Klein Jan, Jan Hendrik Van Der Westhuizen

This recipe book pays homage to Klein Jan, the restaurant, and Jan Hendrik’s experiences of growing up on a farm. Jan-Hendrik embraces the concept of creating something from nothing and leaving this world better than he found it.

The inspiration behind Restaurant  Klein JAN  did not come from a desire to create a fine dining experience in the middle of the Kalahari. It came from the heart – from the tables of my childhood – memories that I have taken with me into an unknown land. Although I hadn’t been to the Kalahari before visiting Tswalu for the first time, I instantly connected with this place. I felt my grandmother’s presence at Boscia House, I fell in love with the people of the Northern Cape and was overwhelmed by their hospitality, and the more time I spent in the Kalahari, the deeper my roots spread through the endless red earth. This book is my homage to losing your heart to a special place, and making your dreams come true.

Creating  Klein JAN  has been Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s great homecoming project. Growing up on a farm in South Africa’s rural Mpumalanga province, he felt an instant connection to the vastness of the Kalahari and knew that the time had come to return the spirit of JAN – his Michelin-star restaurant in Nice – to home soil.

Klein JAN  is situated on one of South Africa’s leading private game reserves, Tswalu Kalahari, a refuge – untamed, untouched, unspoiled – that celebrates the simple, authentic splendours of this magical region.  Klein JAN  tells the story of South African culture through food, from the ways of old to the new.

Today’s recipe book review from Lavender and Lime ♥ Klein Jan ♥ #LavenderAndLime Share on X

Chapters are divided into:

• Stoep drinks
• Small bites
• Preserves
• Soup, bread & butter
• The main course
• On the side
• Sauces & stocks
• Desserts & sweet bakes

Recipes that caught my eye:

• Melon margarita (p35)
• Kalahari whiskey sours (p35)
• Prickly pear syrup (p38)
• Homemade ginger beer (p41)
• Savoury cocktail nuts (p61)
• Tomato chutney (p89)
• Bread and tomato soup (p100)
• Roasted red pepper and chicken soup (p106)
• Brown seed & yoghurt bread (p108)
• Honey butter (p118)
• Pork shoulder with fennel and roasted garlic (p126)
• Slow cooked leg of lamb (p132)
• Kudu fillet stuffed with venison sausage and red wine (p135)
• Whole slow cooked venison shanks (p151)
• Roasted pumpkin with honey and leeks (p174)
• Pampoenkoekies (p178)
• Chocolate fondant cake (p208)
• Orange cake (p221)
• Rooibos crème caramel (p222)
• Pumpkin buttermilk rusks (p226)
• Ginger pudding (p238)
• Pistachio and pap cake (p241)

What I made:

I made the tomato chutney which is amazing and goes well with all sorts of curries. Dave and I have soup for Saturday lunch so I made the roasted red pepper and chicken soup. I did not like the way Jan cooked the chicken as it was dry, but the flavour of the soup was still good. I was very disappointed in the leg of lamb recipe. It was so dry and a waste of a good cut of meat. Because of this, the recipe screamed out for gravy. I made the orange cake to take as dessert to friends and it was really good. Blood oranges were not in season when I made it so I topped the cake with grapefruit. One very cold winter’s night I made the ginger pudding. It sure packed a ginger punch, but it was a bit too stodgy for my liking.

My impressions:

My first impression when paging through Klein Jan is that there are a lot of non-food photographs. Also, there are a lot of pages with multiple recipes, and no photographs. These two things will make it difficult to choose recipes if you are a visual cook. The helpful hints throughout the book are a nice touch.

Cook the book:

Publishing information:

Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this recipe book to review.

See the links below for blog posts I published on October 30:

• • 2022: The Retreat
  • 2020: Chicken Noodles
  • 2019: Infused Waters
  • 2017: Bread Maker Focaccia
  • 2016: The Couple Next Door
  • 2014: Za’Atar
  • 2012: Biryani
  • 2011: Getting To Know Each Other
  • 2010: Ceramic Baking Beans

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