Winter menu coming soon
Every season, we change our menu at Babel restaurant. And since the winter is just around the corner, it is almost time to do so once again. Of course, you cannot just compile a menu full of ideas: all the combinations must be tested and tasted to ensure that it will work. So this is exactly what we got stuck into yesterday. Sometimes hard work can be fun, too!
Keep an eye out for the new Babel menu, due out of 1 June! In the meantime, don’t miss out on our Summer menu, still running for a few more weeks.
Our Edible Garden
Our4 ha vegetable garden really is the heart of the Babylonstoren farm. Each one of the 300 varieties of fruit and vegetables grown there is edible, and you can see exactly what we grow in our garden here.
Every morning one of our waiters goes out with the garden staff to harvest the fresh produce of the day, and the food they pick is included in our menus, both at Babel restaurant, as well as at the Tearoom. Here are Julian and Constance busy harvesting this morning’s crop of violets, and tomarillos too.
If you’d like to find out more, we have a daily hour guided garden tour, starting at 10am, and taking about 1.5 hours to complete. Please remember that bookings are essential, and you can make a reservation by email at: enquiries@babylonstoren.com.
Today's garden tour was led by Constance-Marie, and here is the group of friends who took the tour just before setting off this morning.
Growing mushrooms
We at Babylonstoren are always interested in learning something new, and so four weeks ago, we started learning the art of mushroom growing. We decided to first focus on the cultivation of Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushrooms for the restaurant.
The Shiitake is the most popular of all gourmet mushrooms, and the first written record of shiitake cultivation can be traced to China, A.D. 960-1127.In Japan, Shiitake wine, Shiitake cookies and even Shiitake candies are marketed.
We’ve picked our first harvest of Shiitake mushrooms, and the great taste makes it definitely worth the effort. As we went, we kept a photographic record of the process to share on the blog. Here’s our growing room with the Shiitake growing blocks:
1. The Shiitake mushroom oak chip based substrate which is inoculated with Shiitake spawn. We control the temperature and humidity in our mushroom growing room in order to create the optimum growing conditions for this specific mushroom.
2. The first mushroom heads appear after 9-12 days
3. The mushrooms are picked when the gills of the mushrooms are visible, and taken to Babel restaurant to be used in one of our dishes.
In our mushroom growing room, we included two blocks of King oyster (Pleurotus eryngii) substrates as well. King oyster mushrooms are known as the best tasting oyster mushrooms, ard are sometimes presented as vegetarian ‘bacon’! Their stems can grow to 10cm length, and ours are looking pretty healthy too.
Cupcake inspiration
On Tuesday, the cookware kings Le Creuset had a cupcake cook-off in their new shop at the V&A Waterfront. Nine restaurant chefs participated in the event, where the challenge was to create a cupcake that worked with the colour scheme of a le Creuset pot. Simone and Stefan from Babel represented Babylonstoren, and they were allocated pots in the Dune colour.
Not to be daunted by a challenge, they rose magnificently to the occasion, creating this cupcake masterpiece, and… they won!
Their prize was R15 000 for a charity of their choice and they chose to give this to the Babylonstoren Trust, which raises funds for local community projects. This Trust is also where the R10 entrance fee you pay at the Babylonstoren gates is donated. Many thanks to Le Creuset for this fun and worthwhile event.
Carrot Flowers
Many of the patrons visiting Babel Restaurant have been wondering about the white lace-like flowers we have on display, and can hardly believe it when we tell them they are carrot flowers!
The benefit of leaving our carrots to flower is that we can now harvest the flower heads for seeds, and sow them again. After all, the good old carrot is one of our main vegetables at Babylonstoren – we use it in our juices, salads… and flower arrangements too. We usually plant Chantenay Karoo and like to hedge it in with other ‘light feeders’ which don’t need a lot of compost, such as spring onions.
The Glasshouse
Just to let you know that there’s something new in the garden at Babylonstoren. On Friday December 16 the glasshouse opens. We’d like to spoil you with fresh salads from the garden, breads from the old wood-fired oven and various liquids and infusions. Enjoy from Wednesday to Sunday, somewhere between 10am and 4pm.
Net om jou te laat weet dat daar iets nuuts is in die tuin by Babylonstoren. Op Vrydag 16 Desember open die glaskas. Ons sal jou graag wil bederf met slaaie uit die tuin, brode uit die outydse bakoond en ‘n verskeidenheid sappe en tees. Kom geniet dit Woensdag tot Sondag, erens tussen 10:00 en 4:00.
Summer Menu 2011
Did someone mention a tart of artichoke, tamarillo, caramalised onion & chevin, with fresh bloody sorrel & basil? Well that must mean the Babel Summer Menu is out. Click here to see it for yourself, but beware: the effects may make your mouth water! Also, please remember that bookings at Babel are essential.
Guava ‘sparklers’
Babel is making guava ‘sparklers’ with fresh Cape pondweed (also known as waterblommetjies), grown a stone’s throw away in our own ponds. Because the pondweed is harvested so fresh, the vanilla-scented flavour harmoniously complements the taste of the guava. Amazing how a flower can contribute so much to this sparkling drink!
Simone
Blossoms for breakfast
Ons ontbyt is nou ekstra spesiaal vir bloeisel tyd! Geniet die suuring plaatkoekkie met gerookte forrel, vars boomspanspek & lemoen bloeisel met ‘triple sec’ konsentraat.
Geniet dit!
Simone.
New winter menu
Winter has lots of good things to offer, and one of them is the exciting Winter menu at Babel restaurant, sporting delights along the lines of:
Sirloin on the bone or prime rib, marinated in fresh winter savoury and Frantoio olive oil, with a poached duck egg and celeriac, with horseradish remoulade.
- Warm kale, cavallo nero and chunky parmesan broth, with a side salad of mange tout, Granny Smith apple, green kohlrabi, spekboom, green oak lef and frilly lettuce, with a drizzle of salt, preserved lemon, Cape sorrel and caraway.
White chocolate and savoy cabbage terrine
To see the rest of our winter offering at Babel, please download our menu right here.
Lavender shortbread
This recipe is great to make, as the mixture freezes very well, so if unexpected guests arrive, you can simply cut and bake! For teatime we serve our biscuits with fresh custard apple and cinnamon cream with crystalized violets.
Happy baking!
Simone
Ingredients:
- 250g cake flour, sifted
- 250g unsalted butter, cubed
- 100g castor sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp crème fraiche
- 1 tbsp dried lavender powder or fresh lavender, chopped.
Cream the sugar and butter, and add one egg yolk at a time to the mixture.
Add the dry ingredients and mix through lightly, taking care not to work the mixture too much.
Roll between two pieces of greaseproof paper, and allow to rest in the fridge. (For added texture, roll onto moulded paper, like heavily textured or embossed wallpaper).
Cut into desired size, then bake at 180 degrees Celsius until your shortbread just starts to go golden.
Remove to cool, then dip into castor sugar.
Meet Anelle
Have you even had the good fortune to eat at Babel? Then I’m sure you’ll be pleased to meet Anelle van Tonder today, the Food & Beverage Manager at Babylonstoren.
Tell us a bit about what you do at Babylonstoren.
I look after everything delicious. The restaurant and tea garden are my babies, and I also look after our resident guests’ every “eat and drink” desire.
What is your working environment like?
I work on the most beautiful farm in the world, and I get to spend my time between all the beautiful buildings and our stunning restaurant, Babel.
What is your working day at Babylonstoren like?
I start the day in the restaurant, making sure that everything is ready for our guests’ breakfast, and then spend some time in the office doing orders and admin. At around 12 o’clock lunch starts, keeping me very busy making sure everythings running well. Usually by 17:00 or 18:00 I can lock up the restaurant, all ready for the next day. Of course, there are usually a few meetings throughout the week, a wine tasting here and there and regular trips to the garden to stay informed about what’s going on.
