Friday, October 13, 2017

Media launch of Hard Rock Café Cape Town in Camps Bay

We were invited this week to the media launch at the Hard Rock Cafe the day before it officially opened. Lynne has very fond memories of the London Hard Rock, the first one, as when it opened in 1971, she was working at Universal Pictures, which was next door at No 1 Piccadilly. Yes there were long queues to get in and yes you did see lots of celebrities when you eventually got in. Loads of Rock and Roll memorabilia on the walls. And they always had very good hamburgers. We were keen to see if and how the concept has changed in 46 years!
We were invited this week to the media launch at the Hard Rock Café, the day before it officially opened. Lynne has very fond memories of the London Hard Rock, the first one as, when it opened in 1971, she was working at Universal Pictures, which was next door at No 1 Piccadilly. Yes, there were long queues to get in and yes, you did see lots of celebrities when you eventually got in. Loads of Rock ‘n Roll memorabilia on the walls. And they always had very good hamburgers. We were keen to see if and how the concept has changed in 46 years!
It is hard to miss, near Pick n Pay and right across the road from the beach, with great views. However parking in trendy and popular Camps Bay is always an issue, we suggest you use the parking garage
The barman, who makes a mean cocktail. All the staff wear a selection of the collectable Hard Rock badges, some are available for sale in the small store at the front of the Café. We were given glasses of an MCC on arrival
Like the lamps made from cymbals? And the wall of records
Lots of precious memorabilia on the walls. We have to confess that we have not heard of all of the rock stars these come from. Josh Smith is an American Blues guitarist
Vinyl wall
Lynne chatting to the designer Hala Khalaf, who flies around the world for each opening. She is the Memorabilia curator for Hard Rock Café International. Next stops for her are Cairo and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. They have venues in 74 countries: 178 Cafés, 24 hotels and 10 casinos. The owners and operators of the HRI parent company are The Seminole Tribe of Florida
The hard hats and reflective 'aprons' we wore for our tour of the restaurant. They were still busy installing some of the memorabilia
The Shop at the front of the restaurant
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The downstairs interior
Beer on tap - sadly all SAB. Let's hope they discover some of the more popular and artisanal beers
Hala tells us the history of the Hard Rock and a bit more about how she sources and places the memorabilia. They own the world's largest collection of music memorabilia and cater for all ages, so some is from the Rock ‘n Roll era and others are from the decades since
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There is also a spacious upstairs room with another long bar
With quirky lights and more memorabilia. The most valuable piece is the drum kit on the wall which belonged to journeyman drummer Brent Fitz while touring with Slash. There are also boots owned by Bob Dylan, a Les Paul Guitar, A Paul Reed Smith guitar used in a Madonna 2001 Drowned World Tour, a microphone stand created for and used by Rihanna and many more. You have to go and see for yourself
Nice views from the upstairs windows and balcony
The said drum kit
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The barmen
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It was another stormy day and the waves were crashing on the beach outside
Downstairs and time for some samples of the food they will be serving. Prawn cocktails
Chicken "tenders" with a good barbeque sauce
Deep fried cauliflower with a spicy dip
Onion rings
John had a beer
Then came the sliders (mini burgers). These were the classic hamburgers, dressed simply with caramelised onion and a melting cheese. They are still good.
Pulled pork on a bun, nice and smoky with a good sauce
The Long Island Tea
A blue Pina Colada. Lynne tasted one and it was rather too sweet for her and had the disconcerting flavour of bubblegum. It looked like a Blue Lagoon
Burgers with chicken fillet
Very friendly waiting staff
With lovely smiles. Yes, I will have another...
This was supper
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Time for dessert. An Oreo Cheesecake
Or wicked chocolate brownies. No nuts but later they came out sprinkled with nuts.
The barman made Lynne a lovely sour cocktail with vodka
We loved Hala's earrings. The Hard Rock Café is now open and we wonder whom their market will be.
The many overseas tourists will know the concept already

































