Ballito Umhl - NOV 2020

Lots of laughter and fun as
everyone takes turns trying
their hand at cooking
Our host, Roots Cafe & Deli
owner Jennifer Swanepoel
Wine chilled. Candles lit. Music on.
Sounds like the start of a lovely, laidback
dinner party, right? Well, that’s
exactly what it was … sort of!
Instead of coming together to just
eat dinner though, the Get It girls
were about to learn how to make our
own delicious cocktail canapés (all
plant-based!) with the help of Roots
Café & Deli owner and our host for the
evening, Jennifer Swanepoel.
To add to the ‘glam’ factor and for a
little extra interactive fun, instead of
sitting down to a beautifully laid table,
we also styled our own stunning
cocktail benches with décor supplied
by the team from The Creativity Lab.
After the first glass of wine – and lots
of selfies – the girls settled down and
Jen told us a little about herself and
what we were going to cook. She split
us into three teams – starters, mains
and dessert – and the dessert team
had to get going first! Aprons were
donned and the oven switched on.
More wine may have been poured at
this point.
On the menu for evening? Polenta
Bites with Avocado Dip, Summer
Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce,
Falaffel Balls, Loaded Hummus, a
Cream Cheese Ball with Crackers and
Pecan and Apple Blondies with Salted
Caramel Sauce for dessert!
A qualified teacher who has owned
her own preschool and worked with
children for more than 17 years and
a mother of two, Jen actually has no
formal chef training. This ended up
Homemade Falafel Balls
Fresh fruit and vegetables
being one of the things we liked most about her! She cooks from the heart and
manages to make every dish seem easy and unintimidating … even for the most
culinary-challenged among us!
Jen loves chatting and she loves people, which is one of the reasons, she says,
she always dreamed of owning her own coffee shop. “I love getting to know
people, and there really isn’t a better place to do that than around good food.
There is something comforting and transparent about conversations that are
shared around a meal.”
When she opened the doors to Roots Café in Umhlali in November last year, Jen’s
vision was to introduce people to delicious food that was both nutritious and
free of any animal products. “I wanted to show people that following a plantbased
diet doesn’t mean you have to live on lettuce leaves and broccoli!”
Located in the beautiful garden setting at Burnedale, Roots Café offers a wide
variety of plant-based lunches brekkies, desserts and dairy free smoothies and
freshly squeezed juices. They also, apparently, have the best carrot cake ever!
November 2020 Get It • Ballito Umhlanga 47