Cape Made Kitchen 2018 BIGGER AND BETTER

by Dr Ilse Trautmann

TThe Alternative Crops Fund (ACF) of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) (refer to article in the Agriprobe, Vol 14, No 3 “ACF supports climate smart production, job creation and economic growth – a progress report”) has concluded its fourth round of funding and the impact of the fund has been widely acknowledged by all the smaller industries receiving support.

Alternative, smaller crops include cherries, berries, fynbos, honey bush, nuts and pomegranates, to name but a few. These crops have high market value and are export-orientated. Alternative crops are mostly water smart and would therefore be preferred crops against the current drought in the Western Cape and the rest of South Africa.

In 2015 the WCDoA partnered with AgriExpo to showcase alternative crops and products by launching the Cape Made Pavilion at the annual South African Cheese Festival. This was a roaring success!

In order to take this to the next level, the Cape Made Kitchen was launched in 2016, where these crops and products were used in an interactive kitchen jointly hosted by the Institute of Culinary Arts (ICA) and The Private Hotel School (PHS). In 2017, the PHS was the host, followed by the ICA in 2018.

Over the past three years, festival goers packed the kitchen and went home with not only more information on these crops and products, but also a recipe book to bring the delicious alternative-crop dishes into their own kitchens.

During the 2018 Cape Made Kitchen, chef Selwyn October of the ICA demonstrated recipes inspired by their former students and now acclaimed chefs Herman Lensing, Johnny Hamman and Zola Nene, who were the guest chefs this year. AP

The 2018 recipe book was a sterling example of a Better Together project, with partners Agri-Expo, MPO (Milk Producers Organisation), WCDoA, Hortgro and the ICA.

For more information, contact Dr Ilse Trautmann: ilset@elsenburg.com