Posted by MENU at 1:03 pm 0 comments

Thursday, October 12, 2017

This Week’s MENU. Catherine Marshall Wines, Sommeliers’ Selection, Dinner at Forage, Lunch at Newton Johnson, Hard Rock Café, Catherine Marshall Peter's Vision 2015, Broad bean, Bacon and Parmesan risotto

A southern red bishop (Euplectes orix) in a bamboo thicket, Wildekrans Estate, Bot River, Western Cape
The madness continues. This is truly a “silly season” when we speak of the huge number of activities happening in the Cape’s food and wine environment. We had a most enjoyable weekend at Bot River with fellow members of our wine club which meant that we missed the Veritas Awards and an invitation to lunch with members of the Elgin Valley’s Chardonnay Colloquium. We believe that one does not renege on a commitment made, even though other, later invitations might be very attractive. Not that we have been short of activities, as you can see below. Next week, we'll tell you of a sparkling lunch at a great restaurant, an important wine awards event and an environmental accolade amongst others, so we hope you’ll enjoy this week’s stories and come back next week....
Michael Hans “Spatz” Sperling (1931-2017)   
A giant of the South African wine industry has left us. Spatz came to the Cape from Germany in 1951. He joined his uncle Hans Hoheisen and his aunt Del on the Delheim farm where he started to experiment with wine making, eventually adding to his knowledge by consulting with established winemakers. His first wine Spatzendreck, a natural sweet, was tasted by a friend who pronounced it “dreck”. He bottled it with a picture of a sparrow relieving itself on the label and it has been a favourite dessert wine for many aficionados ever since. Sperling is the German word for Sparrow and Spatz is the colloquial equivalent

Spatz, Sydney Back of Backsberg and Frans Malan of Simonsig founded the Cape Estate Wine Producers Association when there were very few independent wine estates in South Africa. They were also the driving force in transforming wine estate legislation. The 1973 Wine of Origin system was largely the result of their combined efforts. He was also a pioneer producer of quality red blends and, together with Frans Malan and Neil Joubert of Spier, was a founder member of the Stellenbosch Wine Route. He also had an important role in the establishment of the Stellenbosch Bottled Wine Show and Food and Wine Festival. Pioneers like Spatz laid the foundation for the modern South African wine industry and we are all in debt to his spirit, hard work and enterprise. Our sympathies go to his wife Vera and his family. We celebrate his many achievements and we wish them long life
Catherine Marshall Wines tasted with lunch at Ellerman House   
Catherine Marshall has been making wine now for 20 years! We all remember her first Barefoot wine, but making wine for this long matures one and her wines have changed, evolved and emerged as some of the best South Africa produces. We were delighted to be invited to taste them last week. Ellerman House is one of the best boutique Hotels in South Africa, with one of the best wine cellars, and a renowned art collection. We have been invited for wine tastings before; this time it was to be lunch

Tasting the Sommeliers’ Selection in Cape Town   
We were recently at the Sommeliers’ Selection announcements in Stellenbosch. This week we had a chance to taste them all at The Stack in Gardens. And what a popular tasting it was with members of the restaurant and hotel fraternity, the wine trade and media. You can see the 2017 Sommeliers Selection here: http://www.thesommeliersselection.co.za/2017/06/the-sommeliers-selection2017.html

 Dinner at Forage; Wildekrans Estate, Bot River   
The last time we stayed at Wildekrans in Bot River, chef Greg Henderson had just arrived to open Forage restaurant. A year later, we returned with most of our wine club in tow to stay in the Lodge for the weekend and have dinner in the restaurant on Saturday night. There were 18 of us seated at three tables. Forage has been gaining a reputation for interesting modern food and it is located in an area rather barren of fine dining
A Lovely Lunch at The Restaurant, Newton Johnson   
Following our stay at Wildekrans Lodge, we all dispersed and went for lunch in the area before heading home. We had booked a table at Newton Johnson for 1 pm and were given a great table with the best view
The Hard Rock Café returns to Cape Town and opens in Camps Bay   
We were invited this week to the media launch at the Hard Rock Café, the day before it officially opened. Lynne has very fond memories of the London Hard Rock, the first one as, when it opened in 1971, she was working at Universal Pictures, which was next door at No 1 Piccadilly. Yes, there were long queues to get in and yes, you did see lots of celebrities when you eventually got in. Loads of Rock and Roll memorabilia on the walls. And they always had very good hamburgers. We were keen to see if and how the concept has changed in 46 years!
MENU's Wine of the Week. Catherine Marshall Peter's Vision 2015   
The wine everyone raved about at Catherine Marshall's Ellerman House tasting. It has been nominated for 5 stars in this year’s Platter Guide. Announcements will be at the Platter launch on the 4th of November. Peter's Vision 2015; a blend of 87% Merlot (an Italian clone) from Shannon and 13% Cabernet Franc (a French clone)

