My birthday falls in the beginning of the year and this ensures a party and celebrations even in the first week of January for me! This year, K surprised me by making the most delicious chocolate mousse cake and then taking me to a fancy six-course meal at the Roots Restaurant. A thousand brownie points for him!!

Roots is located at the Forum Homini hotel,among the tranquil surrounds of the Cradle of Humankind. Although the drive to the place took us an hour, it was well worth it. Away from the city’s traffic and crowds, the Roots offers its diners gourmet cuisine amidst the peace and quiet of nature.

The philosophy of the restaurant and its executive chef Adriaan Maree is very simple –  use light and seasonal ingredients to create the perfect balance of taste and flavours. The night of our dinner, we were treated to the likes of shell fish, quail, springbok and pork belly.

The ‘warm-up’, as our waiter put it, was a delightful selection of freshly baked breads and scones, served with butter and dukkah (an Egyptian condiment consisting of a mixture of herbs, nuts, and spices). The first course of cured kabeljou with pickled cucumber was bursting with flavours. The radish and truffle emulsion further enhanced the taste and lightened the fishiness of the kabeljou.

The next course was marron (a type of cray fish) made in a delicately flavoured bouillabaisse broth and served with a potato fondant. The broth was simply divine and the marron absolutely fresh. The plating of all the dishes so far, had been immaculate.

Next on the menu were bite sized servings of pork belly and the most juicy and soft quail I have tried. These were combined with broad beans and pickled cabbage.

Before the main course was served, we were offered some strawberry sorbet to cleanse the palate. Springbok was to be the main course that night. The presentation was perfect. The porcini and the pickled shimeji mushrooms cooked to perfection. However, the springbok itself was very chewy. The meat was tough and it was the only disappointment that night.

Easing into desserts, we were first served a beautiful Banana Napolean with salted caramel. Not being a big fan of sweet thing, I loved the mix of sweet and salty on the palate.

The final course consisted of dark chocolate splendour served with dried labneh, strawberry sorbet and meringue. Albeit by this time I was totally stuffed, I could not resist the intense flavours of the dark chocolate, tempered with the sweetness of the sorbet.

And just when I thought that dinner was finally over (it too three hours), I was presented with my very own birthday surprise – a chocolate cake topped with strawberries!

Roots was a wonderful experience and I would definitely like to go back for a brunch in order to soak in some of the atmosphere and maybe perhaps spend a night in one of their wonderful rooms!

Information:

Pricing: R320 per person for a six-course dinner. A wine-pairing option is also available at an additional cost. Please check out their website for more details.

Address: Letamo Game Estate, Kromdraai Road R540, Kromdraai, 1739