Smart takes on food, coffee & service

Restaurants

There’s a new face at the (chefs) table

A CLEAN SWEEP

The focus of food should be about flavour, says Mathew Armbruster, (pictured below), the new Executive Head Chef at The Chefs’ Table in Umhlanga

THERE’S an ad flighted regularly on TV, which ends with someone saying earnestly, “They’re not just changing some things, they’re changing everything.
Which is exactly what The Chef’s Table’s new Excutive Head Chef ,Mathew (one-t) Armbruster, did when he took over their kitchen. He changed the entire menu. Not just some things. 
 And he did it in a handful of days when the lockdown level changed to three and The Chefs’ Table’s owners decided to open its doors a few days later.
I’m pleased. That he changed the menu that is. Although I’m just as delighted that the Umhlanga restaurant reopened its doors. These are challenging times for restaurants and all too many have been forced to shut their doors. So, that the Chefs’ Table and others which have reopened their doors, is not only exhibiting a fighting spirit, but showing confidence that the industry will recover.
Mathew was born in Santa Monica, USA, of a South African mother of Italian extraction and an American father. The family moved to South Africa when Mathew was two. He considers himself fully South African, having spent most of his life in Durban and at school at Crawford College, La Lucia.
When he was 19 and contemplating a career in the kitchen, he first approached Marcelle Roberts of Café 1999/Unity Bar, asking if he could do a stint in her kitchen. She agreed. He was instantly hooked.
I can’t rightly say “and the rest is history”, because Mathew is only 27 and still in the process of making history. But it’s a good start.
He studied cooking at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colorado.
“It was a very hands-on training”, says Mathew, “with an hour a day of lectures and seven hours of cooking. The most important thing we did each day was sit down at the table, eat and critique.”
The style of cooking, obviously, was basic French traditional, which is pretty much the foundation of all cooking, he says.
During his time at the school he thoroughly enjoyed a stint working on a farm, doing basic farm work, “We also had to catch a chicken, kill it on our own, pluck and gut it.
” It was eye-opening. I didn’t enjoy killing it, though” he says.
He enjoys eating game meat, he adds, admitting that he has hunted. “But I’m no hunter”, he insists.
After graduating from Escoffier he worked in several restaurants in America, going from salad station to grill, from a mom and pop Irish tavern serving pizzas to the best steak house in Denver, Colorado, which also offered a wide selection of seafood.
“But then I felt I needed to come home,” says Mathew, whose mother lives in Durban. I’m a bit of a mummy’s boy he admits. His father has since returned to America and lives in Colorado.
His first job back home was Executive Sous Chef at The Chefs’ Table. Then it was off to work as Executive Head Chef at Hartford House in the Midlands, where the “novelty of the position”, attracted him. He enjoyed it and put in serious effort to make it work.
But he missed city life and when the incumbent EHC, Kayla-Ann Osborn, who set up The Chefs’ Table’s kitchen when the restaurant opened, headed for other pastures, he took up her position in August.
Hers were halcyon days. A kitchen that numbered 15 staffers, a popular fine-dining eatery with a reputation for cutting-edge food and diners with money to indulge their palates. It was The Place to be seen – and eat.
Now there are nine staffers. Like all those which closed during the first part of lockdown, Chefs’ Table is having to rebuild it’s client base. Not only is there less money around, but customers are still nervy about dining out. At least now that lockdown level one has been introduced, late night eating is possible.
He enjoys the intimacy of Chef’s Table’s open kitchen concept, where the kitchen is the visual heart of the eatery. And he’s also excited about the idea of producing food that is different and exciting.
But it must also be delicious too, he insists.
I tell him what I think about the previous regime’s menu. It didn’t change often enough, could be both brilliant and disappointing, and offered too few alternatives for those who didn’t eat red meat – or any meat, for that matter.
“I like to change menus as much as possible but not continuously. If you chop and change too much there is lots of wastage,”  he responds.
He describes himself as averagely happy with the the new menu, seeing it as a work in progress. He’s also less concerned about creating cutting-edge food and more focused on achieving delicious flavours. 

Mathew has also introduced a separate vegan menu with four starters and three mains, and a vegetarian menu with five starters and three mains.   
He also enjoys producing tasting menus which, he says, “it’s a great way to showcase the food and the philosophy behind it.” 
He’s also introduced a ladies lunch menu, which is two courses (off the main menu) plus either a glass of wine or gin, for R189. 
Mathew is a self-contained young man, socially and physically. And there’s a seriousness and determination about him that makes me believe he will succeed in anything he turns his hand to. As for his food, it’s fabulous. Adventurous and delicious. Who could ask for more!


