Cradock is hosting festivals throughout the year, writes
ABOUT 292km from Port Elizabeth lies a small town in the heart of the Karoo. It is known for its starry nights, rich heritage and hearty country food. Cradock is now making a name for itself as the festival capital of the Karoo.
This is a big year for Cradock. The Karoo town in the Eastern Cape celebrates 200 years since being founded by British general Sir John Cradock. Parades, festivals and pop-up events have been planned throughout the year to mark this special occasion.
To find out more about this historic town, my husband and I took advantage of last week’s long weekend to experience the delights of the Karoo Food Festival.
Event organiser Lisa AntrobusKer, hosted us at the charming Victoria Manor. Her mom, Sandra, owns the beautifully restored hotel, and we were warmly welcomed upon arrival.
The hotel, which was built in 1840, has an old world charm and is one of the oldest hotels in South Africa.
I felt like I had gone back in time to the early 1800s. The hotel is decorated with interesting pieces of a bygone era, and one can see the love and care that is put into the hotel. Famous guests at the hotel have included South African author Olive Schreiner and Cecil John Rhodes.
After settling in our room, we got ready for the first item on the festival agenda: spitbraai and stoepstories. We travelled about 5km outside Cradock to the Karoo Kraal where we met locals and foodies from all over South Africa.
I also ran into Peter Hollely, the former headmaster of Victoria Park High School and we chatted about the good old days.
As we waited for our food, we listened to residents tell stories about their beloved town. It was so special to witness how tightly-knit this community was and the passion they have for their country.
On the menu was delicious Karoo lamb spit, roosterbrood, venison and angora dried sausage served under a starry night with warm hospitality to keep the biting chill at bay. The food was delicious, and when we could not eat another bite, we knew it was a sign we needed to get back to the hotel and rest up for a weekend of comfort food and “
Day two of the festival was jampacked with food demos, master cooking classes and tastings.
Special guests included Annatjie Reynolds and Gordon Wright.
After breakfast, we went to Victoria Manor’s head chef Heyla Meyer’s class, Plasskombuiskos.
We learnt how to make melktert (the proper way), melkkos, souskluitjies (cinnamon dumplings) and boerebeskuit. For a brief moment during that class, I begrudged my British roots and longed to have grown up in an Afrikaans kitchen.
Tummies full, we went to restaurant Milas, where owner and cook Pieter de Kock shared his salad ideas and ravioli with the class. This is not typical Karoo food, I thought.
But the theme of the festival is not to waste anything and that concept was followed through by de Kock’s ideas of leftover food.
He made a delicious butternut ravioli and pasta salad.
Thankfully we had a break before our afternoon classes so we walked around the town, exploring the nooks and crannies that can easily be missed if you went by car.
Everything in Cradock is within walking distance and I felt relatively safe.The people in Cradock are warm, hospitable and their smiles are genuine.
After walking-off the food, we went to Cradock High School for the chocolate and wine pairing and the spirit and coffee pairing sessions.
Both were informative and well-presented.
The highlight of the festival was the Karoo Fusion Food evening hosted by the school.
This was a celebration of all the cultures in the Karoo and the food included Bangladeshi curry, sushi, angora wors, baboti, Chinese food and lamb boeries.
During the evening I managed to pin Lisa down, who had been so busy organising the festival and making sure every one was having a good time, to chat about the festival.
Lisa said the idea started when they realised how attractive Karoo food was becoming.
“We had started the writer’s festival in 2010 and that was a success, so we were eager to organise a good food festival.”
It was hard to believe the food festival was only in its second year.
About 1 000 people attended the festival and the vibe in the town was amazing. And the Karoo Writer’s Festival in July promises to be a great event.
Thanks to residents like Lisa, Cradock is fast becoming the festival capital of Karoo.
Apart from the amazing food, Cradock has other great features: It is close to the Mountain Zebra National Park and other Karoo towns like Graaff-Reinet which is perfect for day trips.
Cradock used to be a pit-stop but now it is a place that I will go back to again and again to experience a slower-pace of life, good food and warm hospitality that is from a bygone era.