The June outing was to discover the new Foodie Route which has started in Darling.
Thirty of us headed out of the city on a lovely day – despite the fact that reports indicated that a cold front would bring rain and lowered temperatures.
Our first stop was Darling Sweets where Fritz was ready and waiting in his tasting room to tell the ladies how they started; very encouraging to see how they’ve grown! From a little shop into their own premises in a very short while. Everyone enjoyed tasting their Tannie Evita’s toffee; liquorice toffee (which doesn’t make your mouth black!); and red wine toffee! Of course, many boxes of toffees found their way back onto the coach. Another favorite product is their newly launched toffee spread – decadent!
Next stop was Evita se Perron where many enjoyed a cup of coffee whilst others headed to the Flying Pig where Gil Ferriera specialises in Charcuterie! Gil did a tasting of his bacon jam; and his various salamis. He also makes his own bacon. Gil admits to not having bought bacon in 8 years! “If you don’t like bacon then you’re wrong” is a sign in the Flying Pig – very apt!
It was soon time to head out to the industrial area, where Darling Brew is situated. Here the beer fans were soon tasting the various brands: labels like ‘Daring Slow’; ‘Bone Crusher’ and ‘Black Mist’; to name a few. Lunch was typical pub fare – cheese platters (with local cheese supplied by Carla Bryan in Darling); cheese and meat platters; braai platters; and burgers. Pity the service is somewhat haphazard and many people received their burgers cold due to the long line of them being made close to the open door. This problem was quickly rectified with new, hot burgers being prepared. The chocolate pudding at the end of the meal went down well!
Final stop on the way hime, along the R27, was to Rosemead Artisan Bakery and Patisserie where Brett and his wife, Anli bake bread for Darling; and even deliver their artisan bread to Cape Town. It was a pity that all bread was ‘sold out’. – better to do this stop early in the morning in future.
Darling is only 80km from Cape Town, so it was a very pleasant day and with it being school holidays we had very little traffic to contend with.