold brews in this corner of the Cape. With a few small tables dotted around the courtyard…

AFTER DARK Locals are known for disappearing when the cold comes. Hidden from sight by the mist and clouds? Maybe. Gathering indoors to watch Cape Town's most talented thespians, musicians and performers? Certainly. The idea of dinner and a show lives on in the Mother City, making planning fabulous date nights and festive evenings with friends and family a breeze. Where to fill your belly and watch something entertaining, mind-blowing and riveting? No, not your couch! Try these instead. The lights aren't the only things switched on here LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL Groovy like an old-school movie at The Labia Theatre in Gardens Get a taste of the good ol’ days at The Labia Theatre, the oldest independent art-repertory cinema in South Africa. It's anything but mainstream with its…

INTERVIEW / Jardim Farm It took two hours to get from the Southern Suburbs, over Ou Kaapse Weg and into Noordhoek on a random Tuesday afternoon. Just before the mountain ascends on the left, a traffic light caught weary travellers in a bottleneck. The drivers’ expressions in the cars around me told the same story: frustration and defeat. Smoke bellowed from lips, fingers drummed impatiently on steering wheels. Nobody was happy to be there. A siren sounded as a vehicle transporting prisoners to Pollsmoor passed. The inmates banged on its barred windows and hollered at the ‘free’ people trapped in their cars. The irony was profound. I was gearing up to call my mission quits when my phone buzzed. Justin Gomes, who I was en route to meet, was on the…

NOURISH / Trending On the top of The Hyde Hotel in Sea Point WINE HIGH Yes, a wine-tasting cellar on a rooftop – a splendid idea Who would have thought it? Well, the team at Bruce Jack did. Bruce likes to do things differently, so no cellar or tastings at the winery; instead seven floors up in the middle of the city. Jack@Skye has made itself at home on the top of The Hyde Hotel in Sea Point. They say it's the one and only, first-ever rooftop wine-tasting centre – and it comes with a pool deck and splendid 360-degree views of the Mother City: mountain, ocean, skyline and sunsets. Impressive. Also impressive is the tasting journey – there are 37 wines in the vast Bruce Jack portfolio. And there's…

WINE COUNTRY / Beaumont Guts, tenacity, Raoul's spirit of rebellion and Jayne's experience in winemaking Sebastian Beaumont intuitively understands the land he farms. As he should. He was born here and grew up romping through its vineyards with his brother Lucien and sister Ariane. Now, he and his wife Nici are guiding the farm into a new era of winemaking, but not without paying respect to where it all began. Jayne and the late Raoul Beaumont bought the property in 1974 when it was still Compagnes Drift, a former supply farm set up by the Dutch East India Company in the 18th century. In 1806, the trading company handed the title deed over to Dutch soldier Servaas Daniel de Kock for his efforts against the British in the Battle of…

AN AMERICAN IN FRANSCHHOEK Franks Corner is all about the casual in a town of fine dining People fly to South Africa just to eat and drink in Franschhoek, which has long claimed the crown as the country's culinary destination. But that sort of fine dining can be snobbish and intimidating when what you want is a nutritious, filling meal that looks good on the plate and tastes great. And eaten in a friendly, welcoming space that has no put-on airs and graces. Cape Town and the Winelands have been having an Asian moment for quite some time now, and palates have learnt the umami tastes of the Orient – Japanese is a particular favourite, Taiwanese is having its day in the sun, and who has not fallen in love…

NEW FRIENDS There's a reason people evolved to eat together at a table: to connect with others The carpenter was taken aback when Chef and owner of Reverie Social Table Julia Hattingh gave him the dimensions of the table she wanted him to make from the reclaimed ceiling boards and support beams of an old house. It arrived at the newly restored building in Observatory that housed her restaurant in a few pieces, and he assembled it inside, where it has remained. It's a big table, but it needs to seat 18 perfect strangers for a five-course foodand-wine pairing. The idea is that guests – from a 20-year-old digital nomad to an 80-year-old English-woman – can switch off from the world and converse with people they meet for the first…