A recent refurb at Tswalu Kalahari – the biggest privately owned reserve in South Africa – has given the Tarkuni Homestead a makeover that both looks to the future and honours tradition. And then there’s the breathtaking restaurant Klein Jan…

Remote, exclusive and eco-conscious – and complete with tawny desert sunsets – Tswalu Kalahari embodies all the elements of a memorable safari experience. The Oppenheimer family, committed conservationists and custodians of this tract of stark beauty for more than two decades, are driven by their intent “to leave our world better than we found it”. And they are succeeding.

Two camps – Motse and the private villa Tarkuni – shimmer graciously in the sun. We featured Motse in VISI #106; now we focus on Tarkuni, and the camps’ acclaimed Klein JAN restaurant. As with Motse, an artful revamp by multidisciplinary design practice Savile Row has given the spaces a fresh, contemporary feel that doesn’t compete with the dramatic landscape that unfurls around them.

READ MORE: Motse at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

As project architect and director Adrian Davidson explains, one of the key reasons for the renovation was to invite more light into the Tarkuni homestead, and to create a more connected flow between the indoor and outdoor living spaces.“We drew inspiration from the surrounding fauna, using a palette of earthy tones and dusty botanical greens for muted, cool, simple interiors,” he says. “There’s nothing fussy or layered in our approach – we wanted the extraordinary vistas to be the hero of the site.”

Thanks to a few well-considered tweaks, a gnarled boscia (shepherd’s tree) has become the focal point at the entrance. The en suite bathrooms are filled with light, and the once-oversized pool has been pared down in keeping with the reserve’s overarching eco-conscious ethos.

In addition, the boma, with its low, stone-packed walls, has been relocated to the front of the five-bedroom exclusive-use villa.

The real architectural marvel at Tswalu is undoubtedly Klein JAN, the 20-seater destination restaurant set in a modest Victorian farmhouse on the Kalahari plains. Spearheaded by Michelin- star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, this gourmet hub combines seasonal heritage food with culinary traditions (such as fermentation and preservation). Jan Hendrik’s rural roots (he was raised on a farm in Mpumalanga) are evident in both the architectural and culinary details.

READ MORE: Local Travel Destinations

As Adrian explains, the brief for Klein JAN entailed extending and including the humble 100-year-old Boscia House building without changing any of its features. “It must look like Ouma has just stepped out to hang up the washing, and you can smell the food she is preparing on the stove,” said Jan Hendrik at the concept stage.

The end result is nothing short of magical theatre. Patrons are led behind the modest building towards a re-created corrugated-iron reservoir. Here, a concealed door serves as a portal to another world: a helical timber-and-steel staircase leads down to a fully submerged larder and dining space. The 20-metre-long subterranean storehouse buried below the ochre sand is a sensual feast of raw, cured and preserved ingredients. “It’s a ceremonial procession,” says Adrian. “In the distance, Jan Hendrik’s grandmother’s original coal stove stands like an altar, complete with pots of fragrant soup that evoke feelings of nostalgia.”

From there, guests move to the glass-fronted dining room, which has been cut into the hillside. “The decision to set the restaurant into the earth was not only to create an element of surprise, but also to harness the known benefits of ‘thermal lag’ found in pit architecture,” Adrian says.

The restaurant celebrates modern Kalahari cuisine, and champions local, independent organic producers, farmers and artisans who align with Klein JAN’s sustainable ethos. “The order of spaces and experiences evolved to mirror Jan Hendrik’s personal culinary journey,” Adrian explains. “The humble Boscia homestead represents his traditional past; the restaurant represents an exciting future.” | tswalu.com

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The post Of The Earth: Kalahari Lodge appeared first on Visi.

These celebrity chefs have gone beyond creating inspirational food to dreaming up special takes on what we should be serving it on.

JACQUES ERASMUS

Renowned for his trendsetting taste and his ability to wear multiple hats – as chef, restaurateur, interior designer and even hotelier – Jacques Erasmus has long combined his culinary skills with a distinctive design ethos. Both Jonkmanshof, his exquisite country retreat in Montagu, and his ever-evolving Cape Town restaurant, Hemelhuijs, showcase his unique aesthetic.