Mathew’s requirements for good food
Seasonal
Favour-focused
Respecting the integrity of the ingredients
Multi-Seasonal
Well-presented
Inspired by local produce
French-influenced. 
 

recipe books

THE LANGUAGE OF FOOD

Food Stories: Our Favourite Recipes, With Love From The Twins, by Tebo and Lebo Ndala (Human & Rousseau) is a new cookbook on the market – and it’s something very different. By Ingrid Shevlin

Tebo and Lebo Ndala

Food Stories is probably the most wildly diverse cookbook you’ll ever read. And its authors are probably unlike any female chefs you’ve met before. Firstly, they are young, shapely, stylish, gorgeous enough to turn heads, a little giggly and charming to boot. Secondly, they are identical twins who share a twin passion for food and cooking and decided to follow a dual dream to make it their profession.
As for their book, its recipes include traditional Sotho and South African food with a twist, jollof (one pot food of West African origin), homestyle American food, Thai/Asian food, flatbreads and pizzas, culinary ways with (rooibos) tea, decadent treats for the candy buffet and recipes from their favourite pop-up restaurants. 
My word!
When I tell them their collection of recipes is certainly eclectic, their faces light up. They like that. That it’s not your typical cookbook.
But as the Pretoria-born and bred twins tell me over an interview at Savior Café in Glenwood, Durban, and as the title of the book suggests, the food reflects the roads less travelled; the diverse food journeys taken.
Food is not only a language of love, but it’s their language of communication. 
Like one would imagine in identical twins, they have an intense and palpable bond. They glance constantly at each other as they talk, and whisper soft asides to one another. I read somewhere it’s like having a built-in best friend for life. While they don’t dress identically, they dress similarly. In truth, I would never be able to tell them apart and as I couldn’t keep up with who said what, I sometimes attribute quotes to both of them.
The twin’s passion for cooking was inspired by their grandmother, Koko, who shared their lives, and a section in the book entitled “Koko’s Kitchen” is their homage to her. Their childhood was rich in family life and all family gatherings were celebrated over food, whether they were Sunday lunches, birthdays, weddings or Christmas lunches. During their childhood their food was, generally, traditional South African and Sotho. It was a trip to Thailand when they were in high school that first opened their eyes to other culinary possibilities.
Unsurprisingly then, they decided to explore the world of food professionally and spent three years at the Hurst Culinary Academy in Franschhoek which, they say, was excellent groundwork for a career in the hospitality industry.  
But first they wanted to spread their wings and after graduating they jetted off to America and studied American literature at UCLA Extension – a continuing education institution in Westwood, Los Angeles, on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. During their stay they stayed with two different host families
One twin went to New Jersey, the other to Massachusetts. It was their first separation.  
The Massachusetts family was sport and health conscious. Mum kept a tight rein on the household, the kitchen and her kids. “Mum used a crock pot (slow cooker) a lot and focused on homely and hearty food,” said Tebo.
She remembers with delight her first meal there, chicken Parmigiana, and her first Thanksgiving and American-style Christmas.
Lebo was hosted by a West African family, whose culinary heritage was Nigerian food. Not that they ate traditionally often. “Everything we ate was takeways and everything had ketchup on. We only ate West African food on special occasions and that was amazing. It was very inspiring, ” she said. 
Back home they set up a catering business, presiding over pop-up restaurants and cooking celebratory meals on request. Then they were headhunted by Human and Rousseau, who had been following their online presence with interest, and asked to compile a recipe book. It took them two years to complete – and it’s all nearly history.
The book, which was launched in September, has had a positive response so far, they say. “People felt they could connect with us”.  
A charming chapter of their book is dedicated to Seven Colour Sunday. It’s a tradition in their household to serve food that reflects all the colours in the rainbow on Sundays and for celebratory meals. How totally cool is that. They write, “Rice was the Sunday staple; then there was gravy, fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, mashed potatoes, roasted butternut, sauteed cabbage, green bean salad, green salad, pasta and broccoli salad, betroot salad…. And oh, what was a Sunday lunch without jelly and custard. Or trifle..”
Today they serve their own, less starchy version of “seven colours” without forgetting their roots. So the version in Food Stories includes recipes for roasted butternut and granola, boerewors potjkies, seafood paella, couscous, feta and pomegranate salad, a cheeseboard and a grilled veggie platter with dips. 
They developed all the recipes featured in the book with many given a “South African twist to blend cultures”. Some are also inspired by their food heroes. For Lebo it’s Dorah Sitole, food editor of True Love magazine  and author of From Cape to Cairo: A Taste of Africa, while Tebo goes weak-kneed (my words) over Gordon Ramsay, finding his disciplined and purist approach to food very appealing.
Lebo’s favourite dish is samp and spinach. Tebo’s favourite meal is oxtail. “It’s my go to dish”, she says.
But the twins are all too aware of the growing trend for plant-based food. Lebo says, “We try to go with it, go with the flow and plan for it when called for”. Tebo admits, though that veganism is tougher to respond to than vegetarianism, “You can’t even use eggs or any diary products”, she says grimacing.
They admit to being happy meat eaters themselves, although they try to include as many vegetables as possible in their meals. “Whether our customers are vegans, vegetarians, or gluten-intolerant we make a plan. Our recipes are easily adapted.”
Tebo and Lebo prefer their ingredients to be locally sourced and to know their provenance. “We are absolutely obssessed with how we cook our food and where our ingredients come from. 
“We became more health conscious when we became chefs and it helped change the way we look at food. We want the whole cooking procees to be more careful, more ordered.”
Their dream for the future? To inspire young chefs, to run a small cooking studio, to encourage young people to travel more and learn about food from other countries. Like they did. As they proclaim on their website, We Came, We Cooked, We Conquered”. Who would argue with that.

