Warning: do not read this on an empty stomach!    It’s all about country houses, their gourmet food and the luxurious little touches that go with it.  Ten country houses, in fact, that have joined forces to call themselves the Good Cooks and Their Country Houses.  Not only do they believe that a tourist marches on his stomach (to paraphrase Napoleon), but that part of an essential travel experience is a dinner-plate of the best.  These 10 country houses represent 10 experiences as different from each other as strawberry marshmallow snippets in vanilla crème and braised snoek with apricot jus, but they offer in common a similar level of ‘relaxed atmosphere and simple elegance’.  And, just to put the maraschino on top, they are scattered strategically across the country close to major tourist attractions. In the Western Cape, the line-up includes Bartholomeus Klip (Beetroot Ravioli with Poppyseed Dressing), Blue Gum Country Estate (Chorizo and Aubergine Salad), Cathbert Country Inn (Pear and Almond Tarts) and Glen Avon Lodge (White fish fillet with Fricasseed Wild Mushrooms).  KwaZulu Natal celebrates with Granny Mouse Country House and Spa (Springbok loin wrapped in bacon), the Free State has De Oude Kraal (Chocolate Tarts), the Northern Cape features Naries Namakwa Retreat (Rack of Lamb with Mustard and Herb crust), The Southern and Eastern Cape boast Laird’s Lodge Country Estate (Prawn Tian with Avocado and Pawpaw) and Woodall Country House and Spa (Malva Pudding with Amarula Sauce).  And just outside Kruger in the Sabie Valley is the Summerfields Rose Retreat (Rose Pavlova with Summer Fruit).  Yum. The geographical spread means that an epicurean traveller can do a Cook’s Tour of South Africa’s best kitchens, spending the day exploring nearby points of interest while looking forward to returning in the evening to a welcoming platter of the finest in local cuisine.  And each hostelry is so different from the others that there is never the feeling that one is hotel-hopping.    Bartholomeus Klip, for instance, is the base for the Winelands. A working wheat and sheep farm, it looks just like the typical Karoo homestead, with a licorice-y fynbos reserve just next door for exploring. The Blue Gum is also in the wheatlands but has more of a provincial air overlooking purple vineyards, plump pastures and the puff-pastry mountains of the Cape. To work up an appetite there are walks in the mountains or a game of tennis at the estate. Cathbert Country Inn leans more towards the succulent settler architecture of the Cape, high up on the slopes of the biltongy Simonsberg, with views of the biscuit-coloured Boland. Glen Avon Lodge is pure creamy Cape Dutch in the Constantia Valley close enough to Cape Town to be a city base, with nearby Kirsch-flavoured Kirstenbosch Gardens. Along the Garden Route, lovely Laird’s Lodge Country Estate (a Cape Dutch masterpiece) takes care of Plettenberg Bay and Knysna, with views forever over the cherry-pie mountains or the wine-dark sea. The speciality here is seafood and game dishes, served in colonial dining rooms or a wine cellar. At the end of the Garden Route, the Woodall Country House and Spa, situated along a dreamy Coca-Cola-coloured river, is just the place to explore the Addo Elephant National Park, with the additional twist of elephant-back safaris and the Eastern Cape’s Big Five game reserves.  Further inland, visitors to the Free State can take advantage of being right in the middle of the caramel country at De Oude Kraal just outside Bloemfontein, a rambling pop-corn-coloured farm house that used to be the home of the Free State President and now specialises in gracious living of the Highveld kind. The afternoon teas are justly and chocolate-y famous.  Just to the left, in the Northern Cape, something completely different occurs in the shape of the Naries Namakwaland Retreat, which is a blaze of blooms during the flower season and a poem of wide-open space for the rest of the year. The buildings reflect the sere drama of the desert bordering the roast-lamb Kalahari. The complete opposite is the subtropical splendour of Summerfields Estate on the banks of the Sabie River near Hazyview, close to the Kruger National Park. The outdoor terrace is the venue for a parade of local dishes, leaning towards exotic fare like crocodile and black tiger prawn curry and Lowveld tapas. Another famous eaterie, albeit lower down the coast, is the Granny Mouse Country House in the Midlands of KwaZulu Natal, which does not allow the views over the Caversham Valley to distract from its main business, which is feeding the guests.  The best thing about these 10 establishments is that they have enough in common (famous for good cooking) to form a logical group but varied enough in terrain and personality to each offer something completely different. One can try each separately on different trips to various parts of the country, or embark on a sojourn of good eating where you can stagger your overfed way along a join-the-cooks trip to each one.  Check out the website at www.goodcooks.co.za