inspiration: babylonstoren

In a recent trip to South Africa, after many recommendations to do so, I visited a place called Babylonstoren... and then very nearly never left. Babylonstoren is located in the wine region of Cape Town, sort of mid-way between Franschhoek and Paarl, in the Drakenstein valley which lies at the foothills of the Simonsberg, Du Toitskloof and Franschhoek mountains. It has a winery, a boutique hotel and a spa, but it was the restaurant (Babel), farm shop and breathtaking gardens which held the most interest for me. 

After trying to book lunch at the restaurant and being politely informed that they were booked out for the next 2 months, I had to console myself with a walk around the gardens and a visit to the farm shop. With the mountains as a back-drop the gardens really are the most idyllic place. Babylonstoren is the result of a complete transformation of one of the oldest dutch farms in the area, founded in 1690. The beautiful cape-dutch architecture of the original buildings has been seamlesly integrated with the new fresh and modern renovations.

The fruit and vegetable gardens are abundant with all the produce you could imagine and the entire property is surrounded by rows and rows of grape vines and fruit trees. It is this which makes the restaurant something special, with almost everything they use grown on the property or sourced from a small number of local suppliers. The restaurant is also complimented by a casual cafe situated in the green-house. The cafe serves up freshly baked rolls presented in cute wooden crates for you to enjoy under the trees in the garden.


Images copyright Babylonstoren

The farm shop sells all sorts of delicious things which I would have loved to be able to stock my pantry with, but considering the logistics of bringing them back to Australia, I had to just make do with photos.

The one thing I could take back with me was the Babel cookbook. It is an amazing showcase of some of the recipes cooked in the restaurant and really highlights the fresh approach they have towards cooking to ensure the quality ingredients remain the star of the dish. The photography in the book is quite spectacular and I have captured a few of my favourite pages to share with you below...

I will without a doubt be cooking almost everything in this book and will be sharing them all here!