Melt-in-the-mouth deliciousness: butter biscuits

HAZELNUT-BUTTER FINGER BISCUITS
Serves: 10–12 Prep time: 45–50 min

I couldn’t find hazelnut flour anywhere so used almond flour instead, along with almond essence – the real stuff, from Col’Tempo deli at 2, 8th Avenue, off Florida Road. Because the dough is very soft, you must refrigerate it or it will be very difficult to roll out. Next time I make these biscuits, and I will, I will make little balls of the dough and flatten them out with a fork on the baking tray, because the rolling out process is fiddly work and I’m not into fiddly. These biscuits are melt-in-the-mouth deliciousness. Once you start on them, you can’t stop. – Ingrid Shevlin

Ingredients:
500 g butter, softened
 1¼ cups icing sugar
 2 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract if you are using almond flour)
 3 cups cake flour
1 cup hazelnut meal (I used almond flour)
¾ cup cornflour
½ cup custard powder (Woolies makes a delicious vanilla-flavoured custard powder)
Castor sugar, for dusting

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2 Line baking sheets with baking paper.
3 With an electric mixer, beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla together for 5 min until pale and fluffy.
4 Stir in the flour, hazelnut meal, cornflour and custard powder to form a dough.
5 Divide the dough in half. Wrap each half in cling wrap. Refrigerate for 35 min
6 Roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper to 1-cm thickness. 7 Cut the dough into the desired shapes.
8 Bake for 8–12 min or until golden-brown around the edges. Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn. Cool for 5 min.
9 Dust the biscuits liberally with castor sugar once cool.

Food News

A PIECE OF MY HEART

Serial entrepreneur Judd Campbell is at it again. Opening another restaurant. This time he’s back on familiar ground, Glenwood.

The Logo

I’ve known Judd Campbell a long time. So when he tells me in his usual, intense way that his new Glenwood restaurant, A Pizza My Heart, is going to serve pizzas like no other, I have a sense of déjà vu. I’ve heard it all before. But wait, this is Judd we’re talking about: Master charmer, irrepressible optimist, and a weaver of dreams and before long I can see his vision and I’m won over.
Maybe this will be the next Corner Cafe. Whatever, I’m confident it will be something different.
So what are the facts? A Pizza My Heart is going to be a pizza restaurant (I know, I know, but keep the faith), which will focus on families. So there will be two dining spaces, one for grownups and one for kids – not cast in iron, though, if (foolish) you want to dine with your kids. There will also be an outdoor play area set up like an obstacle course, and a private room for kids’s parties. There will also be Sweet Dreams, a waffle counter operated by an outside trader, a retail outlet selling cake and bakingware, and a barber shop.
The restaurant’s look is going to be rustic, casual, playful. Ewok (“Spoken Word flavored Hip Hop activism, with additional emphasis on aerosol art”…… to quote Ewok himself) is painting murals and graphics and cartoons. Whatever he wants, basically. He has carte blanche. He’s already completed the outside artwork of jigsaw puzzle pieces.

