A few years back, on holiday in South Africa I had dinner in the lovely restaurant Catharina’s which forms part of the Steenberg wine estate in Constantia, Cape Town.   The restaurant was named after Catharina Ras, the first owner of the estate.  In September 2019 the restaurant underwent a major revamp and reopened as Tryn, the contraction of her name by which Catharina was more familiarly known.

Her fascinating story was printed on the back of the menu and as I read it, I saw the earliest o...