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nelson mandela bay's family lifestyle
author:
theunis pienaar
flowers & food
photography:
zuko, lifegate photography
issue:
7, spring 2008
Spring-time is the perfect time for dining, surrounded by nature's fresh splendor. Leonard Palframan and his team at the Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant offer us exactly this opportunity. people talk magazine stepped into this beautiful world of flowers and food, discovering a wonderful restaurant, as well as Leonard's secret recipe for their very popular Carrot Cake and an idea for cooking tasty ribs. “I basically grew up with food,” explains Leonard. “We lived in Uitenhage and my mother always had some kind of business that took care of people's hunger. At one time it was a take-away restaurant in the Sunday's River-area and later it was a wonderful Italian Restaurant, called Giovani's. We always helped, serving guests, washing dishes, even jumping in and cooking when the place became busy.” Today, Leonard runs the Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant, which he co-owns with Sherwood Garden Centre owner, Bernard Wolf. “At the time my wife and I ran a small catering company called Zest Catering. We did confectionary for various retailers and catered for smaller functions. Bernard and I became friends and when the restaurant opportunity came up, we grabbed it with everything we have. It has been almost two years now and we are loving it.” The Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant was originally opened by Shaun Merick, more than eleven years ago and a lot of the current menu is still Merick's legacy. “We have many unique dishes on our menu, food prepared and presented in a way you won't find at other restaurants. Off course, the setting inside this garden centre adds so much value. The Centre is evolving into much more than a nursery – it is almost becoming a lifestyle centre, just off Walker Drive. We have a kiddies clothing store, called Luka's World, most of what you need for your Koi pond is available, we have a children's play area & petting zoo, as well as a florist and the restaurant.” October is always a busy time at the Sherwood Garden Centre & The Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant. Then the centre hosts the Kirstenbosch Chelsea Flower Show, which has already been featured on numerous television shows. “The last two weeks of October is really a flurry of flowers and food.” Leonard's food-experience did not end with his mother's restaurants. After finishing high school he was conscripted into the military where he spent 4½ years, before returning to manage Giovani's in Uitenhage. Then Leonard spread his wings, spending almost eight years working for different SPUR restaurants. “That was a very good time and I learnt a lot about service, effectively managing a restaurant and making good food at affordable prices.” During this time Leonard and his wife spent some time in the Cape Town area as well, in order to enable his wife, Adel, to study interior decorating at Design Time. “Adel also grew up in Uitenhage and we even dated for a while at high school. Then life did its thing and we lived separate lives for a time, only to re-discover each other years down the line. We didn't let happiness slip our fingers again – we married and now have a beautiful family. Luka is twelve. She goes to Lorraine Primary. Jerico, our youngest is five. Children really make your life meaningful. It is nice to be able to raise them in your own way, learning from your own childhood and adding value to their childhood experiences. They're a busy pair, but we love each other profusely and enjoy every moment of the life we are afforded.” As we talk, Cedric, Leonard's trusted restaurant manager, serve us with coffee and the infamous Khoi San Carrot Cake. Delicious! The kids are a bit hungrier and Cedric brings them spare ribs, prepared with Leonard's famous rib-sauce. “No, I didn't steal the recipe form another restaurant,” he laughingly adds, as the children eat away. “The sauce is a combination of old family recipes and own experience.” He agrees to bless us with the recipe, but adds: “I won't be able to give you quantities. I don't cook with perfect quantities. Even if I follow a recipe book, I rather look at the combination of ingredients and mix it up to my own taste – so you'll have to be satisfied with a dash of this and a handful of that. Maybe then one day you can boast your own rib-sauce that evolved from my ideas.” The Carrot Cake Recipe, at least, is a bit more scientific, with specified quantities. “The food at the Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant is quality food – there is no other way to describe it. You get good value, without any compromise on your eating experience. Our breakfasts are to die for. Our lunches are the perfect escape from the days rush and at our evening functions we prepare a scrumptious menu, of your choice, that will suit your occasion perfectly.” The Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant is open in the evening, on bookings only, for private functions. “We do whatever function you may need. We're very popular for weddings. We can seat up to 120 guests, should there be no dancing and if you want a dance floor, we limit guests to forty couples. The Garden Center's magnificent plants and flowers make this a very romantic, fairy-tale venue. Weddings aren't our only specialty. We also do corporate functions, year-end functions, stork parties, birthdays & anniversaries. Recently we had the wedding anniversary of a couple that celebrated 50 years of marriage. We enjoy the functions. It gives us the opportunity to share people's joy and even add to it. That is very fulfilling.” On Sunday's the Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant serve a fantastic Sunday Roast. The children run free between the restaurant, play-area and petting zoo, while the family enjoy an excellent meal. Another claim to fame for this restaurant is that it is one of only two restaurants in Nelson Mandela Bay that serves PURO coffee. “Over and above that it is awesome coffee - it is also a fair-trade product. We believe in ethical business. We don't overcharge and we provide the best possible food, matched by excellent service.” It seems, at the Khoi San Tea Garden Restaurant you can have your cake and eat it. Everything is freshly baked on-site. Leonard and Cedric is ever present, ensuring that no compromises are made and the surroundings are so wonderful, there could be no better “spring-eating” experience.
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