The work of Ewok, jigsaw pieces.

We’re standing in the adult’s dining room when Judd shows me an App on his phone and I gather he’s going to use it to play retro/classical Italian (and other) background music. He loves this App and enthusiastically demonstrates how he can tune into music from any era from any part of the world. This is so Judd.
So to the pizzas. Okay, so pizzas are not new to Judd – after all the Coffee Tree has a weekly pizza night. But now these are going to made all from scratch, using stoneground flour sourced from a local mill, with cheese from a local supplier, for instance. “It must be as green as possible”.
No carbon footprint I assume. This also means utilising the wood-fired pizza oven, which you know and love from Coffee Tree, which can fire five pizzas at a time. But there is also another oven should demand overwhelm.
But his dilemma is about what kind of base to use. To answer this question he spent several weekends in Joburg and Cape Town visiting pizza restaurants. “I visited 30 in Joburg, 17 let me into their kitchens to see how their bases were made” he says.
He wasn’t quite able to charm Cape Town’s pizza owners in the same way but he’s still working on them.
Then he bearded Adam Robinson of the Glenwood bakery in his own kitchen, where Adam generously demonstrated how they do it. Mix everything, let it rise, fold it up, let it rise and then repeat the process. Letting it rise three times is the general rule, says Judd, adding, so says Adam, so it’s gospel.
Judd has pretty much decided on what kind base he wants: “One that is thin in the centre, but puffs up on the edges, but is still a bit chewy. It’s difficult to do by machine”, he explains. “It has to be handrolled if you want a puffy crust. I want it artisanal-looking, like it’s (hand)crafted”, he adds.
“There will be no other pizzas like this”, he promises. “They won’t’ cost the earth, either, pizzas shouldn’t cost the earth.”
There will be seven topping options each week and each week the two least popular will be replaced by two others. And because this is Judd, each pizza will tell a story and share his food journey and that of the people who were or are still part of it. There is a vegan version, named after his sister, and another inspired by Lola, the first person he ever served (red onion, black olives, rocket and avocado).
He’s going to include some of the toppings popular with his Coffee Tree clientele. Deconstructed chicken sausages simmered with white wine and cream and thyme is one. Then there is a garlic focaccia with artichokes, avocado and capers. No tomato, no cheese. And the popular “031”
“This Beef Masala recipe comes from an old Indian lady friend of mine who’s number I’ll never divulge…save for the first three digits, 031.”
Adults and kids will generally be offered the same toppings, but the kids will be offered more leeway. Judd also wants to serve them pizzas in the shape of boats to make it more fun.
Also it’s BYO – and no corkage charge. He plans for it to open from 1pm to 8pm six days a week. Sundays he rests. He wants it to suit families.
Now you are probably asking about opening. Well, he’d hoped it would be Valentine’s Day, but looking around the premises as I did this week, that clearly isn’t going to happen. The floors still have to be sanded, the walls painted, the interior artwork completed, the outside play area is still a work in progress, the table and chairs (from Corner Cafe days) need to be sanded/fixed/painted or whatever, and there’s a herb garden to be set up in the front. So, realistically it will probably open at the end of February.
Oh and you will have to be buzzed in and out to ensure the space is totally safe for kids.
Finally, you don’t have to have a kid in tow to eat at Pizza My Heart, obviously. You could just be someone who just loves pizzas. Or a kid at heart.
A Pizza My Heart is in Bulwer Road, Glenwood, in the original location of EarthMother Organic (which is now closer to Woolies).

The Shanna Jones. Introducing “Shanna’s a Vegan” If you don’t really care about the planet, animals or global warming…it’s fine, my sister’s got your back. She’s vegan enough for all of us.
Introducing “Lola ‘94”. Picture it. It’s 1994 my first ever waitering shift in the first of 36 outlets I’ve worked in 26 years and my first customers were Lola & Jimmy Owen. I love this women more than pizza, but pizza is a very close second!

