There are many good reasons to visit the new Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar in Franschhoek but the most important one would be that this is the restaurant Reuben Riffel always dreamt of. This one is personal. This is the one he owns.

It’s only a few minutes’ walk from where the original one stood, but it is different. Not unrecognisably so. Sophisticated and authentic. The well-appointed glass entrance hall offers both glamour and striking views of the magnificent Franschhoek Mountains. The art on the brick walls is South African, and the old airplane wing now forms part of the courtyard bar. Like the restaurant, the menu is eclectic, featuring some Asian influences and great local ingredients. Some familiar flavours and some new ones. This is the food that Reuben likes to eat.

This looks and feels like the home Reuben and his wife Maryke share. “I have always wanted to have my own place,” Reuben says. “I needed to feel that this is mine. Not just the building, but also the ideas and what we do. I wanted something that was created by and owned by us. Something that truly reflects who we are.”

This is best understood in the painting of Reuben’s beloved grandfather, Oupa Abel Riffel, painted by Eugenia Campbell from a treasured old photo. “I wanted my Oupa to be here. My grandparents once lived in this part of Franschhoek but then, because of apartheid, they had to move to Groendal, so I wanted to bring him back to this part of the valley. It is important to me that my Oupa’s face has pride of place here. In this way I can honour him, and what he meant
to me. This is also my way of sharing my measure of success with my family, so they can also feel part of all this.”

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Inspired by contemporary South African life with a strong focus on indigenous talent, Quivertree is a proudly independent niche publishing house started by graphic designer Libby Doyle and photographer Craig Fraser in 2001. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about them.

1. Quivertree was founded after all major South African book publishers rejected Craig and Libby’s first book, Shack Chic. In fact, the pair mortgaged their respective houses in order to make it possible.

2. Rights to Shack Chic have since been sold to Thames & Hudson after 11 000 copies were sold in South Africa.

3. Craig and Libby ran Quivertree as a “hobby” for seven years until, in 2007, they realised the need to focus on it entirely.

4. They have published 35 books to date, with a predominant focus on food and decor.

5. Quivertree has won awards for most of its cookbook titles, with Prickly Pears and Pomegranates and Firewater, South African Brandy winning their categories at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

6. Authors include celebrity chef Reuben Riffel, award-winning chef Franck Dangereux from The Foodbarn, Tina Bester from Queen of Tarts and Prof Tim Noakes with his current phenomenon The Real Meal Revolution (see page 20).

7. The low-carb, high-fat meal plan prescribed by Prof Tim Noakes in The Real Meal Revolution has been so big that it had sold 60 000 copies after just five months of the book being launched.

8. Craig has photographed for all the publications so far, bar Sharp Sharp: South Africa by Ed Suter and Stellenberg by Alain Proust.

9. Mud Chic is Libby’s favourite book: “I love Craig’s photos and the pared-down layout.” While Karoo Kitchen is tops for Craig, “because it has soul, it’s practical, and it has history, culture and beauty”.

10. The name Quivertree was inspired by a trip to Namibia where the indigenous succulent tree survives the hardship of desert conditions. It’s also known as the kokerboom.

quivertreepublications.com

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With spring decidedly in its swing and the year reaching its final fever pitch, a decadent Sunday treat is in order don’t you think? On Sunday 27 October is the third Jazz in the Cradle concert, alongside the Reuben Riffel pop-up restaurant from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 October.

Presented by the Nirox Foundation and Gallery Momo, the open-air contemporary jazz concert will be held in the lawn amphitheatre of the Nirox Sculpture Park, which is located in the heart of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.

Pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini will be returning as this year’s musical director, while jazz songbird Gloria Bosman will make a special guest appearance. Themed “Songs of Freedom”, the music promises to celebrate “lyrical soldiers of resistance that brought about change by using their voices and instruments to unite a country divided”.

Exquisite surrounds, striking art, fresh spring air, aural delights… in the mood yet? From Friday already, the weekend also marks the inaugural chef’s residency and pop-up restaurant in the new Nirox pavilion, starting with none other that SA’s very own superstar chef Reuben Riffel (take a VISI peek inside his house here).

Tickets for the Jazz are available for R280 at www.jazzinthecradle.com or R300 at the gate.

Reservations for the chef’s residency programme can be made at www.niroxchefs.com – 450 for lunch and R550 for dinner. Find out more about chef Reuben at www.reubens.co.za. 

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Sponsored by Sanlam Investments and occupying the entire rooftop of the Hyde Park Corner, the emphasis of the fair is on bringing together high-quality, unique artisanal fare in a convivial social environment.

One such social highlight is certainly the MasterCard Gourmet Theatre where chefs Luke Dale-Roberts, Reuben Riffel and David Higgs will be presenting their signatures dishes for lunch and dinner sittings catering for only 42 guests at a time.

