Organic farm meets top chef to spark a flavour explosion

“We specialise in farming for flavour,” says Iming Lin, founder and farmer of Hout Bay’s Meuse Farm, a fully organic, pesticide-free farm that has been supplying the Cape’s top restaurants with produce for almost six years.

In a world of cold chains, GMOs, mass-supply and grown-to-last produce, in which so much of what we consume merely tastes of fridge, how wonderfully refreshing it is to find someone intent on farming for flavour. The tart meets sweet and savoury of a ripe tomato, the vegetal earthiness of an aubergine or the silky smooth, rich sweetness of the koginut squash.

Iming and Meuse have come in conversation with chefs throughout the city, and it’s been on my radar for a while. So it was with much excitement that I found myself at Meuse. Despite the rainy autumn afternoon, about 30 of us have gathered here for this event hosted on Meuse.

With the farm as her backdrop, Iming captivates the audience as she regales us with her journey to Meuse: how the farm began, why it is fully organic and how it operates using no pesticides, organic or otherwise.

We hear about the 150 varieties of 50 different crops that the farm cycles through and the importance of cover crop and feeding the soil, ensuring the right bacteria and fungi required to ensure flavour and quality of produce. Her passion for what she does is infectious and it’s no surprise that given the input her produce is of such fine quality.

Farm feast

She casually mentions interning at New York’s Stone Barns. Those in the know will be aware it’s the very same centre for food and agricultural where you’d find Daniel Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a chef and restaurant that has been at the forefront of the farm-to-table and ethical cooking movement.

It’s a connection that makes why we are all here make all the more sense. Tonight, in two simple cabins of wood and glass overlooking the farm, we’ll be treated to a farm feast — cooked over fire — by one of the country’s top chefs, Ryan Cole.

Cole’s focus on local, responsibly sourced ingredients has led to a steady supply of Meuse Farm produce being incorporated into his dishes at his Camp’s Bay restaurant, Salsify at The Roundhouse, and the formation of a close working relationship with Iming. The collaboration in many ways brings the two’s shared ethos full circle.

The menu for the evening has been developed using Meuse Farm’s organic produce, fish line-caught by the chef, and a select few ingredients foraged from the surrounding areas and sourced from local, responsible suppliers. Everything is cooked over a rustic fire pit between the two wooden cabins.

“It’s cooking in the wild here” jokes Cole, who has been battling the inclement weather and the searing heat of the fire for most of the afternoon, though he’s clearly in his element.

Next, gorgeous cuts of freshly caught tuna are smoked on pine over the fire, seared and served with blue corn tortilla wraps — the corn one of the unique crops grown by Iming have a naturally blue hue — heerebone purée and a khakibos pesto. It’s a fantastic expression of fresh local produce.

Onto mains and it’s time for “steak, not steak”, the chef having foraged impressively meaty porcinis, which he has cooked over fire the same way he would a steak. This was accompanied by a mushroom ragout, a variety of aubergine from the farm, cooked two ways, and some hearty grains in the form of millet and putu pap.

The meal came to a close with the koginut — a hybrid of kabocha squash and butternut squash, with a creamy texture and sweeter taste — farmed for flavour. The chef has used it as the base for a rather clever little twist on a cinnamon bun, which is served with a vanilla anglaise and marshmallow, charred with a branch from the smouldering fire.

The idea for these dinners came about as a way to celebrate their common vision: creating a place to celebrate shared ethics in seasonal, well-sourced ingredients, their love of the outdoors, and the simple pleasure of time spent with good company. And that’s exactly what they delivered.