’KUIER’ IN THE KLEIN KAROO
With more than a dozen eateries in a town of just 5,000 people, Barrydale gives Hilary Biller plenty of options when she goes in search of good food
MEZ KAROO KITCHEN 24 Van Riebeeck St, Barrydale
Open from Wednesday to Saturday in the evening, 082 -077-5980
Recently a former BBC boss, Roger Mosey, warned that the broadcaster could vanish entirely if it continues to rely on cooking shows and silly quiz programmes. It got me thinking. I watch large helpings of cooking shows, where viewers are offered a chance to scrutinise top chefs and wannabees in action. I’ve realised that food
is secondary to the drama that unfolds, offering a good dose of competitiveness, tension, sweaty brows, frighteningly fast knife skills and intense pressure. The aim is to win at all costs and the losers go like lambs to the slaughter.
Recently I experienced a totally different picture of food in the small town of Barrydale.
It is home to about 5,000 people yet the town offers more than a dozen restaurants/eateries to choose from.
Mez Karoo Kitchen stands tall among them. Owner Michelle Berry has cleverly divided her home into seasons — the busy summer when it becomes a restaurant with tables crammed into the lounge/dining room (and patio) overlooking a tiny, busy and slick kitchen. In winter, when Berry closes for three months, it reverts to being the cosy home that she owns on the high street.
Nothing cheffy about it. Berry says she’s always had fantasies about working with food. Her many years of cooking for a large family were her training ground — and she inherited the skills of her grandmother, who owned a tearoom in St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth. Her mantra? Good homecooked food using top-quality local and seasonal produce, inspired by Mediterranean flavours.
To our meal on a chilly evening with great aromas wafting across the room: Mez was packed yet unfussy and laid back. Being in the Karoo, I didn’t hesitate to order the lamb knuckle curry, which came with all the trimmings. Tender and tasty with a good bite, it was a generous helping, difficult to finish, but too good let it go.
Other choices from our table of five included melanzane, an Italian brinjal dish made with brinjals and tomatoes that had been picked from a vegetable garden a few hours before. Delicious.
The other mains were a traditional bobotie, which was wolfed down, and a Spanish-style fish dish made with hake. Good choices all round.
The picture in my mind is of the five of us, spoons in hand, clamouring over a serving of homemade rose ice cream with an intriguing Moroccan crunch topping.
“It’s one item I can’t take off the menu,” said Berry as we handed over the empty bowl sheepishly. The secret of the topping is a blend of crushed sesame and sunflower seeds with aniseed, sugar and rose syrup.
It was worth the journey.