Wednesday, August 03, 2016

Lunch at Catharina's, Steenberg with Executive chef Archie Maclean

An intriguing meal at Catharina's at Steenberg
Are you an adventurous eater? Because we have been in the food and wine business for so long, first as retailers selling unusual ingredients and fine wines, then as writer and photographer of food and wine etc, we tend to take adventurous food in our stride, but the event at Steenberg this week made us pause. We were invited to sample the food of new Executive chef Archie McLean and it turned out to be quite an adventurous journey that we absolutely loved, but others, perhaps, were cautious
The event started very well with a glass (or two) of Steenberg's Lady R MCC, made from 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, dry, crisp and completely captivating. This high end sparkler has spent 52 month on the lees and has a very low dosage. The grapes are from Stellenbosch, Darling and Robertson. The wine and the restaurant are named after Catharina Ustings Ras, an immigrant from Germany. She founded this historic wine farm in the 17th century and was the first woman from the old world to own land in South Africa
The Steenberg girls with Caroline van Schalkwyk, Sales and Marketing Manager and Gudrun Clark who manages the PR for Steenberg and other companies
Chatting with Michael Olivier
The canapés were very good. Everything we were served for lunch is on the current menu, so you too can experience these adventurous dishes. First, a small salad of baby confit tomatoes, rocket pesto, mozzarella bocconcini and a parmesan crisp. Nice and refreshing with the bubbly. They also served huge shucked Saldanha Bay oysters which John says were superb.
Then two shared a platter: a sushi roll of raw fresh yellowfin tuna wrapped in salmon skin topped with pea purée, sundried tomato and dill. Sadly the tuna flavour did reach out to the other canapes, which were slices of a quail and bacon 'boudin' (sausage) topped with a truffled quail egg and a Caesar dressing
Another starter was Franschhoek salmon trout in a horseradish and sour fig risotto with fennel and radish
Also on Catharina's wine list are other brands and we had some of these served with lunch
The restaurant is newly decorated and origami swans hang from the ceiling to depict the original name of Steenberg which was “Swaaneweide” – The Feeding Place of Swans.
Time to sit down and begin the meal. No menu was provided until we went home. The wine served with the starter was the sophisticated 2014 Steenberg Semillon, a lauded food wine we admire
Steenberg General Manager John Loubser introduced the chef to us. John has been at the farm for 15 years. Garth Almazan, their previous chef was there for 18 years. Garth, whose food we always appreciated, has gone to open his own restaurant in Paternoster. Archie Maclean comes from Paisley and Dundee in Scotland and has worked in many impressive places in the UK, like Gleneagles and The St James Club, He did his apprenticeship with Michelin starred chef David Evans. He has been in South Africa for 9 years, is married to a South African and comes to Steenberg from a year at Neethlingshof. He spent five years at the Kruger Park, at Singita Lebombo and Sweni, and previously worked at Le Quartier Français with Margot Janse and at Asara. He has also spent time in New Zealand and Australia, so his experience is wide
Listening and making rapid notes
Cellarmaster JD Pretorius gave us a rundown on the wines they were serving with lunch and the current wine list
The origami swans. There is one black one to denote Catharina, always different
First course, our starter of fried parmesan gnocchi on beetroot puree with a beetroot, mushroom and basil ragout and topped with slices of almost raw crisp grilled cauliflower, Who knew that beetroot went so well with mushrooms? They do. Both have an earthiness that melds
Writers Malu Copeland and Neil Pendock discuss the food and wine
Chef Archie Mclean terms his food 'Contemporary Heritage'. “Catharina is the adventurous one and I need to follow in her shoes”, is how Chef Archie describes his role as new Executive Chef. “As a farm, Steenberg has such a deep and colourful history and we want our restaurant experience to bring the adventure of Catharina Ras to life. This is the crux of our contemporary heritage food.”
Fish course? That is what we all assumed when we saw the dish and when Chef Archie announced what it was, there were a few gasps. It was pan-fried crocodile tail on top of a salted crocodile brandade (just like a salted cod bacalao, tender and moist), creamed leek and roast garlic, blackened corn salsa, crisp fried leek. Those of us who had previously eaten crocodile were excited, it is delicious. And no, it doesn't resemble chicken in any way. More like lobster or monkfish in texture and a delicate flavour all its own. It also, like lobster, takes other flavours very well. The blackened corn was super, with great texture and the creamed leek and roasted garlic were just what the dish wanted. The blackened sweetcorn rock was not great, we don't like eating carbon. This was served with Mulderbosch's 2012 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay and the rich woodiness of the wine is a good pairing.
Chef announces the next course;. To quote him: When I started delving into the life of Catharina Ras, I just knew I had to include ingredients she would have served at her table,” says Chef Archie, whose menu is interwoven with unusual accents not readily found elsewhere. As a seasoned huntswoman of hippo and lion, warthog, ostrich, crocodile and zebra served with indigenous veld food would have been regular fare at Steenberg in her day
This was a first for us and we welcomed the experience. The clue was on the landscape plate, the black and white pap (maize meal porridge coloured with squid ink) stripes! It was grilled Zebra loin, smoked aubergine maize meal, chakalaka, buttered baby marrow, chickpeas and fine beans with a toasted pine nut and coriander. The zebra was very soft and did look rather undercooked but then we learned it was cooked sous vide which gives it this rare look. It was perfectly cooked and very tender. The flavour is not at all like horse, which both of us have eaten and not enjoyed, not at all sweet and rather resembles a good fillet steak. The plating is very witty, the spicy chakalaka being the sun setting. Lynne didn't enjoy this as she found it overwhelmed the delicate zebra and beautiful wine jus but others, who are more familiar with it as a family chutney, absolutely loved it. But to be honest, there were one or two shocked diners who declined
 The wine perfectly paired with this interesting dish was Steenbergs elegant and refined Catharina 2014 red blend. The soft sweet fruit has a lovely hit of fruit acidity which will help it last and mature, as will the good structure
Then a cheese course with a slice of Langbaken Karoo Sunset cheese, which according to their site is a camembert style cheese. We don't think that is what we were served. It was a sharp hard cheese and tasted more of goat than cow's milk. It was served with baba ganoush (aubergine puree), sour fig and goji berry compote and tiny mustard crackers. This came with Allesverloren's 2010 Fine Old Vintage Port, a classic, with forest floor nose and rich Christmas pudding vanilla fruit and many called again (and again) for more
Three happy guests: Winnie Bowman CWM, Mike Bampfield Duggan, owner of Wine Concepts and wine writer and judge Fiona MacDonald
Roving Sommelier Higgo Jacobs with Chef Archie. Higgo helped put the wine list together
Dessert: a Coffee panna cotta, amarula brulée, cocoa nib ice cream, shortcake, smoked hazelnuts. There were some lovely textures on this plate, mainly from the cocoa nibs, hazelnuts and the shortcake mixed with the soft panna cotta.. Lynne does not like coffee flavoured anything, only coffee but had to admit that this panna cotta is superb. A cold and wickedly creamy coffee
And the pairing was witty too: Non alcoholic Ginger beer or Steenberg's 2013 Shiraz
And finally: Good coffees and some mixed friandises: raspberry macaroons, chocolate truffles and mini soft almond biscuits, with a texture like those from Austria (crescents) or Italy, called Ricciarelli
We sat and chatted with chef about the rather controversial meal. Here he is with Malu Copeland
Cellarmaster JD Pretorius with Malu Copeland and Christian Eedes making notes
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

