The amazing Barbara Weitz’s warm hug from the Karoo

The Karoo Food Experience has become worth the trek to tuck into it. At Stirlings at the Ibis Lounge in Nieu-Bethesda, chef Barbara Weitz creates beautiful food using local herbs and little intrigues found in the veld. You feel special in her culinary company, because she is special.

To say that Barbara and her husband Johan are going on trek would be pushing it a bit, because the Karoo Food Experience happens, in large part, on their premises. And that is the best place to experience it, so a trip to Nieu-Bethesda, and especially their little part of it, ought to be on your agenda when planning a Karoo jaunt.

“The menu still changes on a monthly basis and the Camdeboo Karoo veld never ceases to amaze me with new inspiration and flavour combinations,” Barbara says. 

But this year they have spread their wings a little. They’ve taken the experience to Bloemfontein and to Cape Town, and Barbara says they are open to approaches regarding the possibility of bringing it to your neck of the woods.

“It’s been a great honour to take the Karoo veld flavours to different parts of South Africa,” Barbara said this week. 

“We’re starting to feel out possibilities. Every time I go to Cape Town I hook up with people who are interested. It has happened a few times when Johan is on safari and I’m in Cape Town. In fact, I’ve been asked by quite a couple of people to keep them in mind when heading in their direction.”

The times when a trip away might be possible are in these wintry months, until late July, and on occasions when Johan might be away on safari. If you’re planning ahead for 2025, perhaps, contact them at [email protected]

Her pantry works in seasons. The winter pantry is now stocked, and on the Karoo Food Experience you will find plenty of pickles and preserves.

“We have a really nice butter chicken curry,” she explains, and if this sounds less than likely as a Karoo dish, the context is that Barbara and Johan met when living in Tanzania, where butter chicken is among the staples for the massive Indian community there.

“The people I worked with were from the northern area, the Punjabi area, not brandwarm (she pronounces this in Afrikaans: burning hot), not a lot of chilli. There are more spices, like fenugreek and cloves, and we make our own masala mix. We serve it with poppadoms and coriander from our green spot. It’s like a love letter with all the layers that you have to do.”

Also on the winter menu are ostrich fillets with kapokbos and cranberry sauce, individual lamb or vegetable potjies, served with creamy karoobossie samp. We always have skilpadjies, of course.”

Johan happens to do a mean steak, so look out for the sirloin if you’re a steak kind of guy like Johan is.

Barbara and Johan have become my friends over the past several years of living in this neck of the Karoo, so I’m putting my hand up to that. It’s rare that we get to visit, even though it’s only an hour-and-a-half drive at most from home, but we pop in when we can. Despite our friendship I did not want to leave her out of this series, with all of us losing the chance try out one of her recipes at home.

Inevitably, there would be Karoo herbs in it. I knew this without a doubt. What I wasn’t expecting was a pudding. Barbara explains, wistfully referring to her herbs in the feminine.

“The reason I have chosen to showcase wilde-als is that it grows in many people’s gardens and is easily obtainable from a nursery. She grows really easily and is easily maintained.”

Wilde-als is African wormwood.

Barbara Weitz, right, and the beautiful wilde-als herb she loves to cook with. (Photos: Supplied)