What’s your favourite part of the day at work?
Right in the middle of a fully booked lunch,when things are crazy busy and the restaurant is buzzing with conversation and the sound of cutlery and glasses clinging. People are talking and laughing, the waiters and chefs are focused and working like parts of a well oiled machine. Wine is flowing and the food is floating out of the kitchen onto tables full of anticipation. This gives me a total adrenaline kick. It’s like being a conductor or landing planes at Heathrow!
Tell us something about yourself that not many people know.
I am completely arachnaphobic, I love jazz & want to sing in a great choir one day.
What’s coming up next that you’re excited about?
Apart from the new winter menu at Babel, we are also in the process of erecting a magnificent 26m long glass conservatory at the back of the garden. Half of it will become a tearoom to serve breakfast, cakes and pastries, lighter meals and maybe even some tapas-style snacks at sundown. We’re also adding a small bakery, soap room, and two rooms dedicated to cheeses and charcuitery.
What makes you happy to work at Babylonstoren?
I truly love the integrity that everything is done with. “Organic” is such a buzz word, but it really is organic and authentic on every level – everything we take on has been researched and debated, and the first objective always is to be honest about it. I also completely adore all the animals!
Farm to table
In the July edition of Travel + Leisure magazine, journalist Douglas Rogers writes about his visit to Babylonstoren, waxing lyrical about our determinedly locally grown and sourced restaurant, calling it “the ultimate farm-to-table fantasy”:
I’m sitting in the sleek kitchen of my suite, a modern glass cube attached to a traditional thatched-roof, 18th-century landhuisie (cottage), and I’m gazing out on eight acres of organic wonder: scented beds of thyme, rosemary, and wild garlic; a berry block with Cape gooseberries and mulberries; a pergola walk dripping with table grapes; an orchard of naartjies, nectarines, and grapefruit watered by a restored sluice system; even an apiary for honey. And vegetables, too—butternut and beets; rocket and radishes; peppers of impossibly bright hue.
Best of all, it’s mine. In the ultimate farm-to-table fantasy, as a guest I get to walk its mazy paths, pick whatever herbs, fruits, and vegetables I fancy—there are some 300 edible varieties—and prepare them in my designer kitchen. And if I don’t fancy cooking? Well, I can just amble down the tractor-cut road outside my door to the farm’s restaurant, Babel.
Read the full article here, and then book your table at Babel restaurant to see for yourself.
Spatula approves
Online foodie magazine Spatula visited Babylonstoren and had a really good time. After tasting the food, visiting the gardens, and taking some rather lovely photos too, this was their conclusion:
“We … highly recommend that you get your skates on and check it out too.”
Read the full article right here.
Justice Malala on Babylonstoren
Justice Malala
Justice Malala visited Babylonstoren recently, and has written a (glowing) review in this weekend’s Financial Mail. Not only did he really enjoy his meal at Babel, his tour of our beautiful garden, and his peek into our guest quarters, he was really struck by the entire force of vision and committment to excellence that makes Babylonstoren particularly special. This is how he put it:
It is rare to visit a restaurant and be struck, not only by its beauty, service, food and insistence on aesthetic excellence, but by the vision behind it. Babylonstoren, owned by Naspers CEO Koos Bekker and his wife, Karen Roos, will one day be spoken about not because of all the things that define a magnificent wine farm and restaurant, but for the sheer force of the vision behind it.
It is not a place that was built for today. It was made with an eye for tomorrow and a close reading of where the future of money, politics, arts, culture and commerce lies.
Thank you for the kind words, Mr Malala, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Of course, that goes for all our guests and patrons, and if you haven’t visited Babylonstoren yet, read the full Financial Mail review, and we’re sure it’ll have you adding a visit to the top of your Must Do list.