A perfectly judged blend of old Cape Dutch style with Eastern influences, his homeware offering includes the full range of the minimalist crockery used at Hemelhuijs every day, as well as the delightfully baroque “Boerendelft” plates embellished with hand-painted blue or gold designs. The brand is all about “a story of dedication to the art and craft of the human hand”,

Yves Klein Blue Vases

These exquisite vases come in three sizes.

From R1 500

Shop

Jacques says – and his range of fine products for the home also includes whimsical candleholders, pure linen napkins and tea towels, and scented candles featuring the aromas of the garden at Jonkmanshof. Simply dreamy…

JAN HENDRIK VAN DER WESTHUIZEN

Another South African chef who considers the settings in which he serves his food, and the plates that will best complement it, as much as he does the creation of his Michelin-star dishes is Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen. Those fortunate enough to have eaten in Jan’s two restaurants on the French Riviera, JAN and MARIA, and who have followed his career via his television series and food magazine, also called JAN, recognise the ongoing development of a fresh, slightly Francophone but also very homely take on South African style in his homeware.

“My heritage informs everything I do,” says Jan. His pieces currently reflect the aesthetic of his latest establishment, KLEIN JAN, at Tswalu in the Kalahari – hence the robust leather aprons and earthy tactility of his serveware items – and his website also offers a variety of delightful, custom-designed toile napery, nostalgia-tinged crockery, and a wide range of classic kitchen essentials.

YOTAM OTTOLENGHI x SERAX

Internationally acclaimed chef Yotam Ottolenghi is the author of multiple best-selling cookbooks, and so famous that his sort of cooking is frequently described as “Ottolenghi-style”. His early restaurants served food on large platters, and bowls of salads-as-meals, displayed in tempting heaps from which guests could select their favourites. So it’s an almost overdue step for this game-changing creative to be launching his own range of ceramics, glassware and serveware, which he recently did in a collaboration with Serax.

Designed with input from regular Ottolenghi visual collaborator, Sicilian artist Ivo Bisignano, the range is colourful and playful, featuring simple prints of bell peppers and other vegetables, and abstract faces. All pieces will be used in Ottolenghi eateries, and fans will be able to take them home too. Asked to identify his favourite item, Yotam says, “I love the large serving platters: the mere size allows them to shine, and they are ideal for serving our salads.”

The post VISION: At The Table appeared first on Visi.

Adorn your dinner table with works of art conceptualised by the only South African Michelin-star chef.

Any foodie worth their salt knows of Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, chef-proprietor of JAN in Nice, France, who has returned to home soil to share his gastronomic talents. His latest venture, KLEIN JAN, will soon open at Tswalu Kalahari, the privately owned reserve that celebrates the authentic splendours of this region.

To mark this, in collaboration with Haus by Hertex Jan has developed a range of artisanal crockery that explores the theme “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”. Wet clay plates, decorated with grass, are fired to burn away the grass and leave only delicate markings. They are then buried in the ground, covered in grass and burnt again, giving each piece a unique smoked pattern.

“It is in this weathering that we appreciate life the most,” says Jan. He has also developed a collection of tablecloths, tea towels and scatter cushions that explores the fragility of life – and eventual, inevitable decay. The range encompasses two prints: a design of dried vines and leaves, and a botanical/animal print.

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Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, Michelin-star chef of a restaurant in Nice, has two exciting projects on home soil.

Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen first visited Tswalu Kalahari in the Northern Cape in 2016. What struck him was the nothingness, which he experienced even more profoundly when contrasted with the sensory saturation of the Cote d’Azur, where his restaurant JAN is located. An idea took root and a conversation began with Tswalu Kalahari owners Nicky and Jonathan Oppenheimer.

The result is Klein JAN, a restaurant at the newly refurbished exclusive Kalahari camp. “I grew up on a farm in Middelburg, which my father sold a few months before he passed away,” says Jan. “I have always thought that if I were to open a restaurant in South Africa, it would be on a farm.”

The restaurant will be fine-dining with an experiential twist. “It’s a concept that’s going to represent the Kalahari for what it is,” he says. “In France we have an abundance of everything. It’s beautiful and it’s also chaos. But in the Kalahari, you’ve got so little, so it’s the art of making that little stand out.”

While plans for Klein JAN are being finalised, Jan is influencing all aspects of the guests’ dining experience, from crockery to dune dining and star-gazing dinners. Seasonal produce will be grown at the restaurant and sourced from the surrounding area.

Meanwhile, Volume 3 of JAN the JOURNAL has just been released, produced from a new HQ in Cape Town. Driven by the need to have a kitchen to test JOURNAL recipes, the concept for the Innovation Studio was born, a place for Jan and his chefs and some fortunate students to experiment and play – and fail, he says. “That’s when the best things happen. This is not a place for perfection; it’s a place for ideas.”

Those ideas will be circulated back into JAN and Klein JAN, as will the staff who will be on rotation between the establishments. “One reason it took me six years to open something in South Africa was the need to establish a really strong team, which I now have,” he says. “This is a full-circle opportunity to bring innovation to all the establishments.”

For more information, visit janhendrik.com.

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From newly launched pendant lights to Michelin-star chef Jan Hendrik’s new magazine and Afrofuturist photographer Osborne Macharia’s campaign for Foschini, these are the top VISI picks of the week series – week 231.

1. Mill Valley Cabins by Feldman Architecture

“These wooden cabins, designed by Feldman Architecture, are situated above a forest in the San Francisco Bay area,” says Assistant Editor Tracy Greenwood. “The cabins were built to be enjoyed as yoga and art studios – sounds so relaxing!”

Image credit: Joe Fletcher via dezeen.com

2. Osborne Macharia X Foschini

“Renowned Kenyan photographer and Afrofuturist Osborne Macharia has teamed up with Foschini as part of the launch of the brand’s online store,” says Online Editor Lindi Brownell Meiring. “The shoot, a celebration of powerful women, focuses on three female African Superpowers, namely the Warrior, the Nurturer and the Idol. Talking about the project, Osborne says, ‘You will find women who display all three. I think this is such a powerful message. You don’t have to fall into a certain stereotype, you can enjoy life yet still be responsible, nurturing, caring and a hardcore working woman.’”

Idol.

Nurturer.

Warrior.

Image credit: Osborne Macharia

3. Aurelia Pendant Light From The Lighting Warehouse

“The Aurelia pendant light is one of the latest designs to come out of Joburg-based lighting store The Lighting Warehouse,” says Managing Editor Samantha Charles. “The whisk-shaped design is available in both copper and chrome and retails at R1 399,95 each.”

Image credit: lightingwarehouse.co.za

4. JAN the JOURNAL

“Successful South African chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen recently launched the first issue of JAN the JOURNAL, a medley of all the things this Michelin-star chef loves about life,” says Content Producer Mary Garner. “The magazine pays homage to travel, the ingredients behind the meals he creates and eats, and the exploration of people and places.”

Image credit: janthejournal.com

5. Zenith Planters By Dark Horse

“Cape Town-based brand Dark Horse is behind the design of these versatile indoor planters, which are made using solid brass or mild steel,” says Art Director Anton Pietersen. “The planters can be used in hallways, kitchens and bathrooms – or even as an ice bucket when entertaining.”

Image credit: dark-horse.co.za

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Michelin-star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen will join Jackie Burger at the next Salon 58 soirée, entitled Trace.

The event will combine food, fashion and experiences, three things that both Jackie and Jan have in common. #Salon58Trace will centre around the concept of not being able to create a future for ourselves without first knowing our past.

The soirée, which will be held at The Old Tannery in Wellington, features a salon-inspired fashion show, as well as a “100 plates” taste experience in which Jan will showcase five ingredients that have inspired his career.

There will also be a small Parisian-style market on the day where you will be able to buy artisanal breads, flowers, candles, homeware, books and art.

#Salon58Trace is on Saturday 2 December at 3pm. Tickets cost R1 000 each and are available here.

One lucky VISI reader will win two tickets to this exciting event, worth R2 000. Enter here.

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Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, chef and proprietor of Michelin-star restaurant JAN in Nice, recently tied the knot with his beau Grant Bacon on home soil. Their Babylonstoren wedding was a magical event.

From the window of the beautifully appointed Cape Dutch Manor House where we’re staying I look over Grant’s shoulder to where they are setting up the banquet table in the middle of the gravel driveway leading to the house. Glass chandeliers produce a tinkly musical accompaniment when a light south easter announces its presence, and I can picture the people who are close to us arriving all dressed up in their smart tuxedos and little black dresses.

