Imagination Re-Planted / Cape Town

Imagination Re-Planted / August 2022 / Cape Town, South Africa

Coffee shop by day, sophisticated Secret dinner location by night… Truth Coffee, with its exposed beams, iridescent lights hanging from the ceiling and steampunk decor was the perfect venue for a candid two night affair. Chef Marcus Gericke took our guests on a 7-course culinary journey re-imagining plant-based food in surprising and delightful ways, paired with Nativo wines from Malmsbury.

As usual, guests were kept in the dark until the day of, when the first Secret - the venue - was revealed. They found themselves knocking on the door of Truth Coffee that evening, where they were met by a dashing doorman and transported back in time to a fantasy world of Victorian Era Industrialism. Up the steel staircase, welcome drinks awaited them - a crisp glass of Viognier, a new wine in the Nativo collection called The Bees.

As guests mingled, our Chef and his team came up to meet them with canapes hidden inside a number of bamboo steamers - another secret. As Chef Marcus opened the steamers, clouds of white fog poured out of the bowls, drawing us in to have a look closer. A trio of canapes sat inside, including a baba ganoush that was created using aubergine offcuts from another dish, delicately roasted and reduced to a thick paste, bursting with flavour. Zero waste. This welcomed guests with a taste of what’s to come.

Chef Marcus uses seasonal vegetables, sourced from local farms in the area. He is passionate about his ingredients, their origin, and the relationships he has with his suppliers. His SecretEATS menu truly embodied this, as does his menu at Darren Badenhurst’s Le Coin Francais, where he works as head chef. His passion and playful creativity to go the extra mile with his plant-based creations are what drew us to bring Chef Marcus on board for our second exclusively plant-based Secret dinner experience in Cape Town.

Once we’d had a bite, we led our guests downstairs to join the table. An assortment of plants from Plantify brought the room to life with greenery, juxtaposed against the steel and copper that is synonymous with the steampunk theme of the coffee shop. Beautiful hand-poured candles by local artisan, Okra Candles, lit up the table with a luminous glow. Wine glasses were filled and guests took their seats to eagerly await the next dish.

The first appetiser was watermelon - marinated in ponzu sauce, garnished with balsamic onion pearls, caramelised onion jus, popped sorghum, slices of radish. A truly surprising entree! The texture of the fruit is completely changed by the marinade, closely resembling tuna. This was served with a chilled glass of Nativo Blanco, a blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, and Grenache Blanc.

The next appetiser was a bowl of sweet potato dumplings and slow roasted, tender and juicy teriyaki aubergine, served with a mildly spicy kimchi and enveloped in a creamy sauce. Amongst oo’s and aah’s and “I can’t believe that's aubergine”, we think it is safe to assume this dish was a stand-out. Perfectly paired with the Nativo Flora, a blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc & Grenache Blanc, aged in oak barrels with a slightly tangy, nutty flavour.

The palette cleanser was served in Truth coffee mugs. A silky almond milk semi-fredo with Chef Marcus’s “vegan honey” and chamomile foam. This cleansed our palettes to move onto the gorgeous Nativo Red called The Birds; an easy drinking blend of Mourvèdre, Shiraz, Grenache, Tempranillo, and Pinotage, served with our main - the butternut.

The butternut dish was Sunday lunch reincarnated. Slow cooked butternut was infused with spices that are synonymous with lamb, served with dukkah and a wedge of polenta. Chef Marcus used Nativo’s Tempranillo to create a balanced, full bodied, moreish jus that tied the dish together and transported us to nostalgic Sunday feasts with family and friends. What more could you ask for?

On to dessert and another opportunity for Chef Marcus to surprise us once again, choosing to celebrate the most unusual ingredient as the star - cauliflower. Using a very particular vegan ingredient that mimics gelatin, Chef turned cauliflower into a panna cotta! Decorated with tangy lime flowers, crumble, and citrus gel, we tucked in and sipped on an equally surprising wine. Nativo paired their earthy, citrus “orange wine” called Amarillo for this course - a unique wine in both looks and flavour profile. This wine was also paired with our sweet finale - a vegan marshmallow petit four. A perfectly sweet ending to a gorgeous evening.

Before we wrapped up, we drew the winners of the Raffle - Nativo donated a wine farm tour and tasting. Congratulations to our winners! All proceeds from the raffle will support The Wild Vegan Farm Animal Sanctuary, to assist them in taking care of their animals and maintaining their property. We love to give back and do our part at SecretEATS.

A final thank you to our SecretEATS photographer, Dylan Louw, for perfectly capturing the evening.

Are you curious about joining a SecretEATS experience? Request an invite and find out about our upcoming events in your city.