From Elgin, on the left hand side of the N2. Berries were hand sorted. Lead pencils, rhubarb, mulberries, cherries, savoury and herbal. On the palate, layers and layers of rich, ripe red and black fruit, elegance, wood and soft chalky tannins and some caramel, with plums in brandy enrobed in chocolate on the end. A WOW wine. This is dedicated to Pete Oxenham, Cathy's late partner, son Jonathan's (Jonno) dad who, sadly, died of cancer
What's on the MENU this week? Broad bean, Bacon and Parmesan risotto     Lynne was given a generous supply of broad beans this week and this was the first chance we had to eat them. She has been depodding them for hours and many have gone into the freezer
This recipe is Lynne's adaptation of one from the River Café Easy cookbook. We had all the ingredients in the house, so it was simple to make and really good. The Fontina cheese is optional, but it does add a lovely creamy stickiness to the risotto. You could make this vegetarian by leaving out the bacon and using a good vegetable stock. You will need to season
1.5 litres chicken stock - 2 or 3 rashers of streaky bacon - 1 small onion, finely chopped - 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped - 10 ml olive oil - 10 g butter – 100 ml dry white wine - 250 g Risotto rice - ½ kilo young broad beans (out of their pods) - 50 g grated Parmesan - 30 g cubed Fontina cheese - 50 g butter
In a large pot, heat the stock. In another pot, melt the butter with the olive oil. Cut the bacon into 1 cm strips and add to the butter. Fry gently for a minute or two, then add the onion and the garlic and fry for another minute until they are transparent and softening, but not browning.  Pour on the white wine and bring to a rapid boil to reduce it by half and burn off the alcohol. Turn down the heat, add the rice and coat it well in the remaining sauce. Add two ladlefuls of the stock and the broad beans. Add more as the rice begins to absorb it. Stir and continue adding stock and stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked - takes about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter and then both cheeses. Taste, season if required and serve

12th October 2017

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Posted by MENU at 10:42 pm 0 comments

What's on the MENU this week? Broad bean, Bacon and Parmesan risotto

Lynne was given a generous supply of broad beans this week and this was the first chance we had to eat them. She has been depodding them for hours and many have gone into the freezer
This recipe is Lynne's adaptation of one from the River Café Easy cookbook. We had all the ingredients in the house, so it was simple to make and really good. The Fontina cheese is optional, but it does add a lovely creamy stickiness to the risotto. You could make this vegetarian by leaving out the bacon and using a good vegetable stock. You will need to season
1.5 litres chicken stock - 2 or 3 rashers of streaky bacon - 1 small onion, finely chopped - 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped - 10 ml olive oil - 10 g butter – 100 ml dry white wine - 250 g Risotto rice - ½ kilo young broad beans (out of their pods) - 50 g grated Parmesan - 30 g cubed Fontina cheese - 50 g butter
In a large pot, heat the stock. In another pot, melt the butter with the olive oil. Cut the bacon into 1 cm strips and add to the butter. Fry gently for a minute or two, then add the onion and the garlic and fry for another minute until they are transparent and softening, but not browning.  Pour on the white wine and bring to a rapid boil to reduce it by half and burn off the alcohol. Turn down the heat, add the rice and coat it well in the remaining sauce. Add two ladlefuls of the stock and the broad beans. Add more as the rice begins to absorb it. Stir and continue adding stock and stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked - takes about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the butter and then both cheeses. Taste, season if required and serve

Posted by MENU at 9:20 pm 0 comments

Michael Hans “Spatz” Sperling (1931-2017)

