Five wonder women of the Winelands

The Western Cape’s labour-intensive tourism and hospitality sector might be reeling from punches doled out by Covid-19 and national government’s sometimes baffling response to the pandemic but, for these women, there’s no such thing as being punch-drunk when their worlds are in uproar.

Viruses and politicians have them bugged but not beaten; for them the show goes on even though it has been projected that well more than a million jobs might be lost in the beleaguered sector.

Siena Charles

Siena Charles.

Soup kitchen “mother”: Kylemore In 2003, with a husband seriously ill and only a packet of dried peas in her pantry, Siena Charles says she “buried her pride and asked a neighbour for help”. That help was immediately forthcoming in the form of “sopbene, fresh vegetables … all the ingredients for a bowl of soup that would keep my family for today and maybe tomorrow”.

With the pot bubbling on the stove, there was a knock at her door and two children asked if “Antie Siena” could spare a slice of bread. “I said no but that they could get some soup if they went home and fetched bowls – but didn’t tell anyone else!” No sooner fetched than fed. There was another knock at the door and this time there were 10 kids.

“What could I say? I fed them and there was just enough left over for my husband and two daughters when they returned from school.” Within a week she opened a soup kitchen which, at the time The Citizen visited her Beker en Bord Tee Tuin in Kylemore (off Helshoogte, between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek) was feeding more than 500 people several times a week as lockdown leaves the farm-working community floored.

Brenda Karamba

Restaurant manager and sommelier: Majeka House.

After obtaining a university degree in business administration in India, Brenda Karamba returned to her native Zimbabwe but couldn’t find work. She headed to SA and joined newly opened Stellenbosch boutique hotel Majeka House in November 2011.

Drive and competence saw her become one of SA’s first black sommeliers and rise to manager of the hotel’s acclaimed restaurant, Makaron.

“The only time I see my children and family is when Majeka House closes for June and July but the lockdown was announced and borders were closed. I try to live within my means, saving as much as I can to send home to Harare, so I had enough money to live on. Some of my colleagues were not so lucky …”

With UIF payments to “foreign workers” not forthcoming, Brenda began to play “mom” to the other Zimbabweans in Makaron. “In the beginning, they had enough money to pay the rent but not enough to feed themselves. I helped out where I could.”

Callan Williams

Callan Williams

Vintner: The Garajeest If the worst experiences are those from which you grow most, says Callan Williams, then she’s grown a lot since the end of March. A Zimbabwean who went to school in Johannesburg, Callan surprised her parents by electing to study animal husbandry at Stellenbosch University before she fell in love with the science and chemistry of making wine. She started her wine-making career at Iona Vineyards in Elgin before moving on to Elgin Ridge.

“I decided to go out on my own – still sourcing grapes from the Elgin area – creating single varietal wines that suited by personal style, when I was 24 years old.” Her wines are “inspired by my favourite musicians” – the Jim Semillon is named after The Doors’ lead singer while who else could the Bruce Cabernet Franc pay tribute to but “The Boss”?

As a small producer whose primary target market has traditionally been local, the prohibition-style response to combating Covid-19 has been devastating. “Right now, I’m doing all I can to secure export contracts but, unfortunately, not all international markets are amenable to bringing in foreign wines.”

Vanie Padayachee

Chef living in Franschhoek From working for over a decade in one of SA’s most famous restaurants, Le Quartier Francais, to owning her own (Marigold) before heading to East Africa to join the cuisine team at Africa’s most luxurious “safari” company … counts as little for Vanie Padayachee.

“Right now,” she says, “I’m home in Franschhoek but a long way from my ‘family’ at Singita’s tented camp at Sabora in Tanzania, where I started work about a year ago.” She laughs and points at herself: “Can you imagine, a pukka Durban girl becoming a bush baby?”

Vanie has spent lockdown preparing food in her own kitchen for those less fortunate. Individuals and organisations provide her with ingredients and she quietly gets on with cooking nutritious and delectable meals in her unique style. “I’ve also learned to say no to people … especially those who ask me to come round to their homes and provide private cooking classes for them and their friends.”

Jeanneret Momberg

CEO: Visit Stellenbosch The tourism and hospitality-affiliated organisations in Stellenbosch agreed late last year to form a single entity to promote the town and its multiplicity of attractions. Christened “Visit Stellenbosch”, the 250-member body was about to launch its inaugural marketing campaign when disaster struck … Having all the role players sitting around a single table has been a godsend in responding to the pandemic, she says.

“There is a tremendous sense of community in Stellenbosch but unification has made it so much easier to get things done. I grasped the reality and scope of the challenges facing us very soon after lockdown was announced and Visit Stellenbosch played a leading role in providing emergency food supplies and feeding schemes to the worst-affected communities.

“We called this initiative #Stellenbosch Unite and one of its core elements entailed top chefs and high-profile restaurants teaming up to help fight hunger.”

Visit Stellenbosch is working on a recovery plan and has received endorsement from the World Travel and Tourism Council as a “safe” destination for the day when international travel is again allowed.

– news@citizen.co.za

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