Winter has draped her beautiful green and yellow cape over all of us in the Swartland. The wheat fields are green and everywhere you look, the canola stands in bright yellow attire, smiling at one and all. For us as a family, this is an incredibly special time of the year. We welcome as much rain that can possibly be bestowed to us and our farm Môrester’s vines and orchards rest for the blooming new season of spring and summer.
If you have never had the opportunity to visit the Swartland during this time of the year, we urge you to do so. Judging by the feedback we’ve received from people visiting our shop, the Namakwaland flowers are also in full bloom and are extra spectacular this year. With the added perk of provincial travel opened up once more, you certainly have more than enough reason to make a pit stop in Riebeek Kasteel en-route to all the many different gems the West Coast has to offer.
2020 has been challenging for most, but we really feel like we should highlight how blessed we felt and remain feeling throughout the madness. Most of our regular customers, who could not visit us in person, remained loyal throughout. In many ways, it was their desire to keep using our products during lockdown that really spiraled into us ironing out details of online orders and door to door deliveries throughout South Africa. The idea of an online store for Het Vlock Casteel has always been a great dream for Ansie and Jolise, and soon, armed with all the additional experience gained during this crazy beautiful year, we are pleased to announce we’ll be launching this very special online shop very soon. Please keep a close eye on our Facebook and Instagram page for more details.
In the meantime, spend more than R400 and qualify for free delivery in and around Cape Town.
If you missed it, Ansie Vlok also nearly broke the internet with her debut video for our shop. After the olive harvest, we spent one afternoon with Ansie, where she shared some of the (really simple) secrets of curing olives. We were amazed at all the positive feedback! Thank you! Ansie is now all warmed up and ready to share more secrets soon. If you missed some of Ansie videos, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel where we’ll be sharing many more secret recipes soon.
If you have missed olive harvest season all-together, but would like to share in the magic of curing your own olives, remember we have 5L buckets with Kalamatas in in 10% salt solution, ready for curing in your own unique recipe in about 12 months time. If you don’t know which recipe to try, Ansie was generous enough to throw in one of her secrets. So contact us today if you want in on some of the olive magic of 2020. It is such a rewarding thing to cure your own olives!
The Het Vlock Casteel Shop always has something new and exciting to share. If it is not Ansie’s recipes, our Swartland community brings its own dose of natural goodness and inspiration. One such community member, also extremely dear to our hearts, is Hendriette van Zyl. Hendriette is a beekeeper of note. She has a real love for these important creatures of the eco-system and has since started stepping up in the beekeeping game. We now sell the honey on tap in the shop.
What is that saying? Saving the best for last? We’d like to end our update on a high note and congratulate Ansie and her team for the Silver medal for Extra Virgin Olive Oil at the SA Olive Awards 2020, last week. We’re extremely proud of this achievement and it is a delight to share in the wonders of olive oil with fellow olive oil producers and the broader South African palate!
We hope you are all keeping warm, and should you need some warmth, we’ll welcome you in the warm heart of the Swartland very soon!
Love from Riebeek Kasteel,
HET VLOCK CASTEEL & THE VLOK FAMILY
Kan ek asb weer die resep kry hoe om olywe in te lê wat julle 2 jaar gelede saam met die houers olywe voorsien het – die een waar jy die sous kook en oor die olywe gooi. Ek het die resep verloor. Dankie