Klein Jan

<p>The inspiration behind Restaurant Klein JAN did not come from a desire to create a fine dining experience in the middle of the Kalahari. It came from the heart &ndash; from the tables of my childhood &ndash; memories that I have taken with me into an unknown land. Although I hadn&rsquo;t been to the Kalahari before visiting Tswalu for the first time, I instantly connected with this place. I felt my grandmother&rsquo;s presence at Boscia House, I fell in love with the people of the Northern Cape and was overwhelmed by their hospitality, and the more time I spent in the Kalahari, the deeper my roots spread through the endless red earth. This book is my homage to losing your heart to a special place, and making your dreams come true.<br><br>Creating Klein JAN has been Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen&rsquo;s great homecoming project. Growing up on a farm in South Africa&rsquo;s rural Mpumalanga province, he felt an instant connection to the vastness of the Kalahari and knew that the time had come to return the spirit of JAN &ndash; his Michelin-star restaurant in Nice &ndash; to home soil.<br><br>Klein JAN is situated on one of South Africa&rsquo;s leading private game reserves, Tswalu Kalahari, a refuge &ndash; untamed, untouched, unspoiled &ndash; that celebrates the simple, authentic splendours of this magical region. Klein JAN tells the story of South African culture through food, from the ways of old to the new.</p>