Antique outbuilding
and a view to the dam at Vergenoegd
In
this week’s MENU:
This
week’s Product menu - Christmas treats, chestnuts, truffles
Our
market activities - Neighbourgoods, Long Beach, Cape Point Vineyards
Lunch
under the trees at Pomegranate
Junior
Masterchef Australia
Peach and
Amaretto crumble
Bollinger
Exceptional Wine Service Awards
Events
and Restaurant specials
Wine
courses & cooking classes
This week’s
Product menu Fresh truffles are now 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.
Orders must be in multiples of 100 grams. The truffles will be airfreighted. Be
warned, the price is high, but we can source white truffles from Alba and black
truffles from Perigord and Burgundy. Burgundy is the least expensive. Send
us a message if you wish to order.
Christmas cometh
whatever we may do.. Lynne has been baking this
week – her individual Christmas cakes and some Christmas puddings. The baking
is the easy part of it, as she has some wonderful tried and true recipes to
work with but the bit she really doesn’t enjoy is the decoration of the cakes.
No “Master Baker” contestant in this house. She finds it very, very fiddly and
thinks people who can produce perfectly decorated cakes are either pure heroic
saints or slightly obsessive compulsive personalities – just what a pastry chef
needs to be. And she is not. Send
her a message if you’d like to place an order.
Chestnuts and
other delights
Luxury
things for Christmas are at last appearing from our wholesalers who, we must
say, we think have left it rather late this year to bring things in. We are
delighted to announce that we now have some Marrons Glacé and tinned chestnuts
in syrup for sale as well as many other chestnut products, sweet, savoury, and
whole. More Argan and pistachio oils, more truffles and truffle oil and some
new truffle paste and truffle butter. And some MSG free stock cubes.
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.
We will be at a
new night market next Thursday from 4.30 to 8.30 at Cape Point Vineyards. They are hoping this will
fill in the gap left by the Noordhoek Farm village market which is no longer
functioning. There will be some very exciting stands there and you can
have a picnic on the grass and drink the wonderful wines of Cape Point before
and after you have done your shopping and watch the sun set in the West over
the sea.
We will be back at Long
Beach Mall on Friday 23rd and 30th
November 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”.
Tuna, Biscuit Mill food and presents Julie at Ocean
Jewels has had some really good sushi quality tuna recently and we have bought
rather a lot. One batch was served raw as sashimi, the next was seared quickly
and went into a classic Salad Niçoise which we had for supper on our deck for
the first time this summer.
One of the great things about working at the Biscuit Mill's
Neighbourgoods market on Saturdays is that we do have access to some of the
most delicious and food and fresh ingredients. Into the Niçoise also went some
superb black olives with garlic from Chrisna, some really great red and juicy
tomatoes and fresh basil from the greengrocer at the door.
We start our morning with a good cup of coffee and take the edge off the
morning by sharing either one of the most decadent almond croissants from Knead
bakery or a few assorted lebküchen from Gisela at Cakes and Desserts. One of
our favourite lunch dishes is from the Chinese stand where for R45 you get a
Char sui bun, three potsticker dumplings, a crystal pyramid and some pickled
vegetables, gravy and chilli sauce (all vegetarian). Stephen and his family at
Charcuterie sell a variety of smoked meats and dried sausages and offer rolls o'erbrimming
with salads and meats. The girls from Karen Dudley's The Kitchen are famous for
their overfilled rolls, stuffed with salads, meats and a wide choice of
fillings. Lynne also loves Luke Dale Robert’s Rosti with Smoked Salmon, a
poached egg and Hollandaise sauce (the alternative to waiting several days for
a booking at the Test Kitchen!) while we both are very keen on Sababa’s
excellent falafel in a very full pita. And Julie is now doing a very good seafood
with rice salad, and an excellent generously filled seared tuna or salmon roll.
Do come and shop for your Christmas presents, there are lots of things on offer
and eat and take home some marvellous food.
LUNCH UNDER THE TREES Sunday was a
glorious day, despite a misty start, and we joined a party of 18 members of our
Wine Club for lunch at Vergenoegd (it means satisfaction
has been achieved) wine farm near Stellenbosch, for a tasting and lunch at
their restaurant, Pomegranate. We all sat at a
long table under the liquid amber trees and despite some harassment from the
amusing and fiercely protective pet geese, had a super time.
We started with a slightly rowdy tasting of all their current wines in
their voorkamer, squeezed about the large dining table. Their winemaker,
Marlize Jacobs, was very patient indeed with this happy crowd. We all loved the
Runner Duck range: Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – sadly now sold out - the lovely crisp
and dry but fruity Rosé made from Malbec, Merlot and Cab Franc and the good red
blend made from Touriga Nacional, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, all selling at a
reasonable R50 a bottle from the farm. We chose to drink the Rosé and the red
blend for lunch. Their Classic range of red wines is all made by John Faure
their cellar master and we absolutely loved the Vergenoegd Cabernet Sauvignon
2005, soft silky and full of red berries, while the Vergenoegd Shiraz 2003
(R105) is a spicy stunner. The elegant 2003 Estate blend still deserves some
time in the bottle.