As we were organising the wedding and had to decide what would get the yeah or nay, it was important for us to stay true to ourselves. Would arriving with 40 ducks be too much? You just trust your gut. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t tick all the “wedding” boxes; what matters is that you don’t afterwards regret not doing something you wanted to do. After a hearty breakfast – we have a long day ahead of us before the first canapés are served – we go for a leisurely walk through the beautiful gardens of Babylonstoren.

Watching our close friend Alwijn Burger working on the flower installations in the ceremony area, we are excited to see how months of planning are coming together. A few friends arrive to keep us company while we’re getting ready. Hanging behind the door are a Dior and a Valentino tuxedo, dark blue with soft satin collars, and a midnight-black bow tie for Grant and a white one for me. On a recent trip to Paris we decided to buy something for our wedding that would be a lifetime investment. Bottles of Champagne do the rounds and the chatter and excitement pick up. We join our guests for pre-drinks and we don’t have to take our leave, since we had our wedding portraits taken yesterday. There are copious amounts of bubbly, ciders, buchu beers and organic wines from the Swartland.

The canapés include pampoen koekies with cinnamon sugar, Serrano ham rolls filled with hang op cheese and fresh vegetables from the garden, aubergine caviar with Huguenot cheese and roasted macadamia nuts, smoked Franschhoek trout with salmon caviar on a squid ink crisp… We wanted to show off our heritage, and have things we love as well as things that made us who we are.

Dinner is served family style to encourage guests to stay seated and enjoy the company at the table until the first dance. For starters there is freshly baked farm bread, crisp salads, and smoked hot and cold oysters – hot with a white chocolate and Champagne sauce and cold with sour fig sorbet and fennel pollen. The main dishes include grilled line fish with preserved Eureka lemon dressing, leg of lamb slow-roasted with kapokbos and served with whole grain mustard and caper sauce, a whole suckling pig roasted on the fire with star anise and sage, and a savoury caramelised apple tarte tatin with sesame and black salt brittle.

The first dance is a surprise: a flash mob inside a flash mob. Our dance lessons have been a good investment too. We move the flower installations from the ceremony area to the late-night piano bar – what would have gone wasted the rest of the day is given a second purpose. Here, guests linger until the early hours. The celebration continues at breakfast. It is an opportunity for every one to reflect on the wedding stories, dance moves and precious memories that have been made and that Grant and I will cherish for the rest of our lives.

A LITTLE BLACK BOOK FOR AN EXTRA-SPECIAL WEDDING

• Food: Maranda Engelbrecht of Babylonstoren
• Coordination: [kraak] wedding and event coordination
• Technical design and lighting: Something Different
• Ceremony flower installations: Alwijn Burger, aka BLOMBOY
• Wedding photography: JOE | DAN Photography
• Videography: Vision on Fire
• Personal styling: Your Style by Jessica, Dawid Kriel of Institute Aesthetic and Wim van Zyl of WIM Coiffeur 021 439 6131
• Music: Jack Parow, Karen Zoid, Sound Image Band, André & the Swingers and Dorette Roos
• Dance choreography: Devon Marshbank 082 413 0205
• Beverages: Moët & Chandon Champagne, Graham Beck wines, Fleur du Cap wines, De Wetshof Estate wines, Org de Rac wines, Loxton Lager, Sxollie ciders and Rémy Martin Cognac

The post Boland Wedding: Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen + Grant Bacon appeared first on Visi.

Spotted our latest issue on shelves? Our cover gives you a peek into the beautiful wedding of Grant Bacon and Michelin-star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, held at Babylonstoren.

The menu, with delicious treats like aubergine caviar and savoury caramelised apple tarte tatin, also featured early garden harvest vegetable platters, including a whole baked pumpkin.

Here, Maranda Engelbrecht, the founder of Babylonstoren’s Babel restaurant and author of the Babel cookbook, shares the recipe for a whole baked pumpkin.

METHOD:

• Use any medium size pumpkin, but check first for marks from fruit flies and wasps, as it may be spoiled and not suitable for cooking. A completely dried out stem indicates that the pumpkin is ripe.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for one to two hours depending on the size and type of pumpkin.
• The skin will soften. When you insert a skewer, it should slide in easily. Remove from oven and peel away some of the skin from the pumpkin. You can also cut a lid from the top part, by slicing horizontally with a sharp knife. Season with a little salt and a drizzle of honey and more olive oil. Serve with additional roasted pumpkin seeds.

