MENU
Main Ingredient’s weekly E-Journal
Gourmet
Foods, Ingredients & Fine Wines
Eat
In Guide’s Outstanding Outlet Award Winner from 2006 to 2010
+27
21 439 3169 / +27 83 229 1172
Dandelions blowing in the wind
In this week’s MENU:
This
week’s Product menu
Our market
activities - new Cape Point Vineyards Market
Wall
to wall activity
Luscious
Vegetarian cookbook launch
The
Poolroom on Oak Valley
Bartho
Eksteen's Savvy Celebration
Bos
Wines at the Hotel School
Good Treatment
pays off
Wine
and Food Events in 2012 & 2013
Wine
courses & cooking classes
To take a look at our Main Ingredient blogs, follow the link: http://adamastorbacchus.blogspot.com/ because to tell our whole story here would take too
much space and you can also read earlier blogs. We are constantly surprised at
how many of the older blogs are still being read. Google Analytics tells us how
many people are reading them and where they are. There is something special
about seeing that our ramblings are being read in China or South Korea. Readers
in Europe, The UK and North America are a good percentage, but the surprise
always comes from the countries outside our normal reach. Click on underlined and Bold words in the text of this edition to
open links to pictures, blogs, pertinent websites or more information.
Follow us on Twitter: @mainingmenu
This week’s Product menu At last, we have found a
supplier of really good, aromatic Spanish saffron. And the good news is that it
is significantly less expensive than the last saffron we had.
Marrons
glacé are
always popular at this time of the year and we are happy to be able to tell you
that we have plenty and that the price is half what w had to charge last year.
We have ample new stock of the strong French Fallot mustards.
Fresh truffles
are still available
to special order. We need to know your requirement as soon as possible after
you receive this, so that we can quote you and receive your payment in time to
send your order to the supplier. Burgundy is the most affordable and orders
must be in multiples of 50 grams. The truffles will be airfreighted. We can
source white truffles from Alba and black truffles from Perigord but the price
is significantly higher. Send
us a message if you wish to order.
Christmas cometh whatever we may do.... Lynne has
been baking her individual Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings this week. Send her a message if you’d like to place an order.
We have a lot of fun putting MENU together each week and, of course, doing
the things we write about, but making it possible for you to enjoy rare and
wonderful gourmet foods is what drives our business. We stock a good range of ingredients and
delicious ready-made gourmet foods. You can contact us by email
or phone, or through our website.
We can send your requirements to you anywhere in South Africa.
Our market activities Come and visit us at the Old Biscuit Mill’s
wonderfully exciting, atmospheric Neighbourgoods
Market, as always, this
Saturday and every Saturday between
09h00 and 14h00. Tip: Some visitors tell us how they struggle to
find parking. It’s quite easy if you know how. Click here for a map which shows
where we park.
Cape Point Vineyards Market in
Noordhoek is
where we are this evening from 4.30 till 8.30 pm and we'll be there again next
Thursday evening. Come and buy some Christmas gifts, enjoy some of their
stunning wines and have a picnic while you watch the sun go down.
We will be back at Long
Beach Mall tomorrow, Friday 30th from
09h00 to 16h00. We look forward to
seeing you there. Please note that, in December, we will only be at Long Beach Mall on Friday the 7th,
so that will be the only December day for Christmas shopping at the Long Beach
market if you live in the “deep South”, but you will find us every Thursday at
Cape Point Vineyards, with beautiful views over Noordhoek.
Wall to wall week Sometimes we take on too much. This week and next are perfect examples
of huge foolishness, over-estimation of our own abilities and time. But it has
been incredibly enjoyable if completely crazy.
Last Thursday, we did the first and very successful
night market at Cape Point Vineyards, packed up by 9.30 – it usually takes us
about an hour to do that and load the car - drove the 40 km back to Sea Point, finished
off last week’s issue of MENU and got to bed at about 1.30 am. We were up at
5.30, loaded the car with all our goodies plus overnight bags and headed off
through the morning traffic to Bartho Eksteen’s Savvy Celebration in the Hemel
and Aarde Valley, arriving just in time for the first seminar at 9. That went
on all day, including dinner, so we managed to get to our borrowed cottage at De
Werf by about 11.30 pm, where we collapsed into bed to be up again at 5.30 am. We
then drove all the way back to Cape Town, over a fog bound Sir Lowry's Pass, to
do a good day's trading at the Biscuit Mill Market. At 2 pm, we packed up and
loaded everything again into our Sharan, and (madness) drove all the way back
to Elgin for the opening of The Pool Room Deli and restaurant on Oak Valley
Estate. Lots of mates shouted : “Where the hell have you been, why are you so
late! You missed almost everything!” and it was hard to explain.. It was closer
to Hemel and Aarde than to drive back to Cape Town, so when that fantastic
event was winding down at 6.30, we crept away back to the Hemel and Aarde. We
should point out that Saturday night was absolutely horrendous in that area.
