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Franschhoek Food Icon Topsi Venter : Dies at 85

Franschhoek Food Icon Topsi Venter : Dies at 85 1

Topsi Venter Update:

A Celebratory Ceremony will be held for TOPSI at her old restaurant (currently Cafe des Artes) in Franschhoek on Friday 29 July at 12h00 noon.
Those who loved her and would like to join us please share something that was meaningful in her life, such as quinces, colours, candles, pomegranates, parrots, Bubbly and butterflies, cheeses, wine, dried fruits and nuts, flowers or persimmons, laughter, music and friendship…plus you are allowed to wear your crazy hat!!
For any more input contact Danielle on 0733 881404

Another sad post and day in Hospitality and Franschhoek.

I hadn’t moved to Franschhoek in the days of Topsi’s famed food but to this day there is not a moment when Ms Topsi would be on a stroll and someone wouldn’t either recognize and greet her or remind you of her adored restaurant tucked beside the library and a little stream.

NatanielProducts

I would read about Topsi’s love for local cuisine, she believed in the Franschhoek village and the talent that grew in the quaint town and not forgetting her love for dried fruit and use of red chilli jam that she used to produce back in the day for musician Nataniel’s Kaalkop label.

Delicious with a round of Camembert!

To all who loved Topsi – a Celebratory Gathering will be held on Friday 29th July in Franschhoek. Time and venue to be confirmed as I am still looking for a venue that suits her personality, any suggestions/options would be greatly appreciated…..my cell no. is 0733 881404.
With love and gratitude for all the support.
Danielle and family

Danielle

Topsi Venter, like Alice in Wonderland tumbling down the rabbit hole, just ‘fell’ into food.

Her culinary adventures are equally fantastical: a creative mélange of cooking, teaching, food art and, finally, a quirky bistro in Franschhoek – and modern South African cuisine is all the richer for it.

Topsi Venter and conventional are words that are unlikely to appear in the same sentence.

Born in Bloemfontein, she has been called Topsi since she can remember (her real name is Pauline), and recalls a love of good food instilled since childhood: ‘We grew up as a family who enjoyed our food, and fine dining became a very special ritual which has never left me.

A cultural-creative, Topsi studied art history, architecture and musical appreciation. In the 60s, she attended food lectures, and it was here she met Lesley Faull, founder of Silwood Kitchen School of Cordon Bleu Cookery. Though never classically trained, Topsi later mentored hundreds of students from the school.

Whilst teaching art history, a friend nominated her to become a public service officer for the South African Dried Fruit Board. She got the job, and South African cook Topsi Venter’s food odyssey began.

Natural talent and an uncommon ability to capture the terroirof South African food (some say Topsi is the terroir) on a plate soon saw Topsi open her first restaurant, Hatfield House, in 1983, in Cape Town. The Wild Fig restaurant followed, and so did her adoring diners.

Topsi Venter, South African cook, then headed up the kitchen at Roggeland Country House in Paarl, where she cemented her reputation for re-inventing traditional food, using only the freshest, finest quality ingredients.

A well-earned sabbatical followed, but friends and ex-clients pestered Topsi to return to food full time. Topsi set her sights on the Cape’s foodie capital Franschhoek, where she now runs her restaurant, Topsi & Co, together with her daughter Danielle, who is married to master chef Robert Rittel.

For Venter every flavour has a meaning and an origin. Ever the contrarian, Topsi’s food has been described as inventive, adventurous and, sometimes, whimsical – much like the diminutive kitchen goddess herself.

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