Veritas Awards dinner at the CTICC

The entrance to the Cape Town International Convention Centre

A welcoming glass of Simonsig bubbly with Johan Malan, Rianie Strydom of Dombeya Wines, Mrs Malan and Lynne

The line-up of winners being served with dinner

The vast ballroom held over 600 people for dinner and the awards ceremony

Announcing the awards to rapt attention by all concerned

The menu in two languages

10 on each table meant a lot of silver and glassware

Charles Hopkins, Cellarmaster of De Grendel was presenting the awards

You know how they always say unidentified fish always tastes like chicken - and vice versa? These were rather cold fish goujons which did indeed taste of chicken and had a very similar stringy texture. The addition of cumin flavoured hummus was good but made it even more like chicken.

Finally we get to taste some red wine - Delaire Graff’s Merlot which won a silver. Good but needs much more time

A warm main course of perfectly pink lamb cutlets, an unctuous confited potato, fresh asparagus, a good flavourful lamb sausage and some butternut, mushrooms. It was enjoyable. But what slivers of fresh cucumber, baby onions and small tomatoes were also doing on the plate is the question – too busy and not necessary.  Best food we have eaten at the convention centre – so far.

Table companions Emma Moffat, winemaker at Hidden Valley, with her Double Gold medal for their 2013 Sauvignon Blanc with Anita Streicher, who handles their sales and marketing

Good cheese platter with a slice of the SA Cheese of the year Dalewood’s Hugenot. And behind it a glass of jelly and custard. OK the description read “Pomegranate verrine (Wikipedia: A verrine is originally a small thick-glass container with no base (?), which purpose is to contain a solid or liquid dish (starter, course or dessert), rather than a drink.) Panna Cotta with pomegranate jelly and a salad of orange, grapefruit, sweet pea tendrils (!) and Madeira croutons with shards of black pepper meringue.  Hard red jelly on thick custard with far too much else on top.  The shard of ‘meringue’ was the most interesting thing on the dish being a possible molecular gastronomy event. It melted in the mouth and was hot and peppery.  We pinched a couple from uneaten desserts, of which there were a few.

Lots of different styles of dancing when the disco started after the awards presentation.

Carel Nel of Boplaas and his winemaker daughter Margaux, absolutely delighted with their many awards: 5 double golds, six golds and 3 silvers.

Dr Winnie Bowman celebrating the Boplaas medals with Carel Nel

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013
Nikon DSLR ruined the cut of the dinner jacket, so these were taken with a Nokia Lumia 920 phone