Food News

PUTTING THE CREAM BACK INTO ICE-CREAM

Jen Pretorius, proprietor of The Farmer’s Daughter, was inspired by happy child memories to create a new artisanal ice-cream range, which is pure cream – and all pleasure. No chemicals, no artificial flavouring – and made with love.

Jen Pretorius

Jen Pretorius is the heart and soul behind The Farmer’s Daughter, a whimsical restaurant, cafe and deli at 4 Shafton Road, Howick, filled with an eclectic collection of vintage and retro furniture, crockery and bric-a- brac. It offers sweeping views over the surrounding hills of the Midlands and has a small play area for kids. A perfect spot, then, for family breakfasts, brunches or lunch. Or just tea and cake. Jen bakes spectacular cakes. And, while most of you know, and love, it as an eatery serving cafe-style, honest food using locally-sourced farm ingredients – Jen is not a farmer’s daughter for nothing – she’s now added artisanal ice-cream to her restaurant’s food line-up. And, boy, is it something special.
Tapping into Google reveals an intimidating list of chemicals that are commonly added to commercial ice-cream. Such as: Propylene glycol (also used in antifreeze), glycerin, sodium carboxyl methylcellulose, monoglycerides, diglycerides, disodium phosphates, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, polysorbate 80, and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, all of which help to stabilise and emulsify it.
Only when knowing all that can you really appreciate ice-cream that is this pure and natural.
The other joy of her ice-cream is that it’s not sickly sweet. It lets the flavours talk, not the sugar. And nor is it diluted in any way by milk or water or any non-dairy liquid.
Jen describes her journey to ice-cream-making, this way, “My heart of heart’s passion is making guests feel loved by the type of food we serve at The Farmer’s Daughter.
“My ice cream is an extension of that aim. Ice-cream is all about nostalgia for me. We eat ice-cream when we are happy, sad, making memories, on hot or cold days. I fell in love with the perfect ice-cream when I was a child. My mum’s friend, Alison, had a Jersey cow which produced beautiful, thick yellow cream. She would make ice-cream for us when we visited. The feeling of wanting more and more and more until you’re in an ice cream coma was very real. 
“My dream was to own a proper ice cream freezer and churner, which I bought in 2017. My ice-cream is not gelato; it is not very light and airy, it’s farmstyle, 100% cream only, ice-cream. I would love to have my ice-cream as our signature item on the menu, as well as have it stocked in stores.
“I use no water or milk in my base at all. When adding in the flavour, what it says on the tub is what’s in the ice cream. For instance, a lemon meringue ice cream, was made with a whole, homemade, lemon meringue pie. Same for every other flavour. We do not use any essence of extracts, it’s the real thing, only. Our salted caramel is made by blending home-made caramel, cooked on the stove, with our home-made fudge chunks in the mix. My ice- cream holds my heart, I will love it, success or not.”
Jen was so keen for me to sample her range that I managed to persuade my oldest brother, Bryan, who lives in Hilton, to fetch the range, bring it to Durban, where we had a family sampling. It included my sister-in-law Patsy and my daughter.

Salted Caramel

The flavours we sampled and rated out of five were:
Peanut Butter Oreo
Salted Caramel
Lemon Meringue
Vegan version with Peanut Butter, Oreo and Roasted Banana
Vanilla Bean
Peanut Butter Chocolate
Blueberry
Pecan Pie
Chocolate.
The Chocolate was a winner with everyone and was awarded four and five stars (out of five). It has a decadently, chocolate flavour. A must for chocoholics.
Salted caramel was another winner, receiving four and five stars. Most salted caramel ice-creams are disappointing in that they hold back on the salt (why?). But this was salty and sweet and caramellly. Bliss
Vanilla Bean was yet another favourite, also winning four and five stars. A lovely, lovely ice-cream classic brought to life with real vanilla.
The lemon merginue was generally enjoyed, but I loved it most, because I adore lemon meringue flavours. This flavour has it in abundance
The Peanut Butter Chocolate flavour received a mixed response with my brother rating it highly. The rest of us gave it three stars.
The Peanut Butter and Oreo fared better and was given four stars by everyone, apart from me. I’m just not a peanut butter fan.
The Bluberry received mostly four stars. The fact that it included whole blueberries give it a special appeal as it offered not only a slightly tart element but also a winning crunch.
The Pecan Pie flavour is packed with chopped pecans. It earned an average of three stars during the sampling. But the next night, while lying on the couch watching TV, I decided to give it another go. Initially, I was intending to have just a few mouthfuls, but ended up finishing the entire tub. I can’t remember when I last did that as I’m not a natural fan of ice-cream – largely because I find it too sweet. But this was so perfectly rich and creamy and crunchy I couldn’t put it down. I think I might have experienced the ice-cream coma Jen mentions.
I seemed to be the only one who enjoyed the vegan version. I thought it was unexpectedly good. The others were less impressed.
As I understand it, Jen is still only selling her ice-cream at her restaurant. Her dream is to get into supermarkets, delis and shops and let’s hope she does. I want some more of that Pecan Pie. I have to have more. Haha.