Then it was time to tuck into lunch. Mike Israele, the talented chef patron
of Pomegranate restaurant had come up with a super menu for us, with three
choices for each course at a very reasonable R245 per person. Our wine club
paid the tasting room fees and for the wines we had with lunch. Click here to see pictures of the food
and the day. Lynne treated herself to the mushroom starter while
John had the eland carpaccio. We both enjoyed the excellent duck confit. John
didn’t get pictures of all the desserts, but there was a lovely crème brulée
made with duck eggs. We both had
to have the chocolate fondants. And you can buy duck eggs at the tasting
centre. The duck on the menu is not one of the vineyard ducks - they don't have
enough meat on them!
After lunch we were treated to the Duck Parade, a “not to be missed”
event at Vergenoegd. The farm has a flock of over 1000 Indian runner ducks, who
roam through the vineyards eating snails and other undesirables. A much better
solution to pest control than using pesticides. And a few of us even
managed to play a round or two of boules on their court afterwards before the
drive home for late Sunday afternoon nap.
Junior Masterchef Australia Lynne has been slow
watching this series, because we do not have a lot of time to watch TV –
thank heavens for PVR - but has to comment about how totally amazed she was at
the skills these children displayed. For a 12 year old and the 13 year old to
produce the dishes they did in the final was nothing short of amazing. There
have been adult Masterchef competitions where the contestants did not possess
these skills and artistry and competence. Or self assuredness and simple grace.
We sincerely hope that the new intake for Masterchef SA currently being
auditioned are being chosen not for the area they live in, their publicity
value and quirkiness, or their demographic backgrounds, but purely because of
their talent in the kitchen. How embarrassing was it when they were asked to
cook a dish on the braai (barbeque) in the last challenge and many of them
failed to make a competent dish from something which is our national ’sport’.
Let's hope our children are being taught to cook as well by their parents.
Peach and Amaretto crumble This
is a glorious time of the year for soft fruits. There are lots of peaches and
nectarines currently appearing on the market and we could not resist some
beautiful white skinned peaches last week. However, they do all seem to ripen
at the same time, so Lynne made us the following dessert to use up the last of
the punnet.
8 ripe white peaches – 50 ml
Amaretto liqueur – a packet Amaretto biscuits – 50g flaked almonds - 50g butter
– a few drops of real almond extract
Drop the peaches into a bowl of boiling water and immerse for at least 3
to 5 minutes. Drain and put into iced water immediately. When they have cooled
you will find that the skin peels off easily. Rub the inside of a soufflé or
other oven proof dish with a little of the butter and slice the peaches into
large chucks and add to the dish, discarding the pips. Pour over the amaretto
liqueur. If the peaches are a little tart add a spoonful or two of vanilla
sugar or plain caster sugar to them. Melt the butter and crush the amaretto
biscuits roughly. Pour over the butter and the almonds and the extract,
stir till all is coated and put on the top of the peaches. Bake in a 180°C oven
for half an hour and serve with whipped cream or good vanilla custard. You
could use a crumble topping if you don’t have access to the Amaretto biscuits.
We do sell them at R40 a packet and they are from Italy.
BOLLINGER EXCEPTIONAL WINE SERVICE AWARD 2012 goes
to....
We
were delighted to see that Wayve Kolevsohn is the winner of The
Bollinger Exceptional Wine Service Award. Wayve, 27, was born and bred in Hout
Bay, Cape Town. Shortly before gaining her National Diploma in Hospitality
Management from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) she
travelled to the UK to continue her practical studies. She gained valuable
experience working in top Michelin-star restaurants, including the famous Chez
Bruce.
On her return to South Africa, Wayve completed her post-graduate degree
in Management at CPUT. In June 2009 she joined Le Quartier Français in
Franschhoek, as Restaurant Manager and Sommelier at The Tasting Room, the
world-renowned fine dining restaurant. Earlier this year Wayve joined The Roundhouse
Restaurant in Camps Bay as Sommelier. And more recently she completed the
International Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Advanced Level, and, after
three years of study, was inducted as a Cape Sommelier by the Cape Wine
Academy. This month Wayve will be joining The Test Kitchen as Sommelier. So she
has, as they say, earned her chops.
This was announced on Friday 9th November at Riebeek Kasteel, as part of
the Swartland Revolution, a celebration of fine South African wines and
cuisine. She received the Riedel Glass Trophy and a trip to France with a visit
to the House of Bollinger Champagne. Kayetan Meissner of the Saxon Boutique
Hotel takes Runner-up Award. The other two finalists were Greg Mutambe (12
Apostles Hotel and Spa) and Jeff Lopes, also of the Saxon Boutique Hotel in
Johannesburg.
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.
Restaurant Special offers. Some more restaurants have responded to our request
for an update of their special offers and we have, therefore, updated our list of restaurant special offers. Click here to access it. These Specials have been sent to us by the
restaurants or their PR agencies. We have not personally tried all of them and
their listing here should not always be taken as a recommendation from
ourselves. If they don’t update us, we can’t be responsible for any
inaccuracies in the list. When we have tried it, we’ve put in our observations.
We have cut out the flowery adjectives etc. that so many have sent, to give you
the essentials. Click on the name to access the relevant website. All
communication should be with the individual restaurants.
15th November 2012
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! ®
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