Veldemeers cosy and welcoming in ghostly Doon Estate

OUTSIDE the 1940s cabin that houses Veldemeers head office, chocolate factory and coffee shop, dust devils and dead leaves swirl in the August winds blowing through Doon Estate in Msasa. Once a thriving tourist destination with art galleries, craft shops, and restaurants, the estate now resembles a ghost town, with a handful of companies struggling to survive in the wake of increased rents, power cuts and money shortages.

Meerkats and elephants at Dendera Gallery, Msasa.

My guests visiting from Portugal want to visit Dendera Gallery in Msasa, but enticed by the aroma of chocolate we make our first stop at Veldemeers coffee shop, for an early lunch. In spite of the surrounding deserted buildings and vacated shops, the atmosphere inside Veldemeers is cosy and welcoming.

A small but interesting lunch menu offers dishes such as quiche Lorraine, beef and mushroom pie, Mediterranean tart and minute steak, ranging in price from $71 to $77. This includes a side salad and twice-fried Belgian chips. Filled rolls are served on home-made brown, white or whole grain bread, or in a tender, flaky croissant. A tuna, mayo, hard boiled egg, lettuce and tomato whole grain roll ($49.50) was freshly made and satisfying, and a chicken salad ($38.50) with a delicate dressing and crisp lettuce and cucumber, was delicious. Freshly-squeezed orange juice ($22) was the real deal, with no artificial additives.

A frangipane tart with its crisp pastry base, tender almond-flavoured sponge cake topped with a sugar glaze, flaked almonds and a chocolate button ($17), was delectable. Savoured with a mug of chilli hot chocolate ($22) this was an exceptional treat.

While there is no decor to speak of at Veldemeers in Msasa, the Veldemeers coffee shop opposite Arundel Village is modern, elegant and constantly busy. There were no other lunchtime clients while we were at the Msasa branch, but several shoppers dropped in to buy chocolates.

Belgian chocolate, ranked among the finest in the world, has a culinary tradition dating back to the 19th C, when Belgium colonized the Congo and had easy access to Africa’s cocoa fields. This enabled Belgians to produce quality chocolate before anyone else in Europe, and recipes, with the emphasis on quality and method, continue to be handed down through families for generations.

At Veldemeers you can choose from 50 different handcrafted milk, dark or white chocolates. One of the best sellers is Sweet Dream, a creamy fudge peppered with dark chocolate chips and covered with milk chocolate. For chocolate lovers with dietary restrictions, there are ranges of sugar, nut and alcohol free chocolates.

Replete, we walked through a deserted children’s playing ground and past empty shops towards Dendera Gallery, to browse their fine selection of traditional and contemporary art works. We saw metal-sculpted elephants, adorable mobs of wood-carved meerkats and small sculptures by Albert Wachi. Decorative wall-mounted grey and white shields from Cameroon , and exquisite hand-woven baskets from Zambia caught the eye. A large carved ram’s head from Cote d’Ivoire looked down towards colourful beaded necklaces from Kenya, and upon finely woven cylindrical Ethiopian baskets. In spite of beaded butterflies, wire push toys and mugs and plates made by local ceramicist Marge Wallace, all perfect gifts to take back to the diaspora, no other customers showed up while we were there.

After visiting Samuneti Leather, a CITES certified dealer selling bags, wallets, belts and jackets, I chatted to two entrepreneurs who are planning to open a restaurant at Doon Estate, to be called The Basket Case. Competition for Pariah State restaurant in Avondale?

When occupied and trade is brisk, there’s a certain charm about the slightly ramshackle tin-roofed structures spread over Doon Estate. Originally the headquarters for Wenela, the Witwatersrand Native Labour Organisation providing labour for the gold mines in South Africa, these buildings were used as barracks, medical centres, school rooms and administration blocks, between 1940 and the late 1960s.

Whether or not the Basket Case flourishes and shop keepers return to Doon Estate, the feel-good aroma of chocolate will continue to drift from Veldemeers chocolate factory, enhancing the mood and improving the health of all who pass by.  A Matter of Taste Charlotte Malakoff

Veldemeers Coffee Shop
1 Harrow Road, Msasa.
Tel: 242 486169
Comments to: cmalakoff@gmail.com