Full bloom flavour at Kapokbos

Two-and-a-half years is a speck in time, but it’s also true that it’s enough for much to change.

When I last visited the Weltevrede farm in Bonnievale in late-2022, the Jonker family’s plans for the estate’s rejuvenation seemed more a romantic vision than in evidence. Today, the unfolding progress is clear, shiningly so in its newish restaurant, Kapokbos.

Kapokbos is the veld’s wild rosemary. A small bowl of the plant’s pillowy, popcorn-like white seeds sits on the counter of the open kitchen and the introduction to the menu has a poignant short story about the reason behind the restaurant’s euphonic name. 

Recently awarded a star in the 2025 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards, it was also singled out as the best destination dining venue — a motivating call to action for gastronomes, because it’s a longish drive from Cape Town.

Husband and wife chef and proprietors, Juan Fourie and Samantha Morris-Fourie, moved to the Cape countryside after hectic years on the Gauteng restaurant scene, then their own private chef operation requiring constant worldwide travel.

They’ve pared back significantly. Kapokbos doesn’t have exterior signage; a halved wooden wine barrel serves as the reception desk to the interior’s calm, sage-green shades and exposed brick, with a small fireplace in one corner. Compactness means just 13 tables, and apart from scattering a few more diners on the veranda outside during summer, it’s unlikely to expand.

“Our philosophy, even when we had our personal cheffing business, has always been to strive for quality over numbers, aiming for flavour, attention to detail and generosity,” says Fourie.

The menu encapsulated this — just five starters, five mains, and four desserts, and no elaborate descriptions — elegant simplicity reflecting confidence in the local produce and classic cooking techniques.

The menu’s focus necessitates our foursome discuss choices carefully to avoid duplications. We’re all inclined to bypass the skaapstertjies, but initial reticence is softened by our waiter’s enticing description and assurance that these “Karoo prawns” are better than oxtail. Greg is persuaded. First braaied, then braised to unctuousness, the tails are served on a bed of tart curried onions, offsetting the richness. He abandons cutlery and goes quiet before, plate cleaned, wondering why he has taken this long to indulge in these morsels.

“It’s the one dish we cannot change or take off the menu,” Morris-Fourie says later. 

The brawn starter has pearls of pickled vegetables and strands of sauerkraut embedded in the charcuterie, creating a stained-glass window effect on the plate. It’s a classy, far tastier version of the corned beef of her childhood, says Wendy, but it needs a fraction more binding, and “perhaps some Melba toast would make it less tricky to get in one’s mouth,” she opines.

Heather’s autumn tart is an elegant tower, layer upon layer of super-flaky puff pastry enrobing bite-sized beets, topped with a perfect quenelle of creamy ricotta and garnished with baby beetroot leaves and a verdant herb oil drizzle. My duck liver parfait is velvety, the umami richness mellowed by sweet preserved kumquats and a pile of salty crackers, a few of which I pass to Wendy.

Our waiter is bemused when I express surprise at the day’s main course special, silvers. He reminds me that the coast is only an hour’s drive away, adding that Kapokbos gets fresh fish almost daily from the fishing village of Struisbaai. I’m tempted, but having last enjoyed game bird a long time ago, I opt for what the menu lists straightforwardly as Fowl, which today is quail. Deboned, smoked, then stuffed with chicken farce, served with pine nuts, tender barley and chewy wild mushrooms, it’s delectable.

Heather’s mains choice is pork belly. The cut is served as a roulade, accompanied by crescents of autumn-spiced pumpkin and crunchy pumpkin seeds, a bittersweet creamy parsnip mash, and a floral quince purée. There are hints of sage, and the pork crackling — a prawn cracker or poppadom-like crisp nestling among the vegetables — is a surprising innovation.   

Our other mains are Karoo lamb and braised beef, both slow-cooked to perfection and served with intriguing accompaniments or flavour nuances: respectively, piquant slaphaksteentjie pickled onions, and Cape Malay aromatics and pomegranate seeds. We all have order envy, requiring more than a few shared forkfuls. 

An hour and another bottle of the estate’s mellow Cigarbox shiraz later, some of us can manage desserts. Greg’s passion fruit is the highlight. Served as a version of baked Alaska, sweet meringue crunch gives way to a coconutty curd, then fruit jelly cubes and a subtle verbena fragrance. New on the menu, both Fourie chefs wander across to ask how it is, concerned that it’s too big. “Not at all,” says Greg, adamantly. He sighs an appropriate last word for a memorable meal: “It’s a divine ending.”

A visit to Weltevrede is a treat for wine lovers. With two separate tasting rooms, an extraordinary underground museum — homage to heritage and an ode to chardonnay — and the serene vista of the Breede River valley, it’s unsurprising the estate won the Great Wine Capitals global network organisation’s 2023 Cape regional award for innovative wine tourism experiences.

Now, Kapokbos is an added drawcard, and an epicurean attraction in its own right. 

Kapokbos, Weltevrede Wine Estate, R317, Bonnievale, T 023 100 4182