The art of cooking

The difference is that the spices are layered colourfully in each bottle, making it a small work of art. It's good enough to display your varicoloured bottles in the lounge. The meals are simplicity themselves: prepare the main ingredients, according to the recipe pamphlet, and then just add the whole bottle of spices and cook. Voila! You have a meal for six and have not had to spend your time paging through cookbooks, then running round to spice shops gathering up what you need. It's all done for you.

Spice Art owner Ben van Rensburg's range covers Cape Malay curry, Cape Malay bobotie, Durban curry and African Blanket – an all-purpose coating for dishes like roast vegetables. These sell between R20.00 and R25.00 a bottle and the recipe is for a meal for six people.

In addition to Spice Art, Van Rensburg also has Salad Art and Sweet Art. The Salad Art range comprises the following dressings and vinaigrettes: sweet-chilli dressing - 125ml selling between R15.00 and R20.00; and honey and mustard and spiced plum and sun-dried tomato vinaigrettes, that sell at between R20.00 - R25.00 for a 125ml bottle Balsamic and olive dressing sells at between R25.00 and R30.00 for a 125ml bottle.

In the Sweet Art range there are onion and sun-dried tomato fashionable jam and chilli and sun-dried tomato fashionable jam. Both are available in 125ml bottles at between R18.00 and R22.00. These artistic and colourful additions to the culinary art can be found at various suppliers like Spar outlets and selected delicatessens in the Western Cape and Gauteng and at the two international airports in these areas. There are two outlets in the Free State and plans are afoot to supply other areas soon.

Panel opinion 1: The spices (in 125ml pots, their different colours and textures forming decorative layers) come with a little booklet telling you exactly how and in what dish it should be used (I love this simplicity!). The mixture contains just enough of every spice, without any taste overwhelming the others – the perfect opportunity to liberally toss it in and stir with confidence, sparing you the embarrassment of seeing your guests' faces turn red with the first bite.

The African Blanket mix is mild and ideal for those who don't like strongly flavoured food – the mix of spices, herbs, crushed peanuts, salt, pepper and seeds go well with chicken and roast vegetables. - Marelize van Taak

Panel opinion 2: Now I thought this was quite clever; despite the label telling you how and when you should add the beautiful layered spices, it also gives you a shopping list, making sure that you get every ingredient needed to complete the dish. The Cape Malay bobotie mixture adds that sweet and slightly sour undertone with it's ingredients of dried fruit, almonds, other nuts, spices and sugar, balancing the delicious taste of the bobotie. Oh and the aroma! I savoured the moment...

And to go with my completed bobotie, I added a simple toss salad - drizzled some vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar, spices, sun-dried tomatoes, sweet plum and a cinnamon stick. My simple toss salad, proved to be with character all because of that one little bottle of vinaigrette; intricate and woven tastes of the various ingredients, complimented and constructed a scrumptious salad - I licked my lips to it's sweetness.

There's something for everyone; so do yourself a favour, get out there, purchase at least one pot or bottle of this "art" range to try - it'll get you coming back for more. I'm certainly going to try the whole range!- Zanap van Zyl

For more info about where to get the Art range, contact: