TIPPING THE SCALES
Traceability at Your Fingertips
Traceability adds to the enjoyment of a meal… like scanning a barcode at Steenberg’s Bistro Sixteen82 in Tokai, Cape Town and learning that the Cape bream on your plate was wild-caught in Lambert’s Bay the day before. Abalobi, which means “fishermen” in isiXhosa, empowers consumers and fishers. Kerry Kilpin, executive chef at Sixteen82 and at Tryn, Steenberg’s other restaurant, has been involved with Abalobi from its inception and is passionate about its use as a way of safeguarding the abundance of our waters while ensuring that fishers and diners are kept in the loop.
The Abalobi platform has recently been opened to home cooks as well. ‘We started off in the hospitality and restaurant industries but during Covid were forced to create an offset for fishermen who still needed an outlet,’ says Abalobi’s Iain Campbell. Cue the home buyers, and a new range of convenience and deli products. The range includes cleaned, filleted and blast-frozen fish. Great for sticking in the air fryer at home, even better for fishermen and their families during the offseason.
Although the Karoo was, once upon a time,
