This is the second time I've had Lance Littlefield on the show. Back on Episode 77 he was an absolute mine of information on the craft of baking sourdough bread. We were introduced to 'Alfonsina' his starter, and the wonders of Motherdough Bakery. Almost a year later, he and partner Willem van Schalkwyk have had their Stellenbosch store running for 6 months, and there are plans for another venue. In this episode though, with the upcoming Food Indaba in mind, I spoke to Lance about the use of AI in running the bakery. AI and the Food System is the theme of this year's Food Indaba so training a bot to make the production of a bakery more efficient and saving 25% or more on waste is a relevant conversation. Thanks so much for sharing your dabbling in these dark arts Lance.

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Order your Wagyu beef directly from the farmer at Zuney.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

I've known Christophe Dehosse for over a decade. The incredible bistro, deli and butchery he runs with his wife Susan is just round the corner from the site of my first Winelands restaurant. He was always good for a loooooong natter about the industry when I rocked up at Klein Joostenberg looking for ingredients, and some of the chefs I hold in high regard (like George Jardine and Rudi Liebenberg) consider him a bit of a legend. It was only when I interviewed Matthew Gordon from Franschhoek on the show recently, that I discovered that his trail of culinary crumbs and influences runs right back to the early beginnings of the Western Cape food miracle. We had a wide-ranging and fascinating chat about his adventures and his thoughts about the industry now. The original recording ran to 1h33 - so I had to chop it a bit. Truly a giant on the local food scene.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

In this episode I speak to Melanie Stewart who is the farm manager of Oranjezicht City Farm (OZCF). The farm and her Tea With A Farmer farm tours are part of the two week programme for the Food Indaba happening in Cape Town from 7th to 20th of July, 2025. The Food Indaba explores the possible impacts and benefits of AI on African food systems. We spoke about this and about the use of AI in an app that helps OZCF with crop rotation. We also spoke about their allotment system, public participation, and the produce boxes available weekly from the farm.

OZ City Farm website

Food Indaba website

reach out and tell me who you'd like to hear on the show or let's make a podcast together.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

Bertus Basson is an absolute biscuit. He has an uncanny instinct for opening places you love to visit and feeding you things you love to eat. He's also been a tremendous source of advice and support since we first met in 2008. Ongetem is his new restaurant - his first sit-down eatery in Cape Town, and he's opened it in Park Road, Gardens in the new Hilton Canopy Hotel. It's brand new, so I've only managed to eat an excellent breakfast there, but it's dripping in the biker-chic style that increasingly defines Bertus's easy dining. It's not exactly casual, as you can feast well there, and the front-of-house team is excellent, but you can also just pop in for a drink and a small bite. It's also surprisingly reasonable. Bertus and I - as always - had a really great chat.

Ongetem website

reach out and tell me who you'd like to hear on the show or let's make a podcast together.

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

With a vague idea of generating a passive income using a bunch of catering stuff he had in storage, Will Hobson has built an iconic hangout in Sea Point with business partner Stephanie Anastasopoulos. ' Arthur's Mini Super' is many things to many people. (It's not a passive income for anyone though.) It's a place to chill after a walk on the promenade or a yoga session, a co-working spot, a handy local deli for the bread and milk, a sandwich bar, somewhere to meet for drinks after work. It's just an awesome place to hang, with a fantastic playlist, run by fabulous people. Will found a moment to sit down and chat about Arthur's - how it came about, how it's going and how it intends to carry on.

Arthur's Mini Super

Zuney Wagyu

Russel Wasserfall Media

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

Well curated markets are fantastic places to discover new products. I found the most delicious roast pork belly croissant at the Candor market a while back. It was delicious and unexpected and the story behind the baker so interesting that I immediately invited her to chat to me on the show. Based on the idea of a circular economy, Candor is predominantly a vintage clothing and repurposed or up-cycled product market, but it also attracts some really interesting food vendors. I've already spoken to the peeps from Not Sad Food Co and Egg & Shoulders who had stalls there. Labour of Love Bakery by Robyn Mechanicos was the topic of a great chat, and I'm hoping to sit down with another of their stall-holders soon.

Labour of Love Bakery

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

Geoffrey Abrahams and Teenola Govender are joint-head chefs at Coy Restaurant in the V&A Waterfront. They are affectionately known as G&T in the kitchens were they've worked, and these include Chefs Warehouse and Mazza. Having first met in the kitchen at Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, they are an inseparable, creative kitchen team who blew me away with Mazza at Heritage Square and have quickly established Chef Ryan Cole's Coy venue as a must-visit eatery. We sat down for a chat about their journey as chefs and the triumphant return of the Mazza fire-roasted whole fish which now anchors the Sunday (Sundaze) menu at Coy.

COY Restaurant

Zuney Wagyu online shop

Russel Wasserfall Media

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay

A while back, when we lived in the Swartland town of Darling, one of our regular delights was the drive to Yzerfontein to collect bread. Against a pretty large proportion of 'the odds', Yzerfontein is home to one of the best bakeries in the Western Cape - Rosemead Bakery. Run by Brett Nortjé, Rosemead was an absolute legend of a place: chilled, friendly, all about locals and Brett can bake like hell. You'd always need to order bread ahead, and it would be waiting neatly wrapped on the 'collection' shelf. But then... you had to grab a couple of olive sticks, maybe a coffee, sit down for a natter, don't forget to take a couple of pastel home. When Kobus van der Merwe agreed to meet up for a chat at Rosemead recently, I kind of hoped I could talk Brett into giving me a little of his time - and he did. He is the most delightful company and it shows in the warmth of his team and the queue he runs daily for his baked goods in this growing West Coast community.

Rosemead Bakery - Instagram

russel@rwm2012(dot)com

• www.rwm2012.com
• On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
• Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
• All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
• Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay