JAN A BREATH OF FRENCH AIR

Hardcover  2016

Every story has a beginning. Mine started at the tables of my mother and grandmother, where the notion of true South African hospitality seeped into my consciousness to become the foundation on which I would later build JAN.  It is here that I learned the humble art of serving and creating a warm, welcoming space where people would feel special and escape the humdrum of everyday life, to enjoy the singular pleasures of good company and delicious food.

Extracted from JAN A Breath of French Air by Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen (Struik Lifestyle)

JAN A Breath of French Air is a memoir and celebration of the renowned eatery JAN, a South African restaurant in the south of France. The restaurant is a showcase of South Africas tradition of hospitality, transported from a farm in rural South Africa to the glamorous French Riviera. AN is proof that dreams can be lived and how a love for what you do can transform humble ingredients into a masterpiece. Each chapter captures the mood and inspiration of what is serve at JAN, and the collection of over 90 recipes covers everything from locally baked breads, amuse bouche and mouthwatering main course meat and fish dishes to what the chefs eat after a long nights service in a hot kitchen.