Image result for spatz sperling photo
Photo © Random Hat Communications

A giant of the South African wine industry has left us. Spatz came to the Cape from Germany in 1951. He joined his uncle Hans Hoheisen and his aunt Del on the Delheim farm where he started to experiment with wine making, eventually adding to his knowledge by consulting with established winemakers. His first wine Spatzendreck, a natural sweet, was tasted by a friend who pronounced it “dreck”. He bottled it with a picture of a sparrow relieving itself on the label and it has been a favourite dessert wine for many aficionados ever since. Sperling is the German word for Sparrow and Spatz is the colloquial equivalent. 
Spatz, Sydney Back of Backsberg and Frans Malan of Simonsig founded the Cape Estate Wine Producers Association when there were very few independent wine estates in South Africa. They were also the driving force in transforming wine estate legislation. The 1973 Wine of Origin system was largely the result of their combined efforts. He was also a pioneer producer of quality red blends and, together with Frans Malan and Neil Joubert of Spier, was a founder member of the Stellenbosch Wine Route. He also had an important role in the establishment of the Stellenbosch Bottled Wine Show and Food and Wine Festival. Pioneers like Spatz laid the foundation for the modern South African wine industry and we are all in debt to his spirit, hard work and enterprise. Our sympathies go to his wife Vera and his family. We celebrate his many achievements and we wish them long life
RETURN TO MENU
Posted by MENU at 8:13 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

MENU's Wine of the Week. Catherine Marshall Peter's Vision 2015

The wine everyone raved about at Catherine Marshall's Ellerman House tasting. It has been nominated for 5 stars in this year’s Platter Guide. Announcements will be at the Platter launch on the 4th of November. Peter's Vision 2015; a blend of 87% Merlot (an Italian clone) from Shannon and 13% Cabernet Franc (a French clone)
From Elgin, on the left hand side of the N2. Berries were hand sorted. Lead pencils, rhubarb, mulberries, cherries, savoury and herbal. On the palate, layers and layers of rich, ripe red and black fruit, elegance, wood and soft chalky tannins and some caramel, with plums in brandy enrobed in chocolate on the end. A WOW wine. This is dedicated to Pete Oxenham, Cathy's late partner, son Jonathan's (Jonno) dad who, sadly, died of cancer
Posted by MENU at 11:42 pm 0 comments

Tasting Catherine Marshall's wines with lunch at Ellerman House

Catherine Marshall has been making wine now for 20 years! We all remember her first Barefoot wine, but making wine for this long matures one and her wines have changed, evolved and emerged as some of the best South Africa produces. We were delighted to be invited to taste them last week. Ellerman House is one of the best boutique Hotels in South Africa, with one of the best wine cellars, and a renowned art collection. We have been invited for wine tastings before, this time it was to be lunch
We met in the wine cellar with its huge corkscrew helix in which the wines are stored
Allan Mullins CWM, wine selector for Woolworths, was there and was welcomed by Ellerman House's sommelier Manuel Caballo
Negociant Tracy van Maaren has Cathy's wines on her sales list, amongst other good wine farms - Opening the wines...
...and making sure everything is properly laid out
The Catherine Marshall wines have all been rebranded with labels that Cathy says really represent who she is and how she feels about the wines. They were commissioned by Cathy and designed by talented 20 year old designer Beatrice Fassler (granddaughter of South African couturier Marianne Fassler)
Journalist Anel Grobler of Spit or Swallow with Allan Mullins. We tasted the Semillon on arrival. It is made in very small quantities and not often shown. Lanoline and limes with steely minerality, a full mouth and lovely layers of fruit and freshness with a long end
Time to taste. We began with the 2016 Riesling from Elgin where the grapes are grown on red shale. It has soft terpenes, dusty honey notes on the nose, a tingle on the tongue with limes & lemons and some beeswax on the end. The wine is left on the lees for texture and balance. It is elegance personified. Cathy is selling it to Vagabond in London
These are the wines we tasted. The new collection is to be released in the next two weeks. Next came the Fine Art Collection 2016 Chenin in Clay. The wine is fermented for 14 months in a clay amphora made at Longkloof. 100% Elgin fruit, honey flowers with light wood. Silky smooth on the palate honey minerality limes, with wood support but invisible. Sweet melon, and light chalk, a Loire style Chenin. Her heart lies in the Loire. These are such site specific wines


