Outstanding services with a homely touch

 Mrs Masaya sits behind her stall shelling peas and for an extra US$1/kilo you can leave the pods behind. I bought a heavy loaf of sour dough rye bread made by a  local German woman, and various goodies from Four Seasons whose produce (legumes, oats, herbs and spices) is much cheaper at this market. Plus some seriously sweet koeksisters to go along with a bitter cup of coffee. How nice to enjoy this diversity of people and produce.
My week began with a frustrated e-mail to the Cheeseman bewailing the lack of natural yoghurt. After searching in vain for weeks on supermarket shelves I trekked over to their Mabelreign shop and was dreadfully disappointed to find none there either. I love it drizzled with honey for breakfast, or marinating an Indian style chicken, or accompanying Middle Eastern lentils and olives. I don’t buy the sweet fruit yoghurts – which were still plentiful. I wrote the e-mail wanting only to air my views and was pleasantly surprised by the response. We have become used to almost non-existent customer care in Zimbabwe – when something isn’t working the standard is a shrug and the implication that the customer had better put up and shut up. Not so from the Cheeseman – whose response was firstly an apologetic explanation as to the nature of the problem followed up by a complimentary delivery of several litres of gorgeous, thick, greek yoghurt. First prize for customer service goes to the Cheeseman – who by the way had no idea that I was the writer of this column.
Later in the week I took my mother to lunch at Willowbean Café in Rolf Valley. Set in a thatched gazebo, the décor is whimsical and welcoming with birdcages and mirrors, lots of flowers and ‘distressed’ painted wood. We sat outside on a raised deck, needing some sun after a morning of meetings in a very cold office and were promptly attended to by waiter, Terence.
The menu is fresh and varied with a Mediterranean theme. A good range of ‘comfort food’ pasta dishes  ranges from US$5 for simple vegetarian arabiata to US$9 for stuffed chicken with parmesan crust served with spaghetti and roasted tomatoes. I was planning pasta at home that evening so chose the Mediterranean tart. (US$8). It was very good – a mixture of lightly cooked aubergine, courgette and sweet red peppers in a tasty tart base, beautifully presented with roasted tomatoes and sweet caramelised onions.
My mother had smoked chicken salad – good value at US$7 for a generous portion of succulent chicken, also accompanied by sweet onion. Heavier mains include pork chops, fillet steak and burgers, and the day’s special was piri-piri chicken. (US$15)
Sweets are displayed on an inside wooden table decorated with fat red roses and all look delectable. We chose a chocolate brownie (US$3) which was yummie – and prettily presented, scattered with icing sugar and with a sprig of lavender. The cakes (all US$3) look tempting and I shall definitely be back to try some out.
For a quick snack meal there are interesting open sandwiches and a variety of muffins – I fancy the feta and pepperdew.
An inside table spread with newspapers and magazines provides a homely touch and an invitation to linger.
We both enjoyed a nice lunch in a pleasant, relaxed setting – cost for two US$24 (including soft drinks and coffee).
– g.jeke@yahoo.com