Tip: Roast the pumpkin topped with sage, rosemary or thyme for additional flavour.

Get an inside look into Jan Hendrik and Grant’s wedding on page 48 of the Winter Issue of VISI (VISI 90).

The post Recipe: How To Bake a Pumpkin Whole appeared first on Visi.

The first African to be awarded a Michelin star, Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, proprietor and chef at the restaurant JAN in Nice, is a man of many talents. In his sumptuous cookery book JAN – A Breath of French Air, not only was he responsible for preparing the beautiful food but he also did all the writing, styling and photography himself. Where does he find the time?

“Every story has a beginning. Mine started at the tables of my mother and grandmother, where the notion of true South African hospitality seeped into my consciousness to become the foundation on which I would later build JAN. It is here that I learnt the humble art of serving and creating a warm, welcoming space where people would feel special and escape the humdrum of everyday life, to enjoy the singular pleasures of good company and delicious food.”

So begins the first chapter of Jan’s book: a dedication to food and family and living your dream. This is his story.

You are clearly proud of your South African heritage. How did you end up in Nice?

I worked in Paris for a while before cooking for a Swedish family on board their yacht, but I never imagined I would one day open a restaurant in France. Nice, at the time, was perfect. The opportunity was there and I guess I just grabbed it. However, South Africa is still and always will be my home.

What’s the best thing about living in France?

The markets and the produce. France is a country that embraces its culinary heritage and I cannot imagine living somewhere where food does not bring people together.

 How would you describe your food?

The restaurant has been described as modern French with inspirations from South Africa. Beautiful food, but with soul. It’s not necessarily nouvelle cuisine but saying that there is sometimes place for the odd pea on the plate. The most important thing is what my grandmother always told me: “Maak seker die mense gaan nie honger huis toe nie.” (Make sure nobody goes home hungry.)

What is your favourite South African ingredient and how have you interpreted it in your restaurant?

Buchu is beautiful. We do a buchu ice cream with cucumber. The guests love to taste some–thing they have never experienced before. For me, buchu is like a second bottle of water always standing on the pass brewing.

Did you always know you wanted to be a chef?

Since I can remember I have been involved with food. This, along with my passion for photography and my design background, made a great marriage at the end of the day.

You are responsible for most of the writing, styling, photographing and cooking in your book. Why did you do it all yourself?

I also had to do the dishes myself! I like to embrace an idea fast – get it going and not fuss over it. I find doing this myself is easier. The process was more rewarding in some cases than the result.

What’s next? A restaurant back home maybe?

I wish I knew. It would be exciting, wouldn’t it?

The post JAN: Award Winning Restaurant appeared first on Visi.

Makes: 12 medium-sized glasses

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 30 min + 2 hr chilling

Cooking time: 10 min

INGREDIENTS

• 1 L cream
• 300 ml milk
• 400 g granulated sugar
• Zest and juice of 2 naartjies
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 8 leaves gelatine

Rice Krispies and White Chocolate Rocks

• 200 g white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 125 g Rice Krispies
• 50 g desiccated coconut

METHOD

Place the cream, milk, sugar and the juice and zests of the naartjies and lemons (reserve some of the naartjie zest for garnishing) in a large saucepan over medium heat and stir until well combined. Soften the gelatine leaves in cold water, then mix into the milk and cream and whisk gently until the gelatine has melted. Use individual glasses of your choice and pour in the mixture until it reaches just above halfway. Refrigerate for 2 hours until set.

For the rocks, melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat (or in a bowl in the microwave). Remove from the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies and coconut. Spoon the mixture into small rock shapes, sprinkle with naartjie zest and leave to cool.

To serve, garnish the panna cottas with flower petals and top each one with a chocolate rock.

Extracted from JAN: A Breath of French Air by Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen (R395, Struik Lifestyle).

Read more about Africa’s first Michelin-star chef on pages 122 and 123 in the latest issue of VISI (VISI 83). You can also WIN a copy of JAN: A Breath of French Air right here.

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