There was a lot of good food for sale
in the marquee. We liked the look of these very “patriotic” chocolate cupcakes
with tricolour macaroons
Lynne chatting to chef Garth Johnson on the Reuben’s
stand. He was using four large Big Green Eggs to cook on. And we needed to know
how they work and get some tips. All will be revealed next week...
A nicely seared piece of beef
The Seychelles Creole stand was
serving tastes of some really interesting and delicious foods and giving out
the recipes, which Lynne took and will try at home and publish in MENU in the
near future
Here she is with Jenny Prinsloo, CEO of
the Franschhoek Wine Valley, discussing Seychelles and their Creole Festival in
October with David Germain, Director of the Seychelles Tourist Board and their
talented chef
The marquee was filled with people
enjoying the day, the wine and the food in Franschhoek
We chatted briefly to very busy chef
Neil Jewell of Bread and Wine Restaurant and tasted his new Polish salami, full
of warm paprika
The Rickety Bridge team Duncan Stuart, Melanie Sauermann and Deidre Fourie were having fun while pleasing customers on their stand
Dawie Botha, winemaker at Antonij
Rupert, was very busy pouring tastes of the Protea Range. We really like the
bottle designs
and loved the way they have used them
as a chandelier which the cellar staff made.. Gave us lots of ideas
The fresh oysters on the Wild Peacock stand are always very popular
Ross Baker, who owns and runs Wild
Peacock Products, told us about his new warehouse, opening soon
Gaye Davies of Morena was selling lots
of glasses of their Brut Rosé
One of the warmest smiles in the wine
industry. Here she is on working hard on Boschendal's stand
Hmm, what to have for lunch? Lynne
plumped for this lamb curry with tomato salsa, which was full of flavour and
didn't have many carbohydrates, just one poppadom. But, sadly, it was full of
bones and fat. We are told its traditional to serve it like this in the Cape.
Not sure we agree
It seemed to be a very generous helping for R50
John decided on Sliced Sirloin of beef on
a ciabatta with Béarnaise sauce and that too was very fatty and full of tendons,
so not a success, as he doesn't eat the bun. Great flavours, but perhaps the
wrong choice for him
some of the food on offer
We shared our table with these two
suitably moustachioed young ladies, Este & Carla, both
from Stellenbosch, but Carla teaches Afrikaans at the University of the Free
State in Bloemfontein. We asked if she would send our respects to Professor
Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice Chancellor; we are huge fans of his and of his
policies, his views on education and his weekly column in The Times
Biltong and droewors (dried sausage)
are always popular at events like this
Some hot soup or filled rolls at
reasonable prices and some great looking French pastries. Be gone temptation!
Bobbing for Apples and throwing rings
at a target to win prizes and to raise money for the local Ambulance brigade
Yes Darling, these toffees are sold in
Franschhoek, but they are made in Darling. Sneaky!
Leana Schoeman of Porcupine Ridge was
doing brisk business selling their wines
Nice to meet another wine maker friend
enjoying herself, Karin de Villiers from Klein Roosboom in Durbanville, suitably
attired
We were very impressed indeed to find
that we could taste three of Rupert and Rothschild iconic wines, Baroness
Nadine, an elegant creamy and buttery Chardonnay, Baron Edmond, a classic
Bordeaux blend and Classique, a blend of six wines including Cabernet, Merlot
and Shiraz. They are not normally available for tasting and we enjoyed them all
very much indeed
And these three wines from Vrede and
Lust were also excellent, especially the blockbuster Savoye, a blend of Shiraz,
Mourvedre and Viognier
A great observer of people, possibly a
future psychiatrist
Having lots of fun, in the weak sun
outside the marquee
There were a few brave souls who
risked the chill outside, mostly smokers
Time to head home
Heavy police presence, but we didn't see any drunkenness or bad behaviour. Sunday is always very
civilised