High winds, torrential rain and freezing cold. We lit a huge fire, ate some
nibbles and then collapsed into bed. Sunday was very quiet and we drove home at
about 3.30. So far this week, we have been to two major functions and this
afternoon the markets started all over again, with Cape Point Vineyards as we
write and a stint on Friday at Long Beach. Sigh.... You can read below about
the individual events.
Sonia Cabano and Jade de Waal's Luscious Vegetarian cookbook launch This
lovely relaxed event was held in the early Wednesday evening last week, at a
health food restaurant called Spades and Spoons in Constantia Road, Wynberg. We
met Jade and chatted to Sonia, who is an old friend, about the book which is
full of delicious recipes and great pictures. It is amazing how many of the
Masterchef top 20 entrants we have met in the last month, it seems they are
getting right into the local food world. Jade is related to Sonia and they say
it was a natural progression to get together and do the book, which is
published by Struik Lifestyle. Click here to see photos of the launch.
Celebrating The Poolroom on Oak Valley Estate
in Elgin This deli restaurant is an
incredibly chic and modern pool pavilion and rather David Hockney, set as it is
behind an enormous Mediterranean blue swimming pool. Besides wine and flowers,
the Rawbone-Viljoens have been farming Wagyu (aka Kobe) beef for a while. They
also have acorn fed “Serrano” pigs and they have now built a lovely place where
one can buy and eat these delights, as well as many other things made by the
chef, like charcuterie and other things from the Elgin valley plus, of course,
taste the very good wines in the tasting room area. Just what Elgin needs, a
smart restaurant and deli to serve people staying in or visiting the valley.
The beef and ham have been appearing in local top restaurants for a while, now
you, the customer, have a chance to buy it yourself.
Nicole
Precoudis, a property entrepreneur and restaurateur, has made the Elgin Valley
her home, and is a 50% partner in the business. She is a chef by trade and,
having run two well-respected restaurants in Johannesburg called Icon and
Cilantro as part-owner and head chef, will be at the helm of The Pool Room. At
Chef Nicole’s side, one can expect a staff complement of sixteen, including
Restaurant Manager, William de Reuck, previously at Grootbos Private Luxury
Nature Reserve in Gansbaai, and also at Fancourt golf resort.
Even though we
arrived very late because we had been working, the kitchen rustled up some mini
hamburgers and we partook of some of the amazing cheeses and desserts being
served. We drank some of our favourite Oak Valley Chardonnay, Sauvignon/Semillon
blend and their incredibly delicious Pinot Noir. And they have some new wines
just released, a rose and a shiraz, all are available to taste.
We were entertained by an extremely talented band (can
you call two people a band?) called The Professors, who played everything from
blues, reggae, rock, jazz and modern for hours. The party ended by the pool with
everyone dancing and singing along. Anthony’s brother Peter gave us a rocking
rendition of an old jazz classic. Definitely the group to hire if you want a
good time at a wedding or an event. We will be returning soon . This really was
one of the best events we have been to this year. Click here for more information and to see the photos.
Bartho Eksteen's Savvy Celebration Held
once a year by Bartho Eksteen, this is almost the Sauvignon Conference. The day began at 9 with a talk on
Californian Sauvignons Blanc by California winemaker Jillian Johnson and we
tasted three of them plus a noble late
harvest Sauvignon. We think our styles are very, very different and we probably
prefer our South African Sauvignons. However, her talk was very informative and
interesting. It is always good to listen to someone who knows the subject so
well that they can talk without notes or prompting for a couple of hours and
maintain one's interest. After a break for tea, we had a very technical
discussion about growing Sauvignon. There were many wine people – growers,
viticulturalists, wine makers attending and they discussed growing, fining, additives,
pests and allergens in great depth.
We then were served a light salad lunch, after which
we had a blind tasting of 20 Sauvignons from all over the world. Wow, if you
hadn’t know that some of these were definitely Sauvignons, you might not have identified
them as such. We had wines from Australia, Austria, France, Greece, New
Zealand, Slovenia, South America, USA, and of course several local ones. It was
encouraging to find that one of ours was voted top – the Antonij Rupert and it
was also no surprise to find that the second most popular wine was the Henri
Bourgeois from Sancerre. We were served a three course dinner matched with Bartho’s
Wine Academy wines and carriages were at 11.30. Everyone seemed to be staying
over for the night, which meant everyone has someone driving responsibly. See some photographs here
Bos Wines at the Hotel School Monday
was a beautiful hot windless summer’s day and we started this function under an
umbrella in front of a flat blue ocean tasting Bosman Family Wines Bos Rosé. It
is made from all of the 57 varieties of grapes grown in South Africa, which
makes distinguishing any of them a puzzlement. We then moved to the shelter of
more umbrellas on the terrace of the Hotel School where they had set up a very
long table for the media and we were given a three course lunch devised and
cooked by the second year students to match three of the De Bos wines, a brand
of Bosman Family Wines. Click here to see the photographs
Good Treatment pays off We
are hearing some distressing stories from other market vendors working in
markets we don’t do. It seems that a very threatening letter was sent to many
of them saying they would be thrown out of a market they attend if they dared to appear at the Cape Point
Vineyards market. This comes under Restraint of Trade and just will not wash. We
do need to point out again, that most market traders are quite independent
retailers who work at many different markets throughout the week and that most
of us do this, not as a hobby, but for our living.
