Table Bay Hotel's Executive Sous Chef Adrian Schreuder leads eager foodies on a tasty Cooking with Fynbos Experience at the Baskloof Private Nature Reserve, as part of the V&A Waterfront Spring Campaign

If being driven in style in a luxury vehicle, exploring a picturesque nature reserve and feasting on a decadent five-course meal sounds like your idea of a great day out in Cape Town, you can’t do much better than the Table Bay Hotel’s Cooking with Fynbos experience.

A gastronomic and outdoor adventure that forms part of the V&A Waterfront's Spring Campaign, the Cooking with Fynbos experience is managed by the Table Bay Hotel’s Executive Sous Chef Adrian Schreuder. Fynbos are indigenous plants found in the Cape Floral Kingdom (south-western and southern Cape) and are unique to South Africa.

We were treated to the luxurious outing on Saturday, October 6, 2012 and can happily report it exceeded our expectations.

The Baskloof Private Nature Reserve

Not only were we left gobsmacked by the car (with complimentary waters, newspapers and hot towels for the hour-and-a-half journey), we were astounded by the sheer magnitude and beauty of the Baskloof Private Nature Reserve, just outside Scarborough (a coastal area an hour from Cape Town's city centre).

Adrian picks the fresh fynbos, rosemary, wild dagga, thyme and other herbs to be used in his gourmet meals

Owned and maintained by Adrian’s parents-in-law Ivan and Danielle Harris, the reserve runs purely on solar heating and hydro power. While enjoying a 20-minute guided walk along the property, we were able to assist Adrian with picking the fynbos, wild dagga, wild rosemary and thyme that would be used in our dinner that evening.

A visit to the on-site Co-existence Centre provided the perfect opportunity to view the photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, micro-hydro and auxiliary components of inverters, controllers, monitors and battery banks. It also gave us the chance to sample Adrian’s delectable beef and barley soup, with wild rosemary for a fragrant taste.

The Co-existence Centre is home to an interesting exhibition on solar and hydro power systems, and is also available for teambuilding activities

This beef and barley soup, with a special rosemary addition, is the perfect appetiser after exploring the beautiful Baskloof Private Nature Reserve

Dinner at the Table Bay Hotel’s Conservatory was a marvellous gourmet quest and Adrian’s passion for creating unique South African dishes was immediately apparent.

Adrian with one of his tasty, uniquely South African meals

From the samp and bean soup starter, coffee and cumin encrusted kudu Carpaccio and pan-seared Norwegian salmon to the sinfully tasty hot chocolate fondant with wild mint ice-cream and crystallised wild dagga flowers, the meal was an epic and fantastic journey for the taste buds.

This delicious chocolate fondant is a must-try dessert

The menu we chose was just one of five available and you may pair your dishes with a range of award-winning wine from the Conservatory’s wine list.

Adrian shares his musings about the Cooking with Fynbos experience and why he #LovesCapeTown  with us:

The full-day Cooking with Fynbos experience is R950 per person and can be booked via bookings@za.suninternational.com or +27 (0)21 406 5988.