SA Cheese Festival 30 April to 2 May 2022 at Sandringham

SOLD-OUT: SA CHEESE FESTIVAL ATTENDEES’ BUYING POWER IMPRESSES AFTER COVID-19 INTERRUPTION

This year’s South African Cheese Festival, from 30 April to 2 May 2022 at Sandringham outside Stellenbosch, was a huge success measured by the purchasing power of festivalgoers and by satisfied exhibitors.

All the tickets sold out for the festival, presented for the first time since 2019 due to Covid. This year’s festival was attended by 6 000 people, with visitors limited to 2 000 per day. A pop-up festival was also held from 23 to 24 April 2022 at Groote Post outside Darling, which more than 3 000 people attended.

“We believe we have created innovative solutions to present a successful festival within the restrictive Covid 19 regulations that still apply to the event industry,” says Johan Ehlers, CEO of Agri-Expo, which since 2002 organises the SA Cheese Festival.

According to Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, this year’s festival is a big sign that the economy is getting back on track. “We have to move forward. We cannot afford not to, especially for job creation. 

What better way than with a festival showcasing all our agricultural products, bringing people together and celebrating with music. 

This year’s pop-up SA Cheese Festival model is a chance that Agri-Expo took to get this important festival going again. 

Thank you to them for this new idea and what it means for the rural economy and spirit.”

BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND HALLOUMI FLY OFF THE SHELVES

Festivalgoers could experience around 120 exhibitors’ creations, including several small cheesemakers invited to present their unique handmade products as part of the #SupportSmallCheeseMakers project in partnership with the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA). 

Visitors were also able to taste and repurchase alternative niche products as part of the Cape Made: Taste the Alternatives project in partnership with the WCDoA.

Many exhibitors’ products sold out completely, with exceptional products flying off the shelves, such as Zandam’s buffalo mozzarella, Jabulani Chigara’s dragon fruit, Klein River Cheese’s international-award-winning mature Gruberg, Rockvale and Foxenburg’s goat’s milk cheeses, Tlaquepaque’s halloumi, Karootjie’s rosemary and red wine herb salt – all the way from Calitzdorp – as well as the Western Cape Honeybush Tea Cooperative’s teas. 

“We were pleasantly surprised by the support,” says distiller Robyn Hartman of the brand new 9 Orphans Distillery. “At the festival, we already sold half of our first batch of 360 bottles each of our prickly pear gin and our Eikesap oak juice gin infused with acorns”.

Ehlers says it is wonderful for Agri-Expo to be able to contribute on the path to the economic recovery of large and small businesses. “The value of the SA Cheese Festival lies precisely in the platform created for businesses, from small entrepreneurs to national companies, to interact directly with consumers and introduce their products to a wider audience and the many marketing opportunities that the festival offers.”

The Standard Bank Travel & Taste experience was a massive favourite with visitors. Well-known chefs such as Tiaan Langenegger from kykNET’s Tiaan Proe, Jenny Morris and Isabella Niehaus, and actor Neels van Jaarsveld, entertained festivalgoers as they tasted top Chenin Blancs, Pinotage, craft beer and gin with an array of the best cheeses.

The SA Cheese Festival will occur again next year over the long weekend from Saturday 29 April to Monday 1 May 2023. Visit www.cheesefestival.co.za 

For more information, follow the SA Cheese Festival on: 

• Facebook @SACheeseFestival
• Twitter @SACheeseFest, or 
• Instagram @sacheesefest, or 
• contact Agri-Expo at tel 021 975 4440 or 
• admin@agriexpo.co.za.

ISSUED BY

 Isabeau Botha

 Agri-Expo Corporate Communication Manager

 isabeau@agriexpo.co.za 

 021 975 4440/072 247 5868

 www.agriexpo.co.za

1. Chef Tiaan Langenegger and actor Neels van Jaarsveld entertained guests as part of the Standard Bank Travel & Taste experience with Ladismith Cheese and Sea Harvest.
2. Festivalgoers Kara Barnard and Gabriella Ludick during the SA Cheese Festival at Sandringham
3. Mary Shumba, Takudzwa Tinarwo and Judith Kamudyariwa with Berries Express’ dragon fruit at the SA Cheese Festival
4. Spencer Fondaumiere, chairman of the South African Sommelier Association, and celebrity chef Jenny Morris presented a Standard Bank Travel & Taste experience of Warwick wines and Dalewood Fromage Cheese.
5. Foxenburg Estate’s goat milk cheese spread was one of the new products at the SA Cheese Festival.
6. Distiller Robyn Hartman gives Duncan Masiwa of Food for Mzansi a taste of her brand new ‘Eikesap’ (oak juice) gin infused with acorns.
7. Festivalgoers Lisa and Nicholas Blank put on a cheese hat at Cheesemaking.co. za’s stall
8. The Ladismith Cheese Carving Competition at the SA Cheese Festival, where more than 7kg of cheese was up for grabs every day
9. Tino Dello Donne from Zandam Italian Cheese at the SA Cheese Festival
10. Khuselo Mchithakali and Estalanie Marais from Foxenburg Estate at the SA Cheese Festival
11. Pamella Dzindqwa, Tasimba Rumhungwe, Karren Horonga and Shalom Tripanzi (far right) of the Puglia Cheese team at the SA Cheese Festival
12. Festivalgoers Veronique Farrow, William Alkastor, Judy Pool and Heather Francis from Paarl during the SA Cheese Festival