She says that to be successful, you have to keep reinventing yourself. This is a range abut art; her art is wine, in which she can express herself, wines made with an intention of quality. They are beginning to get high scores
This year she has been nominated for 5 stars in Platter, Tim Atkin gave her 91 points for the 2013 Clay soil Pinot Noir
It was a stormy day outside
Next came the 2016 Pinot Noir on Sandstone. Roses, violets, mushrooms, forest floor and incense wood on this nuanced nose. Dark wood on the palate, with liquorice, needs time to soften. Dark berry fruit almost bruléed, with warmth and crisp red fruit and dark toasted wood on the end. The 2016 Pinot Noir on Clay is completely different. Raspberries, perfume incense wood, red velvet texture, with sweet red berries, rhubarb and full on the palate. Then the 2016 Finite Elements Pinot Noir. Perfumed berry nose, velvet and smoke, minerality integrated fruit, slight lactic note
Time for the wine everyone raved about, which has been nominated for 5 stars in this year’s Platter Guide. Announcements will be at the Platter launch on the 4th of November. Peter's Vision 2015; a blend of 87% Merlot (an Italian clone) from Shannon and 13% Cabernet Franc (a French clone). From Elgin, on the left hand side of the N2. Berries were hand sorted. Lead pencils, rhubarb, mulberries , cherries, savoury and herbal. On the palate, layers and layers of rich, ripe red and black fruit, elegance, wood and soft chalky tannins and some caramel, with plums in brandy enrobed in chocolate on the end. A WOW wine. This is dedicated to Pete Oxenham, Cathy's late partner, son Jonathan's (Jonno) dad who, sadly, died of cancer
Cathy's son Jonno will be joining her soon to help with the wine making
Cathy does the vineyard selection, wine production, marketing and sales; her mother Jakki is also involved in the money side of the business and Greg Mitchell runs the behind the scenes business side of the company
After the tasting, we were honoured with a tour of the art in Ellerman House. There are many magnificent pictures, some by very famous artists
A beautiful Pierneef in the corridor of the hotel
Down the stairs to the Art Gallery. The views from the hotel are magnificent, even in the middle of a storm
The gardens are legendary too
A stacked rock head holding up the ceiling
There is so much to look at, some to admire, some to covet, some to puzzle over and even some to giggle at
This couple from Kenya, who are friends of Cathy’s, was enjoying the experience
Close up, its these tiny stacked roundels of different colours
from afar, with a slight squint, suddenly Steve Biko's face appears, Magic
Hmmm. some found this offensive, others didn't...
A Hairy naked man? Just hanging - very lifelike, but only about 50cm from hands to socks
Another magical artwork. The smear on the surface circular table reflects onto the tube and suddenly you see the scene
The stillness of sculptures in a courtyard
Sculpture caught in the wind
Time for some lunch. This is the menu
The citrus seared gravadlax with orange, apple and hazelnuts, paired with the Chenin in Clay
Vadouvan Karoo Lamb chops. Vadouvan is a conundrum, it is a French curry mix - French? eating curry? It was on some of the chops. We think the lamb had been cooked sous vide, because it was very, very pink and soft, with no crisp fat or searing marks. Rather too blue for some of us lamb lovers. Served on a bed of black lentils and chard with a nice flavourful crisp bhadji (savoury deep fried chick pea donut) with a scattering of crumbs and almond sliver. Served with both the Finite Elements Pinot Noir 2016 and Peter's Vision 2015
We ended the meal with a platter of cheeses - the finest of which was an 'au point' French Epoisse which we love, crackers and bread and some guava paté de fruit. This was served with The Myriad 2009, a dessert wine made from Merlot with cask matured brandy spirit; superb with cheese and any dessert

The family together. Thank you for a lovely tasting
Posted by MENU at 11:12 pm 0 comments
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