Monday, February 04, 2019

Hemel en Aarde Valley Pinot Noir Celebration Part Five. Charity Auction and evening with Chefs

Day 2 of the Pinot Noir Celebration. Saturday Evening

We were all instructed to get back to Nidderdale at 6 in the evening. Many more people were arriving, because you could buy a ticket for just the evening for R795 which included a barrel tasting of the wines of the area with the winemakers, the Charity Auction and then the Open Fire dinner with four celebrity chefs
Emul Ross of Hamilton Russell chatting with Norma Ratcliffe while he pours her some Pinot Noir
And then, seconds later, someone pours him a glass!
Nils Verburg chats to a friend with Bartho Eksteen in the background. It was becoming crowded
Wijnskool winemaker Bartho Eksteen enjoying the evening
Waiting for the Wine Auction to begin
David Clark ran the auction and was assisted by an attractive spotter
There were some very good lots donated by the Hemel and Aarde wine farms
Some more lots with big bottles, other lots were dinners and wine tastings
And one large bottle at the end of the auction containing Pinot Noir from all of the wineries in the Celebration
A very big lot from Newton Johnson and it made a lot of money
Two lots from Domaine des Dieux
A protea flower was used as an auction paddle, so the bidder could be seen
Lots of laughter made the auction go on a bit longer than planned
Can I have your name please sir? And how are you going to pay?
Anne Wessels taking the details of a buyer with a winning bid
The auction total turnover was R140 000 and the proceeds go to support local charities
Penny Verburg and Louise Jardine on George Jardine’s stand, where he was cooking chicken wings
Penny with George, just friends
Kitchen Cowboy Pete Goffe-Wood had braai grilled lamb ribs and excellent celeriac remoulade, but the queue was awful as aged and greedy men kept stealing ribs from under Pete's knife, a risky exercise at the best of times. The lamb did not have time to rest so, sadly, was a threat to teeth. Lynne was very British about queue jumping and told them all off
Students from SABA Butlers' school assisting
Chef Nic van Wyk from Haute Cabrière restaurant had pork loin and he sold out before the evening ended
Nic van Wyk with Franck Dangereux from The Food Barn in Noordhoek
This was the cooking station area while the wine auction was taking place
Later, it was a bit chaotic and very busy, hard to move
They brought their own. JC Martin and Gerhard Smith from Creation
George Jardine with Crosby, one of the SABA Butler school students
George's Chicken wings on a layered hanging apparatus over his fire to keep the chicken wings hot
If you look at the back leg on the right, you will see it burning through
The whole thing did collapse at one point, but was ably repaired so that cooking could go on
Franck Dangereux had cured yellowtail with hot kimchi on mini tacos
Franck Dangereux talking to Clive Torr CWM
Pete Goffe-Wood chats to Les Aupaias and Ian Glenn
A very good local lager to try. According to Clive Torr, a cleansing ale is always refreshing if you’ve had too much of wine
Uncle and niece, Peter Finlayson and Carolyn Martin
Pete carving those ribs and serving Carolyn Martin and Chris Albrecht
Lots of seasoning please and a very hot fire behind them
One of the braai masters
Getting a nice colour and a crisp fat
Bevan Newton Johnson was assisting Pete
Nic van Wyk’s paprika pork loins on the fire
Stir frying too
Lots of chopping to do
Peter and Gita Finlayson
Old mates. Paul Windover from New York State, Prof Peter Roos, Michele Guttler and Dr John Grant
Lots of preparation on the Franck Dangereux stand
Serving Hermanus publicist Frieda Lloyd and winemaker Jessica Sauerwein
Anma Botha, wife of Dawie Botha, Anthonij Rupert winemaker with the fish tacos from Franck Dangereux
It's over there or Get in the queue....?! Megan Parnell, with Shane Mullis, looks worried. Berene Sauls waits patiently
Can I have another?
You find all sorts of people helping out! Terence van der Walt of Siris Vintners
There was live music too
Oh, the find of the evening. The Gelato stand
We tried these flavours and raved about the Cherry and Tarragon and the Raspberry and Sumac. Made from Yoghurt, it didn't give us the collywobbles as ice cream often does to those with dairy intolerance or allergies. The flavours are superb. The Bay leaf flavour is interesting, but quite thick and gloopy. Now we have to find them near us in Cape Town. A lovely end to an exciting, fulfilling, tasty and sometimes mad weekend. It was very well organised and the wines were epic. Well, 90% of them were

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