Shrewd Food

Expect only top quality artisanal food, baked goods, organic produce and upmarket shopping at  The Market at Ballito’s Lifestyle Centre, a haven and heaven for foodies. By Ingrid Shevlin

Juices that are organic, cold-pressed and seasonal is Juice Kitchen’s promise.

Communal eating at The Market

Olives galore at The Market

ONE-STOP food markets are hardly new. But here’s one with a difference. A market that focuses on organic products, quality artisanal food and homegrown restaurants. So, no KFC, no Domino pizzas. No McDonalds. No Starbucks. Sure, there’s a place for those chains, just not at The Market, a permanent fixture at the Ballito Lifestyle Centre taking up 1600 m² of retail space.
This is no flea market with imported tat. Instead it’s a sophisticated food paradise offering home-grown, local and community-based food and produce. And it is, right now, the only indoor artisanal food market trading seven days a week in South Africa.
Impressive.

SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE

Fig and cinnamon pavlova

Pistachio and raspberry roulade

When they say .. if you only buy one book, buy this one.  It’s true in the case of  Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (Ebury Press). It’s that good. 

I love, love, love this book. I’ve bought tons of baking books over the years, from modest little books compiled to raise money for charities, to James Martin’s fabulous Sweet (totally weird that it has the same title). Martin’s book is so beautiful and so glossy I was content to perv over the exquisite photography rather than actually bake anything.
But Ottolenghi’s Sweet is different. Yes, it’s also beautiful to look at, but not only are the baked treats desirable, delectable-sounding and different, I wanted to make them. And I felt the recipes were within my capabilities. When I want to bake  something delicious, I don’t want to spend hours doing so.

From left, Claire Allan, Jenny Clarke and barista Siyanda Sibulawa. Her prize frog is to the right of the picture. It doubles as the tip jar.

Jenny Clarke and Claire Allan are rightly proud of their new venture, a bakery and coffee shop. By Ingrid Shevlin

The Fat Frog Kitchen and Coffee Shop in Windermere road has been open for only two days when I pop in to chat to Jenny Clarke and Claire Allan about their new venture. For Jenny, The Bee-Sting Cake Queen, and Claire, who offers fresh and frozen takeaway meals, it’s a brave and bold move.
Previously Jenny had operated out of a tiny kitchen at Antique Cafe,  Claire from home. Now they were in the big league with spacious commercial premises, which include a large kitchen and a charmingly rustic coffee shop. Here customers can sip their coffee while enjoying Jenny’s delicious baked goods.
Jenny and Claire have such a large following that our interview is constantly interrupted by visitors. It’s all air kisses, oohing and aahing. They may be the newest kid on the block,  but the word is out. Jenny and Claire are open for business.