2023 South African Cheese Festival

2023 South African Cheese Festival

About South African Cheese Festival

Treat your taste buds to a day in the country – Cheese lovers should diarise the weekend when the SA Cheese Festival will again take place at Sandringham Estate in Stellenbosch (close to Paarl and Franschhoek).

Visitors will be able to feast their senses on the widest selection of cheese currently available in South Africa.

Whether you have a well-trained palate, simply enjoy savoring new tastes, or are looking for the perfect cheese match among the delicacies galore – wine, nuts, and olives to name but a few – you will again be spoiled for choice at the Annual SA Cheese Festival.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU SPOIL YOURSELF WITH A TICKET

• Access to an exquisite venue for a full day of fun, food, and friends, from 10:00 until 18:00.
• No traffic worries with safe parking for your car, motorbike, e-bike or even a tricycle, and easy access for your taxi or Uber.
• On arrival, we’ll be ready with your complimentary SA Cheese Festival-branded wine tasting glass.
• A top South African music act will get you in the groove at each venue and popular local supporting acts will entertain you throughout the day.
• Explore a hand-picked collection of exhibitors with an amazing array of cheeses, wines, beers, gins, and many artisanal products to shop – with some even allowing you a taster before buying.
• Discover secrets and fun facts from chefs and foodies with our Standard Bank Travel & Taste experiences. Limited seating available, first-come, first-served.
• Relax on the pop-up grounds with ample bedouins, parasols, tables, chairs, and shade where you can reconnect with old and new friends.
• Take a break with comfortable restroom facilities (wheelchair accessible).
• Be safe with dedicated medics at each venue, a top event-security team to ensure a friendly zone for everyone and a Covid-19 friendly environment with limited ticket sales.

DISCOVER A FESTIVAL OF POP-UP EXPERIENCES AT THE SA CHEESE FESTIVAL

The SA Cheese Festival offers a real value for money experience – in fact, your entrance ticket buys you a whole feast of pop-up experiences:

• ‘Cheese it and enjoy it: The heart of the SA Cheese Festival remains the unique experience of being able to taste and buy the largest variety of cheeses – old favorites as well as innovative new ones.
• ‘WineFest, BeerFest, Gin’OClock’: Come and experience a curated collection of award-winning wines, craft beers and gin – after all, your entry fee includes an exclusive stemless SA Cheese Festival wine glass.
• ‘Taste it first’: Many exhibitors use the SA Cheese Festival as a platform to introduce new products and test the market – discover it here before it even appears on store shelves!
• ‘Standard Bank Travel & Taste’: Hosted by well-known celebrity chefs and wine connoisseurs, this is where cheese marries wine, beer, and every new trend! Come discover, listen, and taste at no extra cost. Every day at 13:00, chef Tiaan Langenegger will give a sneak peek of his brand new Tiaan Proe television programme together with Ladismith Cheese and Sea Harvest (joined by his actor friend Neels van Jaarsveld on 23 April and 1 May). Chef Isabella Niehaus, who won an award for her cookbook Duinhuis in Paris last year, brings along her famous smoked snoek cheesecake. Come and learn more about wine pairing with experts from the Chenin Blanc Association, Groote Post winemaker Lukas Wentzel, as well as everyone’s SA Cheese Festival favorite, the original celeb chef Jenny Morris together with Warwick Wines and Dalewood Fromage Cheese.
• ‘#SupportSmallCheesemakers’: Meet cheese entrepreneurs who, despite many challenges, come from all over to introduce their unique handmade cheeses to cheese lovers, a project made possible in partnership with the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.
• ‘Cape Made: Taste the Alternatives’: Alternative products fresh from the farm such as olives, tapenades, berries, mushrooms, and even buchu water and hydroponic herbs … with bargains directly from producers thanks to a partnership with the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.
• ‘Artisanal art’: Support artisanal makers as you learn to appreciate new tasting experiences – from kudu salami to gin with honey, almond, strawberry, or chai.
• ‘The Ladismith Cheese Carving Competition’: A daily highlight – enter for free at the festival (space is limited). Show your creativity, carve a cheese, and win big prizes!
• ‘The Hollard Band Stand’: Come and enjoy your purchases to the beat of top artists – such as Die Heuwels Fantasties, Francois van Coke, Watershed, Ard Matthews, Kurt Darren, the rock band Flat Stanley’s first performance in years, the new favourite Will Linley, plus many local musicians throughout the day.
• ‘The Afgri Feeds Milk Factory’: Visit the friendly cows and goats at the Milk Factory and learn more about these pedigree dairy animals, the start and the most important part of the production line in the art of cheese making. A well-known and enjoyable experience at the annual SA Cheese Festival!
• ‘Foodies #GoingPlaces’: Artisanal food stands serve mouth-watering food with just more cheese!
• ‘Be safe’: The SA Cheese Festival promotes the responsible use of alcohol. Make use of shuttle services and taxis for a party full of peace of mind.
• ‘Make it a weekend celebration’: Sandringham is conveniently located next to the N1, Stellenbosch turn-off (exit 39), between Cape Town and Paarl. Groote Post is located between Darling and Yzerfontein.
• Contact yzerfonteinaccommodation.co.za or www.visitstellenbosch.org.
• ‘Be responsible’: A Covid-19 access policy of proof of vaccination, or a negative test result will apply.