From the Series
Held at Spier wine estate in late October, the Spier Secret Festival was a two-day celebration of food and wine. Design Indaba attended the conference session on the first day, highlighted by talks by international food and eating designers including Marije Vogelzang and Robert Sayre of Conflict Kitchen.
As part of the programme attendees enjoyed a wine-blending session of three Spier varietals, Shiraz, Mourvedre and Viognier, to make their own unique SMV. As could be expected the day was peppered with an array of amazing meals. Breakfast was a do-it-yourself smorgasbord of natural delights, while the lunch menu comprised "nose-to-toe cow" and the "secret dinner" involved the whole roasting of two ostriches clad in clay that were baked in a fire in the ground. This clay-cooking technique has been used by Vogelzang to bake root vegetables, which are then smashed open with a hammer before eating. This event marked the first occasion that she applied the technique to something as large as an ostrich.
Watch our interview with Marije Vogelzang at the Spier Secret Festival here >