Now, many of you will
know that we are not great fans of Rooibos tea. So what were we doing accepting
an invitation to lunch matched with Rooibos tea? The draw card was, we must
admit, food cooked by Chef Nic van Wyk and we like challenging ourselves every
now and then and trying things we think we don’t like. It was a very interesting experiment and we
admit that the “teas” were not more pleasant to drink than we had
imagined. And they certainly went very
well with the food. It was held in the
new Banks shop in the Checkers Centre in Sea Point on the day they opened. Creation were also there with their excellent
wines and many people were enjoying them.
Banks’ shop also has a working kitchen for hire for chefs lunches,
cooking demonstrations etc.
A welcome glass of
Creation’s Sauvignon blanc, poured by Sales and
Marketing Manager Dieter Odendaal
Chef Nic van Wyk cooking
his Moroccan lamb meatballs. It filled
the shop with wonderful aromas
Adding some more flavour
while a Banks employee in the background sets the media tables
There is lots of space
for the function and there was time to look at all the stock in the shop and
covet a few items
The range of Carmien
teas. Rooibos Blends are Rooibos with
Lemongrass & Ginger, Rooibos & Buchu, Rooibos, Honeybush & Hoodia,
Rooibos & Chai Spices, Rooibos & Chamomile, Green Honeybush, Rooibos
& Mint. Loose Tea Blends are Vintage Romance and Amber Royalty. All
products can be found in leading retailers throughout South Africa.
The range of Creation
wines we were to taste with lunch
The table setting
Journalist Bianca
Coleman from the Cape Argus chatting to Dieter Odendaal of Creation wines in
the Hemel and Aarde valley
Chef Nic explains our
lunch and the tea pairings
Phialene van der Merwe, the Marketing Manger of Carmien, tells us about the products and how they are
grown in the Cederberg - the only place in the world in which they can be grown, due to
the very specific soil and terroir in a narrow 60 000 hectare belt along the West
Coast of South Africa
Lize Mouton of Carmien pours
our first tasting. We drank out of small professional tea tasting glasses
Dieter Odendaal with a bottle of Creation Sauvignon blanc
The founder of Carmien Rooibos Teas and now managing
director, Mientjie Mouton, tells us of the history of Rooibos and the company,
which is now the second largest producer and supplier both locally and abroad.
To quote her: “Tea is no longer just a stand-alone beverage
that you sip between meals, it is versatile and lends itself to a food partner
rounding off flavours and adding depth to any dish. Tea acts as a palate
cleanser and flavour bridge between courses as it refreshes and readies the
palate. “With tea being a big trend for 2014 and even mentioned as being a top
five foodie factor to watch out for, we’re excited to share our blends and grow
this trend in South Africa”.
Listening and tweeting
as she explains why Rooibos Lemongrass and Ginger tea was paired with
Watercress soup
The soup was lovely and
peppery, thickened with cream and a little potato and did indeed go well with
both the Lemongrass and Ginger tea and the Creation Chardonnay
The menu for An Eastern
Journey with food and tea
PRO and great organiser
of these events, Roxy Laker of Errieda du Toit Public Relations
There was a lucky dip of
business cards to win this tea set
Steamed Cob with a
fennel compote and aniseed cream topped with a piece of cold smoked hake and a
piece of salted hake. The fish was
perfectly cooked and we loved the two different pieces of hake on the top. The chai spices in the tea were visible and
did justice to the dish. As did the Creation Sauvignon Blanc.
Tomato sauce for the
next course of meatballs. Lynne found this rather sharp
The TV monitor overhead
allows one to see how the chef prepares the food when doing demos
Merguez Meatballs, pumpkin
mash and tomato sauce with Rooibos and Buchu flavour, probably for us the most
acceptable flavour of these teas. We liked the herbal notes of the Buchu. And
we loved the sexy Shiraz from Creation
The lunch ended with a
lovely dessert, a small rich and delicious Bergamot Pot de crème with a citrus
biscuit served with the Rooibos Earl Grey
Mientjie and Lize Mouton drawing for the prize
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2014
