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this week’s MENU:
This
week’s products: Exciting
products from France StreetSmart
Update This week’s recipe:
Asian Inspired Duck Salad Learn about wine
and cooking
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“READ
ON.....” at the end of each paragraph, which will
lead you to the related blog, with pictures and more words. At the end of each
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This week’s Product menu We have just been told about some exciting
products by one of our suppliers. These include brick dough, mainly used in
North African dishes (pastilla), but also for normal samosa, etc…. They are made from wheat flour and sunflower
oil, can be kept in a dry area, and in a fridge when the pack is opened. He
also has packs of smoked salmon (Scottish and Norwegian) from Labeyrie and a
range of Provence herbs and Mediterranean spices. They are not in our online
shop yet, but send us your enquiry and we will quote you.
Food and wine pairing at Cape Wine
Academy How nice to receive an invitation from our
alma mater to attend a Food and Wine pairing evening guided by chef Wanda
Cronje. It is a very clever concept and we thoroughly recommend them to anyone
who wants to know more about this subject. It costs R395 a person and you get a
full dinner with lots of wine, in smaller portions
When we got there we were
faced with 8 glasses of different wines and a small platter containing a walnut
(tannin), a (salty) biscuit, a slice of apple (fruit), a slice of lemon(acid)
and a small dish of soy (umami). No, this was not the only food of the evening,
we were relieved to learn. You taste each of these with a sip of the wine to
see how they affect it, as many of these flavours are found in wines and some
compliment and others clash. The wines were a popular selection of what many
people drink with food. Then came several courses which were tasted with the
wines and discuss how we found the matches and learn more. Read on.....
Great Wine Capitals 2015 Best of Wine
Tourism Awards at Waterford Waterford
is one of our most beautiful wine estates with classical Italianate buildings.
How special then to have lunch accompanied by great wine, in the central
courtyard under the shady trees on a perfect early summers day while the local
awards were announced and certificates presented. These awards celebrate
innovation and excellence throughout the 10 greatest wine regions in the world.
The awards went to Waterkloof Wines (Restaurant), KWV (Innovative Wine Tourism
Experiences), Babylonstoren (Accommodation and Architecture & Landscapes),
Waterford Estate (Service and Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices) and Cavalli
Wine and Stud Farm (Art & Culture ) Read on.....
Cape Town Festival of Beer A quick trip to Hamilton’s Rugby Club on
the Green Point Common and a tasting of as many beers as we could manage. The
growth in craft brewing locally is astounding, It was not crowded as we had
expected, although we hear it got much busier later and over the weekend and
there was a real enthusiastic and informed crowd while we were there. There
were some really great beers, and just a couple that were not. Read on.....
Jordan Summer Festival This may not be a large
festival, they sell just enough tickets to completely fill the car parking, but
it was one of the most enjoyable and relaxed of the year. Jordan asked people
to donate dog food, blankets, bowls, etc., which they were collecting for the
Border Collie Rescue, PETS and Animal Welfare, all of which are close to Kathy
Jordan’s heart. Over the years they have collected blankets and pet food at
their event, which have all been donated to the three charities. Food and wine
was sold and all the profits they made on the day went to this worthy charity.
This year they collected R7000 on the day. The 2014 Winter Charity drive saw
them collect almost 5 tonnes of clothing, food & blankets, which was
delivered weekly to several churches, night shelters and recognised charities
in their community. In addition to that they received generous donations for
Stellenbosch Animal Welfare.
We picnicked under the trees or on the lawn, enjoyed the tasting stations which had a R15 canape to match each wine, the lovely view, music and weather, chatted to almost everyone on the farm, ate delicious food prepared by chef George Jardine and sipped lovely Jordan wine with lunch. They had boules and croquet, vineyard and cellar tours, a blending completion, childrens’ jumping castle and a lucky ticket draw, where Lynne won one of the prizes.. Read on.....
