Tasty treats at Mutare wine weekend
MUTARE and the surrounding the Eastern Highlands deserve to benefit from the increasing levels of domestic and international tourism being enjoyed in Zimbabwe. In this week’s column and also next week, we shall be focusing on dining and leisure venues in this delightful area.
The tourism industry across the Eastern Highlands has been depressed for most of the past 18 years and it is exciting to see a return of business in recent months. It is to be hoped that the boom times of the 1990s can return and bring a good measure of financial input into the economy of spectacularly beautiful Manicaland.
I had another wonderful opportunity to catch up with some of the attractions of the area during a wine weekend hosted by the Grapevine wine group, an annual event that almost always takes us to the Eastern Highlands.
We were based at the fairly new boutique bed and breakfast establishment opened by Gordon Addams in Mutare’s ‘avenues’ area, called Gordon’s on 125 First street. As this venue does not do lunches and dinners, we dined out and it was lovely to experience some of the offerings of restaurants and other eateries in the area.
I also brought down an elderly colleague, who was kindly hosted by Holiday Inn Mutare, a venue that has seen a measure of upgrading and refurbishment in the recent past, as it regained its international standing as a Holiday Inn.
The wine weekends of the past have often been large affairs, but this one was small in number although large in enjoyment factor. The plan is now to make the wine weekends smaller and more frequent, as the level of social interaction is definitely greater when there are fewer people in the group.
We were able to sample some super wines, including a selection from Latilla Wines at our Saturday lunch and dinner, and a selection of other wines sourced from Danai Wines and Afdis for the Friday dinner. In between meals and wine tastings members of the group travelled around the area, some even returning home on the Sunday by way of Nyanga.
Friday dinner was held at a venue that is new to me: Café 1-Eleven, so named as it is number 111 on Second Street, within walking distance of Gordon’s. It is owned and operated by Lorraine Magwenzi, who takes personal control of the kitchen. It is open daily from Monday to Saturday as a daytime dining venue, and opens on Friday nights. She would like to open on other nights, and I should think that if tourism picks up and the local economy opens up this will be a good idea.
Our meal there was delightful, and for our group of 12 she had laid on a limited a la carte menu. Starters included grilled haloumi cheese with a sweet chilli sauce, prawns wrapped in bacon with a balsamic sauce, red pepper and tomato soup and a mushroom and liver ragu. I had the prawns, which were excellent, and other diners reported satisfaction with their choices from the list.
The choice for mains was bee fillet, pork fillet wrapped in bacon, bream with a Thai sauce, chicken breast with a mushroom and bacon topping and, for vegetarians, a melanzani Parmigiana — an aubergine, mushroom and cheese dish served with either spaghetti or rice. I had the chicken breast, which was very flavoursome, and all the other dishes were well received.
Dessert was a choice of poached pear with ice cream or a steamed pudding with cream; both were excellent. Well done, Lorraine, and here’s hoping this restaurant will go from strength to strength. While we were there another three groups of three or four diners each came to have meals and this was pleasing to see, and there was a super buzz in the restaurant.
The dining area is a terrace on the front of an older residence and in the daytime this is open to the garden. At night the blinds come down and it was very cosy where we were there.
Saturday lunch was a trip up to the Bvumba mountains and a decidedly enjoyable cake experience at the remarkable Tony’s Coffee Shop. Now something of an internationally-acclaimed ‘must-do’ experience for visitors to the area, this venue is run by Tony Robertson, whose offering of outstanding cakes is just amazing.
There were seven of us for this, so we each chose a cake and then shared it out so that we each had a sampling of seven different delights. The cakes were as delicious as they sound: brandied fruit, white chocolate cheesecake, chocolate whisky, orange coconut, Austrian coffee and dark chocolate cheesecake.
Accompanying this was a sparkling wine new to me: Latilla Wines’ Monogram, a dry and crisp Method Cap Classique creation by Foothills Vineyards. What an experience: great cakes, delightful sparkling wine followed by excellent coffees and hot chocolates and a splendid mountain setting that was crisp and fresh. One of our guests, Mike McMullen, surprised the group by bringing out his bagpipes and giving us a ‘highland’ treat of Scottish and other numbers.
Tony’s is one of the best features of the Bvumba and I think it can truly be said that no trip to Mutare and the Bvumba is complete without the inclusion of coffee or tea and cake enjoyed in this small but welcoming venue. As always it was lovely to catch upo with Tony and hear of news of happenings in and around the area.