Tredici opened its doors in the historic town of Swellendam in the Overberg on the 1st of December 2012. This bakery, patisserie and restaurant have many facets to compliment both the local area and passing traffic on the N2. With its location directly onto the N2, it will strive to be the destination stop for all those travelling between the Garden Route and Cape Town. The Name:
A baker’s dozen is 13, one more than the standard dozen. The oldest known source, but questionable explanation for the expression ‘baker’s dozen’ dates back to the 13th century. Bakers who were found to have short-changed customers were subject to severe punishment. To guard against the punishment of losing a hand to an axe, a baker would give 13 for the price of 12, to be certain of not being known as a cheat. Specifically, the practice of baking 13 items for an intended dozen was insurance against ‘short measure’ on the basis that one of the 13 could be lost, eaten, burned or ruined in some way, leaving the baker with the original legal dozen. The philosophy of Tredici is to give more than what is expected, may it be in value, quality or an abundance of atmosphere. Therefore the name is a true reflection of what we intent to do. If your expectation bar is set at a certain level, we will always strive to do so much more. Come and see for yourself! The Location:
Tredici is set in a beautiful building design by local architect Zoon Jacobs, inspired by local historical elements (Cape Dutch) and taking the best of French and Italian designs bringing back the old worldly grandeur from yesteryear. Everything is blown up in size to go with the philosophy of Tredici of giving more than is expected, from door and windows heights in 4 meter lengths bringing in all the light and showcasing the beautiful scenery of the Langeberg Mountains, to stunning fireplaces and chandeliers of massive scale. And all of this is done in natural raw material, from natural white cement plasterwork, blue gum roof structures, beautiful wrought iron works but still bringing in a bit of the modern elements. The roof structure of the main restaurant area was constructed out of 48 massive blue gum beams dressed in latte weighing more than 56 tons! It took almost 2 months just to get this structure into place lifting one beam at a time. The beautiful manicured gardens have been designed taking inspiration from the beautiful setting of the Versailles gardens in France. This setting is truly a masterpiece.
