This past Thursday night was spent in Auckland park at Zietsies supper club. The property is located at the top of the mountain overlooking the gorgeous Jozi skyline. We were ushered to the balcony upon our arrival and served wine while taking in the amazing view. [I realized when we were half way to the supper club that I’d forgotten my camera and had to rely on my phone for images so the quality isn’t so great – I do apologise yet again]
The owner, Elzabe Zietsman, is an actress and singer by profession and cooks and entertains guests at her home as a hobbie. She only cooks whatever is seasonal and available at the time and making reservations well in advance is essential as only a small number of guests can be accommodated at a time.
The first course was asparagus served with home-made mayonnaise and pesto. She added Japanese mirin to the mayo which gave it a slightly sweet taste – simple yet very good.
The main course was home-made pie served with vegetables. The vegetables were fried in olive oil and butter and mixed with ricotta cheese. She served us chicken pie that was seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper and had mustard sauce and cream added to it. She grows her own peas which were added to the chicken as well. The table next to ours was served sirloin steak pie so we swapped pies halfway through the meal. Both were heavenly but the chicken pie tasted way better – hearty, well-seasoned and filling. She did admit, however, that the pastry was store-bought and added that ‘life is too short to make your own f’ng puff pastry’. And we all agreed!
Dessert was a simple tart with a butter biscuit base. The filling was double cream Greek yoghurt mixed with honey. It was topped with fresh berries that were cooked to perfection in champagne and sugar – a perfect ending to an amazing meal.
Our gracious host told interesting stories about the food, her background and how Zietsies came to life in between serving our meals and topping up our wine glasses.
It was an interesting and different dining experience and my food buddy and I left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside – inspired, content and satisfied...
