Craig Cormack's Pasta and Pizza menu at Allée Bleue

On Sunday we packed up our overnight bags and headed first to Allée Bleue wine farm in Franschhoek, to which we had been invited to sample Craig Cormack’s pop-up month of Pizza and Pasta for September. It was the most beautiful day and we were given a lovely table on a small balcony apart from the main restaurant, with a view of the vineyards

The manor house with the Franschhoek mountains in the distance

The Restaurant

The shaded terrace part of the restaurant

One of the conference rooms being dressed for a conference on Monday morning

Our table for two on the side of the main terrace

There was lovely bird life in the garden below. This is a bulbul

Bud-break on the vines and all the lovely spring greens of the vines and the trees

The flowering aloe on the side of the stream was a haven for many malachite sunbirds

Our welcoming drink of Allee Bleue Rosé bubbly had been doctored with some Chambord raspberry liqueur. The jury is out on that one. Perhaps better without?

Taking a sip

The highest mountain in the Cape, the Witzenberg in Ceres, is almost another table mountain. When we get snow on the mountain tops in winter, this is the mountain it settles on and it can be seen from the city.

The menu with a small selection of Pizza and Pasta

First came two hot herb rolls with a tomato pesto, a basil pesto and a red pepper pesto.

Then they bring the salad bar, where you get to mix and choose your own salad greens and herbs all from the farms herb gardens. Allée Bleue supplies fresh herbs to most of the restaurants and supermarkets in the Cape

John’s choice was the bacon, chorizo, Parma ham, brie pizza topped with caramelised onions and Dijon mustard and a red wine reduction. This was served with a glass of Allée Bleue Cabernet Merlot 2012

Lynne’s choice was the fried polenta gnocchi with fried sage leaves, mushrooms, mushroom puree and foam and a tiny touch of truffle oil. This was served with Allée Bleue’s very good Flagship white wine, Isabeau 2012, a blend of Semillon, Chardonnay and a little viognier.

We asked for one serving of the baked cheesecake topped with cranberries to share and got a whopping piece, enough for 3 of us!

Look who we found dining there that day!  Geoff and Lynn Grier of Villiera who were great company during an enjoyable lunch

The chef who made our lunch, Ian Laubscher

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

A memorial lunch at The Food Barn

We lost another good friend to cancer recently and we so love the way he wanted to go out. He didn’t want a sad funeral, he left money to take a large group of his friends here, and simultaneously in Durban, out for a slap up lunch. As Richard was a huge bon viveur, this was such a happy way to give him a send off. The Cape Town celebration of his life was held together with members of his family at The Food Barn in Noordhoek which was booked out for lunch on Saturday and Chef Franck Dangereux did Richard proud. We know he would like you to see the pictures of what we ate and drank

Cape Town friends in one room, celebrating a good life and a good man

The special menu

A goats cheese fritter, with a guava and ginger compote, wild rocket, avocado and cinnamon oil served with The Foundry Viognier 2013

A crisp whole prawn fritter on a confit tomato, aubergine and avocado tian, with chilli syrup and a basil salsa. This was quite superb in its flavour and texture combinations, and definitely one to try to copy at home. Served with Sutherland 2012 Riesling, a great match. The blend of basil with sweet chilli was inspiring.

A very crisp refreshing lime/lemon sorbet between courses

Rare roast lamb rack tomato and pecorino ‘quiche’ (no pastry) with a thyme scented minty jus, came with the Nederburg 2010 The Brew Master (Cab/Malbec/Merlot/Petit Verdot) a lovely, rich red wine

John chose the Grilled Angel fish on a pumpkin risotto in a smoked paprika ream with tender leaves. Perfect with the Raats 2013 Original Chenin Blanc

Yogurt and lime Panna cotta with a vanilla sauce, hibiscus ice cream served with the Graham Beck 2012 Rhone Muscadel

A tiny but very rich Belgian chocolate terrine, with salted fudge ice-cream, a toffee and vanilla sauce. Served with Nitida 2013 Modjadji dessert wine

Swapping reminiscences. Thank you Richard Parsons. And Franck, for conjuring up such a wonderful menu that really did pay him tribute

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014

Tasting Creation wines in Riedel glasses at Creation with Georg Riedel

We meet Georg Riedel of Riedel Glass at Creation Winery

This was the main reason for our visit to Hermanus. A lunch had been arranged at Creation winery by Michael Fridjhon and Michael Crossley of Reciprocal Trading, who are the distributors of this glassware in South Africa and they had invited lots of media and restaurateurs to meet him. Over lunch, we would sample Creation wines in Riedel glasses – the one designed specifically for that varietal and also in another. This does make it easy to see how well the correct glass showcases both the aroma, the taste and the enjoyment of each wine. We learned much more about Riedel Glass and how they formulate these special glasses for specific wines, based on very scientific methods

Creation winery from the parking area. It is surrounded on all sides by vines and some lovely indigenous gardens

A warm welcome

A lovely presentation box of The Art of Creation wines, Creation's new premium range, perfect for a gift or your cellar

The tasting room all laid out for the lunch and tasting

Carolyn Martin with Michael Fridjhon

Jean Claude Martin with Michael Crossley

The Creation wines we will taste with their appropriate Riedel glasses. From l to r Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot

Lots of discussion before the tasting

Georg Riedel had come from his factory in Austria to inform and instruct us on the correct use of his glasses. He says size and shape matters,. And, one and a half centimetres can make a difference – the Chardonnay glass is the same shape as the Pinot Noir glass, but higher and the wines taste completely different in each glass

The menu: first the wine tasting in the glasses paired with five canapés, then a main course selection and coffee and chocolate

With the Sauvignon blanc, a slightly sweet, fruity tomato gazpacho containing pineapple with some finely chopped scallop

“Wine makes the music, we are the loudspeakers”

Carolyn explains the canapé pairing with the wines

The full citrus and vanilla Chardonnay paired with prawn, avo and vanilla mayo on pastry

If you travel and cannot take your full set of Riedel glasses with you, you can travel with The O glass, a stemless glass which comes boxed as a pair and which Carolyn is holding. There was some amusing controversy about the correct glass for the Syrah/Grenache

Listening to the Maestro

who is passionate about his products and their use

He showed us how to swirl and wash the wine around the inside of the glass to get the maximum aroma and taste

He showed us how to smell – your face must make contact with the glass.

And he showed us how the same wine in different glasses was completely different in taste and smell and intensity

A tiny slice of thin beetroot atop a goats milk cheese panna cotta topped with lentils to go with the Pinot Noir

Waiting or the next wine pairing

The Merlot

with its tiny cup of warm cauliflower and gorgonzola soup

and finally the Syrah Grenache with a lovely duck rillette on a poppadum with aioli

Michael Fridjhon thanks Georg for coming

John’s main course of rare roast loin of springbok, greens, a fondant potato and a smoked marrow with a pinot noir and cranberry reduction.

The same dish for Lynne came with mushrooms

Creation have a superb selection of different teas for you to order. We smelled cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla mint and many more exciting tea flavours.

JC Martin, Georg Riedel, Carolyn Martin and Michael Fridjhon on the lawn after the tasting

Monika Elias, Shante Hutton having fun and in the background. Dieter Odendaal, Sales Manager of Creation, capturing the moment.

Creation’s Executive Chef, Warwick Taylor, who designed the menu for the day

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© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014