We picnicked under the trees or on the lawn, enjoyed the tasting stations which had a R15 canape to match each wine, the lovely view, music and weather, chatted to almost everyone on the farm, ate delicious food prepared by chef George Jardine and sipped lovely Jordan wine with lunch. They had boules and croquet, vineyard and cellar tours, a blending completion, childrens’ jumping castle and a lucky ticket draw, where Lynne won one of the prizes.. Read on.....
While we were at Jordan,
George Jardine "borrowed" John's camera and came back with a series of 'behind-the-scenes' photographs
of the people who work in his kitchen. We have not changed the composition, but
have made adjustments to some of the exposures. It is, we believe, a
fascinating insight into the kitchen of one of South Africa's best chefs from,
literally, his own point of view. He hasn't given us any names. If he does, we
will add and post them.
Jordan will host a Christmas
concert on the 21st December, featuring the Kayamandi Gospel Choir. Free
entrance for children (who must bring a wrapped present for charity). check out
info@thebakery.co.za for details. There
are also other concerts, one this Sunday. And one on the 11th January
Le Lude There is a new wine farm in Franschhoek
and we were invited to the opening of the new, very beautiful cellar at La Lude
in Franschhoek and taste their new MCC Brut and Rosé, which will be released
next year. Owned by Advocate Nick Barrow and his wife Ferda, this is just past
the museum on the way up to the Franschhoek pass. It is named after one of the
most beautiful chateaux on the Loire.
Wine-maker Paul Gerber is a
pioneer in fermentation of Cap Classique on cork. The process – Agarfé – leads
to a more complex and unique development of flavours and mouth-feel. "The
main reason for this is the difference in the rate of exchange of gases that
takes place when the bottle is closed with a cork for the secondary
fermentation and aging compared with crown-cap," he says. "It leads
to a wine with a unique character, and in Champagne some of the houses such as
Bollinger, Krug and Taittinger still use it." Read on.....
The Magic of Bubbles Festival Held, as usual, at the Huguenot monument
in Franschhoek, this was a huge success this year as they were totally full on
both days. We love this festival, but don’t love the heat that arrives in some
years. We chatted to many of our favourite producers to find out what they were
doing with their MCCs and tasted several new releases. Several of our friends
were also there, enjoying the day. With your entrance ticket costing R200 you
were given a champagne glass and a MasterCard sponsored card, loaded with
points. It was ‘tapped’ at the various stalls to pay for tastes, usually one
per generous tasting. Food had to be paid for with cash. Sadly, Franschhoek has
not embraced Banting, almost all the food was with or on large amounts of
bread.
One thing we just don’t
understand. WHY can you not taste the French champagnes at the show? This
surely is the place and time and more importantly the perfect target market to
introduce their wines to? But no, you could only buy an expensive full glass or
a bottle with cash, they don’t all take the card which was provided. We think
that it looks rather snobbish and puts people off who have not yet experienced
these lovely bubbles. Many told us that they wouldn’t mind giving up more
points to taste the champagnes. Read on.....
Keermont Another venture this week was up into the top of the beautiful
Paradyskloof valley to visit this winery. Agriculture in the Upper
Blaauwklippen Valley can be traced back to 1694. In 2003, the Wraith family
moved to the Western Cape from Gauteng and bought two adjacent farms. These two
farms are now farmed as one Estate known as Keermont Vineyards. We were warmly
welcomed by Mark Wraith and his wife, Monica and their winemaker Alex Starey,
who is in charge of the vineyards and of making the estate’s wines. Alex
studied Viticulture and Oenology at Stellenbosch University and graduated in
2002. He has travelled and worked in wine regions including Maipo Valley in
Chile, Penedès and Priorat in Spain, St-Emilion and Côte Rotie in France. You
can read more about this interesting winery on http://www.keermont.co.za/
They are blessed with some very special
and unique vineyard sites and the farm is bisected by the Blaauwklippen river,
which is also the boundary between the Helderberg and the Stellenbosch Mountain
Range. This means that some of the vineyards are on the warmer north-facing
Helderberg slopes and others on the cooler west-facing Stellenbosch range. They
took us up onto the mountains in 4 x4’s to see their vineyards and this was
then followed by a tasting of their three Reserve wines and a good buffet lunch
prepared by Chef Andrew Jordaan from Wild Peacock. Read on.....
