Food & Home Entertaining – September 2019

CHEFS LOVE WORKING
WITH ABALOBI FISH FOR
ITS FRESHNESS AND
EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY.
THE SATISFACTION OF
GIVING BACK TO FISHING
COMMUNITIES AND
THE EDUCATION THEY
ARE RECEIVING ABOUT
SUSTAINABILITY, WHICH IS
SO WELL COMMUNICATED
BY THE INITIATIVE, ARE
OTHER GREAT BENEFITS.

KERRY KILPIN, EXECUTIVE

CHEF, BISTRO SIXTEEN82,

STEENBERG FARM

“I want to do whatever I can so that

when my child is older, he can eat

fish!” This is what Steenberg Farm’s

Bistro Sixteen82’s executive chef

Kerry Kilpin told her long-time friend

Dr Serge Raemaekers when he asked

her to be the first chef to pilot Abalobi

Marketplace. Today she’s an Abalobi

evangelist and committed buyer:

“We sell a lot of fish; it’s a big part of

our menu,” she beams.

In the early days, Kerry and her team

met many of the fishers. “One day they

all came into the restaurant and we

fed them the fish they caught. They

got to see what all their hard work

looked like on a plate. It was incredibly

humbling,” she remembers. Abalobi’s

QR coding has also created a dynamic

interaction between staff, customers

and the fishers themselves. Kerry is

proudofBistroSixteen82’szerofish

wastage,achallengethatonlybegins

withfilleting.Bonesareusedforfish

stock,andremainingbitsoffishon

theboneareflakedandturnedinto

menuitemslikeAbalobiFishFritters,

servedoncourgette“spaghetti”,with

pan-friedmushroomsandacoconut,

lemongrassandgingervelouté.

Manystaffmembersare

descendantsoftraditionalfishing

families,makingtheinitiativeeven

moremeaningful.“Becausesomany

inourkitchenhavemomswhomake

greatpickledfish–eachwitha

differentrecipe–wecollaborated

andmadeourownBistroSixteen82

pickledfish,”Kerrysmiles.Thedish

iscurrentlyservedwithcoriander,

rouille,avocadomousse,tomato

salsaandacrispywonton.

STEENBERGROAD,TOKAI,7945,

CAPETOWN;021-713-2211;

STEENBERGFARM.COM

SUSTAINABLE FISH

WITH MUSHROOM &

CORN CROQUETTES

AND A TARRAGON

VELOUTÉ

FOODANDHOME.CO.ZA SEPTEMBER 2019 27

BUSINESS WATCH