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PHOTOS: Adriaan Oosthuizen | PRODUCTION: Sumien Brink, Justine Drake | WORDS: Melvyn Minnaar

Austria is about to experience a southern invasion in the form of Cape Town’s super-cool and colourful Afro Cafe…

Salzburg, the city of Mozart and The Sound of Music, better hang onto its lederhosen: Capetonian Grant Rushmere is about to give the traditional kaffeehaus a run for its money.

With the backing of Austrian-based partners, he’s transplanting a piece of contemporary Africa directly into the heart of the old world – in the form of his popular Afro Café.

In Church Street, Cape Town, the Afro Café has become as popular for its merchandise – such as Afro Café-branded African coffees and teas, swathes of sassy fabrics, decor and crockery – as it is for its food.

Afro invasion

This cultural and culinary incursion is set to take place in Salzburg’s urban centre: the first international Afro Café, set to open in March, will be barely a few blocks from Café Tomaselli on the Alter Markt. Café Tomaselli, the city’s oldest kaffeehaus, was established in 1852. It sprang up, as the story goes, when vanquished Turks left behind coffee beans they called kahve.

Since then, Austrian cafés have been places where poets write, politicians plot, capitalists connive and others simply loll. So deeply entrenched is the kaffeehaus in Austrian culture that often even changing a windowpane requires official permission (and has been known to spark public debate). The new Afro Café will be in complete contrast to Café Tomaselli.

A cheerful case of reverse colonisation, perhaps? Rushmere’s Afro Café concept effortlessly captures the cosmopolitan new spirit of Africa, reflecting the look, feel, fashion and flavours of Africa now, rather than a romanticised European version of it.

Popular foodie Justine Drake has devised an adventurous African tapas menu for the Salzburg Afro Café. Flavours reflect the essence of Africa but appeal to so-called modern appetites: dukka dip and mini pot breads baked in tins are signature dishes.

Also on the menu are: Zanzibari-chicken kebabs; Moroccan lamb; Cape frikkadels with garlic, chilli and coriander; fish curry; malva pudding; and a variety of South African wines.

The Afro Café in Salzburg will be on Bürgerspitalgasse beside a magnificent Gothic church. And with expansion plans for further Afro Café colonisations in Europe, you should watch this space.  

• Afro Café, 48 Church Street, Cape Town, 021 426 1857

Grilled ostrich with green bean-and-feta salad

4 x 80g ostrich steaks

olive oil for rubbing

350g green beans

400g baby marrows

1/2 red onion

4T (60ml) chopped flat-leaf parsley

160g (2 discs) feta cheese, chunkily crumbled

Afro Cafe dressing

1t (5ml) white-wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/3 cup (80ml) olive oil

salt and milled black pepper

2T (30ml) grainy mustard

1t (5ml) sugar

3T (45ml) water

Makes about 125ml

Rub the steaks with olive oil. Heat a griddle or nonstick pan until smoking hot and sear the steaks on both sides to seal them. Cook for two to three minutes per side for rare steak. Remove from the pan and cool to room temperature. Top, tail and halve the beans, and blanch in boiling water.  

Garlic, chickpea and butter-bean dip

1 x 410g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed

1 x 410g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1–2 garlic cloves, crushed

4T (60ml) chopped Italian parsley

5T (75ml) olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling

4T (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2t (2,5ml) each salt and milled black pepper

Blend beans, chickpeas, garlic, parsley and olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, and blend again. To serve, spoon into a bowl and drizzle with extra oil.

Makes 2 cups (500ml)

African-style pesto

1/2 cup (125ml) roasted cashew nuts

4T (60ml) desiccated coconut

4T (60ml) chopped basil and Italian parsley

1 red or green chilli

1/2t (7,5ml) lemon juice

1/2t (2,5ml) sugar

1/2t (2,5ml) milled black pepper

1/4t (1,25ml) salt

1 cup (250ml) olive oil

Toast the cashews in an oven or dry pan for eight minutes or until golden brown, then cool. Place all the ingredients except the oil in a blender and process, gradually adding the olive oil until the pesto has a dollopy consistency. Pour it into a container and cover with extra olive oil. It will keep for a week in the fridge if completely covered with a layer of olive oil.

Makes 2 cups (500ml)

Moroccan lamb kebabs

1kg leg of lamb, deboned and trimmed

fresh bay leaves

20 wooden kebab skewers

For the marinade

4 garlic cloves, crushed

4T (60ml) ground cumin

4T (60ml) paprika

6T (90ml) ground coriander

4t (20ml) dried chilli flakes

2T (30ml) dried parsley

1/2 cup (125ml)white malt vinegar

4T (60ml) fresh lemon juice

6T (90ml) olive oil

salt and milled black pepper

Cube the lamb. Mix the marinade ingredients together. Thread three cubes of lamb and two bay leaves onto each skewer. Pour the marinade over the kebabs and allow them to marinate overnight – or for at least two hours – in a glass or ceramic dish. Heat a griddle pan to very hot and cook the kebabs, or slide them under a grill for eight to 10 minutes, basting and turning once or twice while cooking. Serve as part of an African tapas, allowing two kebabs per portion with dips and pesto.

Serves 10