Emphasising the synthesis between food and design, artisanal potters Tessa Gawith made the crockery and Katherine Glenday the water tumblers for the theatre. The oak tables, benches and chairs are by James Mudge Furniture Studios, with linen by Skinny laMinx creator, Heather Moore. Artist Beezy Bailey has also created a special edition of artworks for the theatre.

On the shopping front, a special Summer Christmas Booth will offer a curated selection of small gifts from the likes of Snapp design’s lights, Flowermill Stationery’s cards and Bamboo Revolution’s watches. More beach-orientated are Vilbrequin’s trendy swimming trunks, and Bizou’s pure cotton bags and sarongs.

However, one booth does not even begin to represent the broad range of retail therapeutics. From furniture by the likes of Goet and Koop, and home accessories by the likes of the Shaw Sisters and Makers of Stuff, to personal adornments by Missibaba and Tinsel, the Foodwinedesign Fair promises to be an oasis of style.

An then there’s the wine, chocolate, olives, oysters, pesto, confectionary, coffee and…

Tickets are R80 per person, or R50 on Friday afternoon. Kids under 12 enter free. Book at www.webtickets.co.za

More info www.foodwinedesign.co.za

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In one of the quiet streets that lie just behind Franschhoek’s bustling façade of cafés and restaurants, lies the private home of local-boy-made-good Reuben Riffel and his family.

The celebrity chef and his wife, Maryké, bought the property in 2007 and are only now nearing completion on the extensive renovations.

In the new SPRING FLING edition of VISI magazine, we went to take a peek. For a sneak preview, enjoy this behind-the-scenes video of creative extraordinaire Sumien Brink and photographer Micky Hoyle at work.  

For the full article and photoshoot, get the new SPRING FLING edition of VISI magazine. Read more here.

More from the SPRING FLING edition of VISI

• New and second-cycle
  Renovation and interior design is seldom a stagnant, once-off affair. The best spaces grow into themselves. See the before pictures of the houses featured in the magazine.

• Deft blue strokes
  Fabric, surfboards, shacks… Something is afoot, and not just in South Africa! From Babylonstoren to Russia, browse our full Delft trend report.

• Popcorn architecture
  We have inspiration from the Architecture ZA 2012 Biennial Festival to share. Watch our online film festival and read our report back. 

• Mechanical futurism
  Some say steampunk is what happened when Goths discovered brown. Others say it grew out of a literary genre. Explore our steampunk trend report.

• Joburg Art Attack
  For at least one week in September, Joburg was hit by an art attack. Read the post-mortem and our guide to starting an art collection, written by the experts. 

• Winning wishes
  In October, Warren Lewis will be giving away four paintings. Up for grabs over the next two months is a Bodum Bistro Coffee Maker from Banks Kitchen Boutique. Enter the competitions here.

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Lees in Afrikaans.

Laduma Ngxokolo on display next to Le Corbusier in Europe? South African design features prominently in an exhibition hosted by Helsinki, World Design Capital 2012.

This week in Helsinki saw the opening of the International Design House Exhibition, a World Design Capital 2012 signature event, titled Everyday Discoveries. Housed in Helsinki’s old power station, Kattilahalli – and extending into an outdoor shipping container village and urban gardening installation in surrounding Suvilahti – the exhibition showcases the best examples of design solutions from 23 countries, created by over 100 designers.

South African designs feature prominently in the core exhibition, which is divided into six themes: icon, innovation, invisible, reinterpretation, imagination and get-together.

Up-and-coming young Eastern Cape knitwear designer Laduma Ngxokolo’s Xhosa-inspired sweaters share the ‘icon’ category with everything from Le Corbusier’s chaise-lounge to the Rubik’s Cube. The Hippo Water Roller is displayed in the ‘innovation’ category alongside hi-tech designs including a toilet that automatically composts waste and recycles water, while an installation of Dolos breakwater protection blocks shares the ‘invisible’ category with items like energy-efficient light bulbs and Italy’s classic stove-top coffee maker.

Cape Town’s pooch paradise, De Waal Park, features in the ‘imagination’ section via the illustrated children’s book and innovative iPad app, Bonsai and Geronimo Go To The Park. In the ‘re-interpretation’ exhibit, an elegant ceramic vessel by Andile Dyalvane of Imiso Ceramics references Xhosa scarification marks, with red markings sliced into the bone-coloured ceramic flesh.

The core exhibition is curated around a central spine featuring an impressive 20m-long dining table that brings together all the featured countries, hence the title ‘get-together’. Here, Haldane Martin’s Zulu Mama chair is paired with Cape Town ceramicist Louise Gelderblom’s giant etched plates and 100% recycled glassware, designed by Source’s Trevyn McGowan and chef Reuben Riffel for Ngwenya Glass.

The International Design House Everyday Discoveries exhibition runs from 6 to 16 September 2012, coinciding with Helsinki Design Week, and is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and press from across the globe.

Originally published on the Cape Town World Design Capital 2014 website. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter – we definitely do!

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