The Pecan Pie flavour can induce an ice-cream coma of pure pleasure.

Food News

Hot food trends for 2020

From alcohol-free drinks to meat alternatives and ‘healthy’ meat, Shrewd Food looks at health food trends for 2020 and, yes, it’s more plant-based foods than ever.  

The future is plant-based foods

PLANT-BASED FOODS   
Plant-based foods will become even more popular in 2020 because eating more plants is good for your health and the planet, claims The Daily Mail. Happily, South African supermarkets have kept pace with this trend and are stocking all kinds of plant-based foods, meat alternatives and healthy snacks – and the choice will become even more varied this year. Already you can buy crisps made from dried veggies, lentils, quinoa and beetroot in local supermarkets. Now there are even chips made from sauerkraut, cabbage and sea vegetables on sale at Faithful-to-Nature, an on-line eco-friendly store. Who knows what you can buy this year! While this might sound exciting, remember it doesn’t necessarily mean they are healthier as they are highly processed foods. The Daily Mail suggests consumers should choose options that use only whole food plant ingredients and that are not genetically modified. So, focus more on veggies in thair natural state as well as fruit, beans and legumes, nuts seeds and wholegrains.  

Mocktails or spirit-free drinks

ALCOHOL-FREE DRINKS 
Not designed to get the party going, but at least everyone will feel righteous – and you will get home safely, and probably earlier.  Whether you call them mocktails, zero-proof or spirit-free drinks, non-alcoholic beverages are becoming a staple at bars and restaurants.  Expect to see even more zero-proof drinks as hops-infused sparkling waters and alternatives to liquors meant to be used with a mixer (such as botanical-infused faux gin) continue to pop up everywhere.  

ALTERNATIVE BUTTERS
We all know and love almond, peanut and macadamia butters. But this year look out for watermelon seed butter (yes, really) and pumpkin seed butter. Good for you and of appeal to those on keto and vegan diets. Faithful-To-Nature offers pecan/macadamia nut butter, cinnamon/macadamia nut butter, a chocolate/macadamia nut butter, cashew nut butter (also a caramel salted version), raw cacao butter, as well as soya butter. From www.faithful-to-nature.co.za. Alas, no watermelon butter as yet. As for tahini butter, it’s available almost everywhere. It’s made from sesame seeds.

ALTERNATIVE SUGARS 
Items like pomegranate molasses and sweet potato nectar could be a new healthy – and chemical-free-way – for people to sweeten their baked goods and other foods next year, without having to use cane sugar or artificial sugar alternatives. I discovered pomegranate molasses on Faithful-to-Nature’s website, along with coconut blossom sugar, palm syrup, date syrup and agave syrup, but no luck with sweet potato nectar yet. 

ALTERNATIVE GRAINS
Like butternut, quinoa has became a ubiquitous part of everyone’s diet, despite it tasting of nothing much. Now we are looking for more variety this year. There is spelt (an ancient wheat, which can also be a flour), millet, bulgur and teff – see below under flour – and now farro. Farro is a food composed of the grains of certain wheat species, sold dried, and boiled in water. It’s often used as an ingredient in salads, soups, and other dishes. There is also freekeh, made from green durum wheat. It has a low GI and has heart-healthy nutrients. Whole-grain freekeh is a good source of fibre and ideal for those with diabetes. It’s used like quinoa or couscous. Founder Foods at Shop 6, 2 Village road, Kloof has an excellent selection of whole foods. It includes ancient grains, flours, beans, edible seeds, dried fruit and much more. Browse their online shop on  https://founderfoods.co.za  or visit the shop in Kloof.

