WE had a very pleasant afternoon on a glorious autumn day recently, when Rog and Dave the Sand came round to the house.

Sitting in the patio in the warm sunlight, Roger was relaxed enough to watch me cook the lunch and accept beers supplied by Dave, without seemingly moving.

I cooked, ably supported by sous-chef extraordinaire, Geraldine, a South African-style nosh called potjiekos.

This is a stew (the food, or kos) made in a cast iron pot (the potje) cooked on an open fire.

The concept is that you use a cheap cur of meat like shin, or neck, and stew for several hours to ensure it is tender.

The real trick is to control the charcoal fire to maintain a slow and steady heat.

After browning the meat, the vegetables go on top, in layers, with the longest cooking ones at the bottom.

I would typically do potatoes, carrots, leeks and onions with baby corn and mushrooms near the top.

The potjie isn’t stirred after the meat is put in and the vegetables effectively steam in the heat.

With lots of seasoning and stock, the main thing is the heat control and ensuring it doesn’t dry out.

It’s also true that you should ensure you don’t dry out whilst the cooking goes on, so it’s important that lubricating drink is taken, often beer but anything will do just fine.

Generally, at the end of the cooking process and a lot of beers, you don’t much care what it tastes like.

On this occasion, I did one venison pot and one chicken and mushroom and they were very nice indeed.

Rounded off with port and cheese, Roger declared it a great success, to everyone’s relief (I think he stood up briefly). Now, time to plan the next one.