Cape Town…What comes to mind at the mention of this city?… breathtaking views, a happening nightlife, diverse nationalities, wine farms, taxi tout with missing front teeth screaming “Mowbray! Claremont! Wynberg!”  LOL!

However, before coming to Cape Town, making myself a permanent resident and adopting the cape coloured accent, I knew it as a city of people with missing front teeth, table mountain and lots of fish.  Up until this day, I still wonder why so many Capetonians have missing front teeth!  Some say it’s from eating the fish bones, haha but we love them anyways!

I can go on and on about the fascinating stuff about the mother city but for now, I’d like to share with you one of my favourite Kaapse cuisines, the Gatsby.  It’s a long bread roll usually filled with a variety of ingredients from chicken, mutton curry, Vienna, polony the list goes on.  The Gatsby originated from the Cape Malay.

As a student my friends and I used to club and buy a Gatsby and a cool drink…..that’s how I got hooked up.    My personal favourites are the Masala Steak and the Mutton curry Gatsby!  I don’t know about you but for me, the two is “baie lekker” (very delicious).  Ok, confession time…..my colleagues and I club from time to time to buy a Gatsby ….I must say clubbing for a Gatsby is cheaper than buying two pieces of chicken and chips and its very filling.  Four people clubbing for one Gatsby can contribute up to R15.00 each depending on the type….I’m sure by now you get my drift.

I won’t deny the fact that you’ll only get the best here in the Cape but you can always try and make your own at home. The nice thing about the Gatsby is the fact that there are no rules as to what goes into it.  You can add anything you like.  I decided to make my own version using chicken cooked in Castle Milk Stout beer which I got from my fbi2011 goodie bag :-).

Lekker Gatsby Recipe

For the chicken:

15ml (1Tbsp) olive oil

1 onion, chopped

±400g chicken thigh fillets, diced (medium sized dices)

200ml castle milk stout beer

30ml (2Tbsp) chutney

5ml (1tsp) pesto princess red pesto

1ml salt

2.5ml (½tsp) medium curry powder

6 button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1. Heat a saucepan and add olive oil.
2. Sauté the onion until translucent.
3. Add the chicken, beer and the rest of the ingredients.
4. Simmer for ±20 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Add more beer if necessary.

For the Gatsby:

Serves: 2-3

1 French roll cut lengthwise

Potato chips (from two potatoes)

Castle Milk Stout chicken

3-4 lettuce leaves, shredded

Assembling the Gatsby: Layer the chips, chicken and lettuce inside the roll.  Divide into two or three pieces.  Geniet / Enjoy! Down with a cool drink of your choice

Author Info

Thuli

Thuli Gogela is a Food Technologist with 8 years of experience developing products in food manufacturing. She is dedicated to discovering wholesome traditional dishes and recipes with a distinctive taste from different parts of the African continent. Thuli is well known for her food blog, Mzansi Style Cuisine which was established in 2010. She saw a gap in the traditional food market that people were hungry for. From there, it didn’t take long to build her brand. In 2013, she started writing a recipe column for the Cape Times for and has collaborated with some of the biggest brands in South Africa namely, Knorr, Nedeburg Wines, First Choice and Spekko rice. Not only does Thuli feature traditional African dishes, she’s also open to developing recipes, food consultations and brand collaborations.