We do not work for the people running markets, we are
not their employees. We hire a table or space from them and sell our goods, we
are the ones who attract the customers and who make for a good, well supplied
and vibrant market. If you threaten and treat people badly you will have an unhappy
market and good vendors will leave.
Another awful story regarding the same market: One of
the traders, due to a death in the family could not get a replacement person to
trade at the last minute. Things happen, we too have personal lives. We saw messages
from a girl in her 20s communicating with this mature woman treating her as if
she were a child and worse still, demanding a fine of R500! That one has an
obvious conclusion. Hey ho, some people get very far beyond their stations.
Franschhoek’s Magic of Bubbles Champagne
and Cap Classique Festival will
take place this weekend! Book now. And
yes, we will be there on Sunday. Hope to see lots of you. We'll be there on
Sunday.
The Boxed Wine Awards takes place Today! We wanted to be there,
but the need to make a living takes precedence and we are at the Cape Point
Vineyards market.
Don’t forget to book for the last
Expressions of.. tasting at the Taj this year on the 6th December, featuring wines and a chef
from Durbanville. The tasting is free, and you can book for the super wine
pairing dinner afterwards Click here for the link. Expressions of...Durbanville at the Taj This excellent tasting of the area will
now be held on Thursday the 6th of December at the Taj Hotel. The
tasting in the foyer of the hotel starts at 6 pm and is free. The dinner paired
with the wines of the area held afterwards can be booked through the hotel.
Jean Retief's Sweetcorn Fritters This
week’s recipe is truly a classic. If you ever visited Van Loveren in the 1980s,
you will have had these. When visitors were first welcomed to Van Loveren, Jean
Retief, true to her hospitabIe nature, started serving Sweetcorn Fritters. Today, they still continue
this proud tradition and her fritters have become the signature snack at
Christina's restaurant on the farm. You can order them in Christina’s
restaurant or make them at home. They are very happy to share the recipe:
1 x 500 gm Self-raising Flour - 1 t Baking
Powder - 1 t Salt - 2 beaten eggs
2 x 340 gm tins of Sweetcorn - 3 cups Milk
2 x 340 gm tins of Sweetcorn - 3 cups Milk
Mix together, fry in deep oil. And, as they say in
their literature, enjoy with a glass of Van Loveren wine
There is a huge and rapidly growing
variety of interesting things to occupy your leisure time here in the Western
Cape. There
are so many interesting things to do in our world of food and wine that we have
made separate list for each month for which we have information. To help you choose an event to visit, click on our Events Calendar. All the events
are listed in date order and we already have a large number of exciting events
to entertain you right through the year. Click here to access the Calendar.
You will need to be connected to the internet. We have a new calendar for 2013. Check it here.
Learn about wine and cooking
We have had a lot of enquiries from people who want to learn more about wine. Cathy Marston and The Cape Wine Academy both run wine
education courses, some very serious and others more geared to fun. You can see
details here.
Chez Gourmet in Claremont has a programme of
cooking classes. A calendar of their classes can be seen here.
Pete Ayub, who makes our very popular Prego sauce, runs evening cooking classes at Sense of Taste, his
catering company in Maitland. We can recommend them very highly, having enjoyed
his seafood course. Check
his programme here. Nadège Lepoittevin-Dasse has cooking
classes in Fish Hoek and conducts cooking tours to Normandy. You can see more details here.
Sadly,
refreshing our restaurant specials list takes more time than we have,
especially at this time of the year, so we have set it aside for now. There are
numerous special dinners listed in the above-mentioned events calendar.
29th November 2012
Remember - if you can’t find something,
we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere
in the country, we can send it to you! Check our product list for details and
prices.
PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined,
click on it for more information
Phones:
+27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal
address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
Our Adamastor
& Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to
specialist wine producers who make the best of South Africa’s wines. Have fun
while you learn more about wine and how it is made! Tours can be conducted in
English, German, Norwegian or Dutch flavoured Afrikaans.
Recommendations of products and outside events are not
solicited or charged for, and are made at the
authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these
newsletters are ©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant
reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid
in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel
bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every
effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in
occasionally, for which we apologise. Our Avast! ® Anti-Virus
software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for
viruses.
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