Lunch at The Table with the Hello Pretty team
Towards the end of last year, we were lucky enough to spend one lazy Sunday together, drinking wine and absolutely gorging ourselves on the most incredible food.
It was a pretty great opportunity just to be together outside of work, unplugged, to reflect on our year. It just gave us a rare quiet moment (or like, three hours worth of lunch) to talk about what we had achieved, and what we wanted to achieve in 2015. Because we are all constantly moving and travelling, to be able to do that together is really rare, and we couldn't have asked for a better setting.
We headed out to The Table at De Meye on the most beautiful day with the top down, wind in our hair, Taylor Swift blaring. (Shame. Our one male team member has ZERO say in our music choices.)
We were welcomed with a complimentary wine tasting, and obviously all left clutching new bottles - the wine is delicious, easy to drink almost any time (our favourite) and super well priced. What a win.
But then the food. Oh the food. I don't even know where to start. Actually just look for yourself:
That my friends, in amongst the vineyards, under the trees, is a beetroot tarte tatin with sour cream and "magic greens" (a mix of over 20 micro herb, vegetable and salad leaves). I DON'T EVEN LIKE BEETROOT! And there I was shoveling it in my face like a fat kid with cake.
Jess Shepard, you are a wizard.
Other amazing treats on the menu included
- Homemade ricotta whipped with lemon and thyme
- Pickled grapes
- Broad beans (from Spiers biodynamic garden) mashed with goats pecorino, garlic and olive oil
- Schoon de Companje bread and Hjike real farm butter
- Slow braised pork neck with crackling and roast potatoes
- And then the most beautiful desert: rhubarb ice cream with strawberry compote and rose geranium jelly
...
Sorry, I just had to take a second there. I was having a minor saliva situation.
But basically, the point of this post is to highly recommend going there. The people are kiff, the venue is drop dead gorgeous, and the food is basically art. It's fancy without the fuss, laid back without skimping on quality or details.
The folks who run the place are husband and wife team Luke and Jess, and they're really lovely people - I emailed back and forth about changing bookings and increasing table sizes and all sorts of nonsense beforehand (Ja I was *that* person), and they handled it with incredible grace, and welcomed us like family when our windswept selves finally arrived. (Driving with the top down has its pros, but also it's cons.)
And the dog is a real sweetie too!
Treat yo'self. Email jess.chef@gmail.com for bookings. Thank me later.