STONE-GROUND/ALTERNATIVE FLOURS
Stone-ground flours are thought to be more nutritionally sound because they contain wheatgerm and bran. Incidentally, these are the parts that also have more flavour. Stone-ground flour is also preferred by many bakers and natural food advocates because of its texture, its sweet and nutty flavour, and the belief that it’s nutritionally superior and that it has a better baking quality than steel-roller-milled flour.
But alternative flours will become more trendy in 2020 as more people try diets that reject wheat flour – like going gluten-free or paleo – and consumers try to “boost their bake” with more protein and fibre. As a result, Amazon’s Whole Foods, an on-line store, predicts a mix of new flours for 2020. Like more interesting fruit and vegetable flours (such as banana!) and cauliflower flour sold in bulk in baking aisles. 
There is also millet, bulgur and teff (an incredibly healthy gluten-free flour made from an ancient seed from Ethiopia and Eritrea). Amazon Whole Foods also predicts more packaged goods – such as chips and snack foods – being made with alternative flours like Tigernut (a gluten-free root vegetable) and seed flour.
There are several stone-ground flour options available in both mainstream shops and health shops – nothing fancy like banana flour, though. Try Health on Broadway at 10A Swapo road, Broadway;  EarthMother Organic at 155 Helen Joseph Road, Glenwood (entrance is actually in Bulwer Road); The Glenwood Bakery at  398 Esther Roberts Road, Glenwood; and finally House of Bravo at 295 Florida Road, another wholefood and organic shop.

Traditional West African cuisine

WEST AFRICAN FOODS
″Traditional West African flavours are popping up everywhere in food and in beverages,” according to Amazon Whole Foods, “with many brands looking to this region for its ‘superfoods’, which are said to boost health and longevity. Tomatoes, onions and chili peppers are a common base for many West African dishes, with peanuts, ginger and lemongrass all common additions.” The trend also means that moringa, a plant known for its health benefits (which is grown in KwaZulu Natal, in fact), and tamarind may be used more in 2020. The grocer also predicts the increased use of West African cereal grains, including sorghum, fonio (a cultivated grass), teff and millet.

Beyond Meat burgers look and taste like meat, but are made from peas and other plant foods.

PLANT- BASED FOODS NOT ONLY MADE FROM SOYA
In 2020, the trendiest brands are slowing down on soy, which has traditionally dominated the plant-based protein space. Instead of soya, Amazon Whole Foods says brands will use grains, mung beans, hempseed, pumpkin, avocado, watermelon seed and golden chlorella, which is a type of algae. Some of these products can “mimic the textures of yogurt and other dairy products,” says Whole Foods. Over the last year our favourite supermarkets have been stocking all kinds of new plant-based foods and meat alternatives, without using soya. For instance there’s the much lauded and delicious meat alternative. Beyond Meat; namely Beyond Meat burgers and Beyond Meat sausages. They’re made from pea protein isolate, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil, rice protein and other natural flavours, including apple extract and beet juice. As said above, this doesn’t actually mean its healthier, as they are highly processed.  

RETHINKING THE KIDS’ MENU
Millennial parents are raising a generation of little foodies. Amazon Whole Foods staff members report they frequently see kids reaching for California Rolls alongside their parents at the sushi bar and they’re not the only ones taking note of young adventurous eaters. Restaurants and food brands are upgrading old-school kids’ menus to include things like non-crumbed salmon fish sticks, organic chicken nuggets, pastas made from alternative flours and more. (I personally would like to see the end of chicken nuggets or chicken strips and chips, so ubiquitous on kiddies’ menus in South Africa). Local restaurants need to get with the programme and offer kids something more interesting – and nourishing. 

HEALTHY MEATS
Butchers and meat brands won’t be left out of the ‘plant-based’ craze in 2020. Amazon Whole Foods says. “But they’re not going vegetarian.” They predict meat that is “better for customers and for the planet” will rise in popularity this year, adding plant-based ingredients to meat products. 

SUSTAINABLE & REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE 
Regenerative Agriculture was the buzzword of 2019.  In keeping with the eco-friendly movement, consumers and retailers want to know who is producing their food and how it’s being produced. This means a continued preference for farmers with a holistic attitude to farming that includes focusing on soil regeneration and biodiversity as farmers, scientists and consumers continue to pay attention to how land use could improve the environment and fight climate change. Expect to see more brands using regenerative practices, says Whole Foods.
Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem services. It’s guided by four principles: improving soil and water systems, making holistic decisions, developing reciprocal relationships between stakeholders and continually growing and evolving farms and communities.