Travel: Pleasing the palate in South Africa

Madeleine Yorke explores the Cape Town area and the Garden Route, sampling many culinary delights along the way.

Starting the day with toasted brioche, Camembert, bacon and lashings of maple syrup was always going to put me in a good mood.

But throw in a sun-dappled patio, lush vineyards and a glorious mountain view, and you can’t really beat this for a princely breakfast.

This relaxed vibe comes courtesy of the Steenberg estate, site of the oldest farm in South Africa’s Constantia Valley, just south of Cape Town.

The estate’s luxury hotel is steeped in old-fashioned charm, complete with gleaming white Cape Dutch-style buildings and a fragrant herb garden. Those with a contemporary love of food and drink-based travel will find plenty of interest here.

Breakfast complete, I set my mind to the serious task of getting to know the region’s wines - starting with a tasting at tapas bar Bistro 1682 on the estate.

I’m an enthusiastic wine drinker but, apart from a sixth sense for sniffing out the supermarket special offers, you could fit my actual knowledge on the back of a cork. Thankfully Chloe Canderle, our twinkly-eyed host, is a font of patience and wisdom.

We kick off with a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc, and I nod sagely as Chloe points out its distinct hint of gooseberries. This grape is a particular favourite of the region thanks to its proximity to the ocean and the relatively cool temperatures.

Under Chloe’s guidance, we work our way through a Catharina (a cherry-rich rare blend of three reds), semillon (notes of dried apricots, vanilla, and cedar wood) and Steenberg’s ‘icon wine’, the Magna Carta. Burying my nose in this elegant white blend, I try and detect the wafts of ‘fresh ocean breeze’ that my host references.

Perhaps not as well known as the sprawling vineyards of Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, the Constantia Valley has history on its side (it’s the oldest wine region in the country), not to mention a handy proximity to Cape Town. It’s a mere 20-minute drive, although the tranquil surroundings suggest it’s a good deal further away.

“Franschhoek and Stellenbosch have done a great job of marketing themselves,” says Chloe. “But here we’re a valley of just eight producers, so it’s not quite as overwhelming. You can see it all in a day, and you’re almost 100% assured the wine will all be of fantastic quality.”

As everything begins to get a bit blurry round the edges, it seems a good time to move into the dining area, where I concentrate on soaking up the wine with pan-fried beef, chilli tiger prawns and a several bowlfuls of patatas bravas.

Despite rolling out of the restaurant hours (and another bottle of Catharina) later, I am determined to explore the other culinary gems of the region with equal gusto.

So, the next day, we head to Klein Constantia, a pretty estate on the foothills of the Constantiaberg, where tourists can sample its famous Vin de Constance - a sweet wine favoured by Napoleon, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

An afternoon drive around the Cape Peninsula - a visit to see the cute colony of African penguins on Boulders Beach is a must - helps work off the excesses of the morning, before the evening’s next wine-centric onslaught.

Suitably glammed up, we visit Gorgeous by Graham Beck, a shiny, sparkling wine bar at Steenberg, named after the late wine-maker’s favourite word.

Here, we are treated to the full range of Beck’s Methode Cap Classique - bubbly made by the traditional Champagne method. A highlight is the Brut NV, chosen by President Obama to mark his inauguration.

As the empties line up, bar lady Zelda regales us with tales of Catharina Ras, the estate’s founder. Legend has it the feisty German widow arrived on the Cape as a stowaway and went on to survive a series of new husbands - who were variously mauled, stabbed and trampled to death by a lion, tribesman and elephant.

Buzzing from the story-telling and the bubbles, we round off the evening at hotel restaurant Catharina’s, where a starter of fresh asparagus spears and a buttery-tender South African Chalmar beef steak go down a treat, as does the quartet of creme brulees for dessert.

Executive chef Garth Almazan has won awards for his fresh, seasonal cuisine, and I could happily while away several meals here, flitting between the sun-drenched gardens and the bright restaurant indoors.

But to get a different flavour of South African food, we drive into the city and pay a lunchtime visit to Bo-Kaap, the district settled in the mid-1800s by former slaves and exiles from Indonesia.

Amid a jumble of rainbow-coloured houses, we search for a taste of Cape Malay cuisine, which combines Southeast Asian and Indian influences with Dutch and British tastes and local ingredients.

In an unassuming street corner cafe, I watch wide-eyed as our table fills with treats - lamb curries, samosas and South African national dish bobotie, a moussaka-like mix of spiced mincemeat and fruits with a golden topping. It’s the ideal way to refuel after a bracing stroll over the top of Table Mountain.

All that gluttony can be exhausting, so I do some serious unwinding back at the hotel’s spa and in my palatial suite, the Cape Colonial. One of three ‘heritage suites’ paying tribute to a distinct part of the nation’s history, it’s actually a full-blown house with two floors. Mine resembles a hunting lodge - albeit one where the living room mirror transforms into a huge TV.

With Cape Town under our ever-expanding belts, we fly across to sample the delights of the Garden Route, a lush stretch along the south-eastern coast of the country.

Our base here is the sprawling Hotel Fancourt, in George. It’s renowned for its golf courses, but we shun these for the more intimate surrounds of Manor House. Awarded National Monument status, it’s now a boutique hotel within the resort.

Guests are assigned their own butler (although, with a selection of glass decanters full of spirits in each room, you may not require their services) and you’re simply not allowed to go hungry while staying here. No sooner have we polished off the cakes and afternoon tea on the private terrace, than out come endless trays of canapes and Champagne to gorge on.

All these are just appetisers, of course, and for proper dining we see what the rest of the hotel has to offer. My favourite is the crayfish special at Morning Glory restaurant - a half kilo of local lobster drenched in lemon butter sauce and served with stacks of fries. This is all washed down with a Dom Pedro, an obscenely good South African drink consisting of your choice of liqueur blended with cream and ice cream.

If you can tear yourself away from the resort, the Garden Route is brimming with activities for visitors. At Oudtshoorn, we explore the vast underground network of the Cango Caves and then visit Buffelsdrift Game Lodge to feed, climb on, and even hug, three friendly rescued elephants.

Afterwards, I tuck into a juicy ostrich steak at the lodge and then drop by the Safari Ostrich Show Farm to see the living versions of these giant birds.

Braver visitors can have a ride, but I was more than content to watch, before sloping back to the hotel to toast this fascinating country with another Dom Pedro.

Travel facts - South Africa

Madeleine Yorke was a guest of African Pride (01904 619428; www.african-pride.co.uk) who offer a six-night Cape Escape in South Africa (three nights at Hotel Fancourt, two nights at Steenberg and one night on The Blue Train) including flights from Heathrow and hire car from £2,464 per person.