Miravel We dropped in to see an old friend Maarten
van Beuningen on his farm Miravel the Helderberg. We used to sell his wines in
our shop. We had a good catch up and tasted some of his wines. Martin currently
has a special on offer which we bought. Read more.....
StreetSmart Update We
recently told you that StreetSmart had collected R480,000 from Cape Town
Restaurants. We thought you would like to know that this year they have
collected R1,040,000.00 throughout SA from 92 Restaurants. Its’ a superb result
and will really contribute to change lives
Recipe of the week You are no doubt thinking of what to serve
for Christmas or even something nice to start with during New Year and the
holiday. At this time of year we all look to having a few luxuries, so this
week’s recipe is something to excite the taste buds. You can get the Hoisin and
Plum Sauce at any Chinese supermarket. They are wonderful with Duck and
Pancakes.
Asian Inspired Duck Salad
2 Duck breasts – 1
t five spice powder – sea salt - 1 T Hoisin sauce – T Chinese plum sauce - 1 t
finely grated fresh ginger – 1 t light soy sauce - 1 ripe mango, peeled &
sliced – 1 ripe avocado – lime juice– well washed mixed watercress and rocket -
salt and freshly ground black pepper – 5 spring onions – 10cm piece of fresh
cucumber, peeled – 16 to 20 mini Roma tomatoes - sesame oil
Turn your oven to 180°C. Make
five or six incisions across the skin of the duck breasts. Dust them all over
with the five spice powder and salt and in a dry pan, place them skin side down
and cook gently until all the fat has been rendered from underneath the skin
and it is crisp and golden but NOT burnt. Sear the other side of the breasts,
pour off (and keep for roast potatoes) most of the duck fat, then put the pan
with the duck skin side up, (or a baking dish) into a 180°C oven for 7 or 8
minutes. Remove and allow the duck to rest while you combine the other
ingredient to make the salad.
Cut the spring onions
into 5 cm lengths and then shred them roughly, lengthwise. Put into salted iced
water, where they will curl up. Matchstick the cucumber and put it into salted
iced water. Mix the Hoisin and Plum sauce together with the soy and ginger and
set aside. If it is too thick add a little water to make a pouring consistency.
Cut the avocado into small pieces 2 to 3 cm, and drizzle with lime juice, then
season with salt and pepper. Put some mixed leaves on an attractive serving
plate, season; scatter over the mango and avocado. Then scatter over the
drained spring onions, cucumber and tomatoes. Slice the, now cold, duck across
the grain and scatter over the salad. It should be a bit pink inside. Drizzle
with the sauce, and then a few drops of sesame oil. You can serve this in
individual bowls. Serves 4.
Learn about wine and cooking We receive 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 of Cathy’s WSET and
other courses here
and here and the CWA courses here. Karen Glanfield has taken
over the UnWined
wine appreciation courses from Cathy. See the details here
The Hurst Campus, an accredited school for people who want to become
professional chefs, has a variety of courses. See the details here
Chez Gourmet in Claremont has a programme of cooking classes. A calendar of their classes can be seen here.
In addition to the
new Sense
of Taste Culinary Arts School, Chef Peter Ayub runs a
four module course for keen home cooks at his Maitland complex. Details
here
Nadège Lepoittevin-Dasse has French cooking classes in Noordhoek
and conducts cooking tours to Normandy. You can see
more details here.
Emma Freddi runs the
Enrica Rocca cooking courses at her
home in Constantia.
5th December 2014
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best
to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere in the country, we
can send it to you! Check our online shop for details and prices.
PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined,
click on it for more information
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 and standard 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 and our
blogs are ©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus.
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