Farm-to-fork food at its finest
There is something curious about human creativity; unbridled and boundless. Courageously experimental; imagination pierces limitation. Such innovation is never middling, as was my experience of Babel at Babylonstoren.
Housed in what used to be the Cape Dutch farm’s padstall, the award-winning restaurant still honors the rustic landscape through clay walls and exposed rafters. Modern touches such as the floor-to-ceiling windows and cement floors accent the space elegantly.
There is a mumble of couples cosied by tea candles when my dinner date and I stalk into the restaurant.
Trish, the wholesome hostess behind a vibrant namecard, shows us to an unoccupied table. We slide into our seats, and with ease, our waitron explains the exciting menu to us. There is a brag of seasonal produce to try. Everything has been organically and ethically grown on the grounds my guest and I had been walking the very same afternoon.
I am in heaven.
Effortlessly, the Babel team have created an inclusive menu that showcases their fresh produce and livestock. Here is a menu conceptualised to tease and please through inventive flavour-combinations and -profiles. I want a morsel of each plate because each description is as mouth-watering as the last.
We settle on a Green introduction to share between the two of us. Trish suggests that we enjoy our dish with the recommended wine pairing, so we agree.
Following a citrus amuse bouche, Trish brings a beautifully plated spinach tortellini with roasted quince and ricotta served on a bed of burnt sage and macadamia butter. Julienne apples and pears, grated Parmesan and a wedge of lime garnish the dish.
While I am tasked with the responsibility of apportioning the starter, a plate of freshly baked breads arrives with our glasses of Babylonstoren Candide. There is a hasty toast, and then there is culinary release. Mischa and I concern ourselves with our plates for the time it takes us to try all the dish’s elements individually and then together.
Onlooking diners must be perplexed by my perplexed expression but my palate cannot seem to comprehend the harmony of such strong flavours. A combination of spinach and sage ordinarily produces an inescapable saltiness, but the ricotta mutes it perfectly. The nuttiness of macadamia married with the earthy flavour of spinach always works, so when I like try it and like it I’m not surprised. Punching right through the texture, the crunch of the fresh apple and pear adds a slight acidity I didn’t think I needed until I squeeze some lime over what’s left on my plate. That livens up the leaves and parmesan pairing in an exciting way.
I turn to the neglected bread and break off a mouthful. My second helping is dipped into the homemade balsamic vinegar and olive oil poured from the beakers they’ve been decanted into on the table. When I reach out the third time, I take an entire slice.
I don’t want to fill myself, but this pear bread is challenging all my previously held opinions about what constitutes savoury and/or sweet. A gluttonous lashing of almond butter would make an already delicious experience better.
“Are you ready for your mains,” Trish asks. Our smiling faces are answer enough.
My date and I progress to the next course. While she has opted for the aubergine dish, and added a char-grilled lamb cutlet, I am indulging in the vegan-friendly risotto. We’re both pairing our plates with the recommended wine, and we’ve ordered farm vegetables to complement our entree.
I smell the sweetness of the star anise before Trish has put my plate down, and am instantly transported back to winters in Grahamstown; snuggled in bed with a mug of gluhwein. I drizzle some lime over the pile of magenta risotto and dig my spoon in.
Very few restaurants can execute al dente. Therefore, I am grateful to note that the risotto is crunchy, the toasted almonds in the dish are crunchier, and that the salt I add at my own discretion is the crunchiest thing on the plate. The coconut cream dolloped atop the Babylonstoren Carnaroli rice is the perfect amount, and counteracts the acidity of the beetroot.
Giving my palate a break, I gravitate towards the garden vegetables. The colourful assortment of carrots and marrows are delicious, having been cooked perfectly and tossed in some olive oil, salt and rosemary. I eat entirely too many roasted potatoes.
Mischa allows me a few forkfuls from her plate. It is a sin to not pair aubergine with a tangy sauce of some sort. The piquant Romesco Babel whips up is inspired, and added to the tahini vegetables makes every mouthful a treat. There is no doubt in either of our minds, the Babel staff know good food; they know flavours and textures, they have a command of spices, they are comfortable with creating complex combinations and achieving depth.
Babel staff know good food.
Perhaps it is the intimate setting, and the wonderful company, and the marvelous food, but I feel out dinner has reached its pinnacle. There is nothing Trish can bring out that will top the gorgeous main meal I’ve just enjoyed. I want to quit while I’m still ahead, but dessert is what will complete the entire experience.
Since we have come to the end of our dinner, my date and I agree that sharing a Bitter Sweet pudding is an apt choice for the situation.
A rooibos and rose geranium panna cotta arrives. I dip the back of my spoon into the moat surrounding the pudding to taste the carob syrup. It is extremely sweet. I still taste the chocolatey spiciness when I reach for a glass of water. With each gulp I swallow a little less syrup that has coated the inside of my mouth. Though the panna cotta is too grainy for me, like the cream hadn’t been strained thoroughly, Mischa is happy with the taste and texture. So I leave her to it, nibbling on the kumquats and soft citrus that decorate the plate instead.
Our hospitable host comes to check on us a final time before we retire to the Babylonstoren cottages for the night. We shower her in nothing but praise that we urge her to pass on to the rest of the Babel team. Returning to the dark of night, I am already preparing myself for the exceptional breakfast we get to gorge ourselves on in the morning.
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Want more? The #scullerymaiden is giving you all the glorious details of the stay at Babylonstoren, from the wine tour and tasting to sun downers atop the famed farm's hill.
I also got to stay at Derwent House Boutique Hotel, read all about that here. If you're planning a sunny getaway to #capetown, I have wonderful winter warmer accommodations listicle for you to consider.