The Laurium Capital Signature Red Blend Report 2016 at Ellerman House

This annual competition now has Laurium Capital as their sponsor and was held this year at Ellerman House. Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za), James Petersen and Roland Peens (Wine cellar) usually judge the red blends entered. This year, Roland was ill and so Accountant Hennie Coetzee was co-opted. There were 16 winners . You can see who won here: http://winemag.co.za/the-laurium-capital-signature-red-blend-report-2016/. There will be public tastings in Cape Town on 17 August at Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront and in Johannesburg on 18 August at Summer Place Hyde Park respectively. Tickets available on line from winemag.co.za
Jacqueline Lahoud is Winemag.co.za 's business manager. 63 entries were received from 46 producers for this year’s competition. 16 wines were rated 90 or higher on the 100-point quality scale. The wines entered are tasted blind and no attention is paid to the blends, something we really like. The best will rise, by taste, to the top
Christian Eedes, editor at winemag.co.za. He said if South African white blends are getting huge recognition and excitement worldwide, why not our red blends?
The interested audience, mostly winning winemakers and media. In the front row, Andre and Rhona Liebenberg of Romond vineyards in Helderberg and Francois Rautenbach from Singita, with Ken Forrester
Louis Strydom of Ernie Els Wines with Izelle van Blerk of the Mentors wines from KWV
Jacqueline introduces the new sponsor, Laurium Capital. Murray Winckler their Portfolio and Investment manager helped present the awards
Two wines scored 94. Tyrell Myburgh's 2014 Bakermat from Joostenberg
The second top wine to score 94 was Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Granum 2014. Both were really excellent
We also really liked the Solms-Delta Hiervandaan 2014 which scored an impressive 92. There were no wines that scored 93 points.
91
Eikendal Charisma 201
Ernie Els Proprietor's Blend 2014
Guardian Peak Summit 2014
Ken Forrester The Gypsy 2012
KWV The Mentors Canvas 2014
Leipzig Master Blend 2015
Nederburg Ingenuity Spanish Blend 2012
Opstal Carl Everson Cape Blend 2014
Orange River Cellars Lyra Vega 2013
Rust en Vrede Estate 2013
90
KWV Cathedral Cellar Triptych 2013
Romond Vineyards Rebus Cape Cuvée 2011
Zonnebloem Shiraz Mouvèdre Viognier 2014

Good canapes were served . All were single bite sized. something we applaud loudly as so many fall apart as you try to bite into their vastness. Small mushroom stuffed choux buns
Tomato concasse on herb cheese on small savoury biscuits
Good Parma ham with shavings of parmesan cheese but sadly the crisp toasts were tooth breakingly hard
Tiny pies with a tomato dip
Attie Louw from Opstal, who was awarded 91 points for his Carl Everson Cape Blend 2014, with a now recovered Roland Peens
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

Monday, August 01, 2016

Caroline's Red Wine Review at The Table Bay

Tasting some of the best Reds the Cape produces at the Red Wine Review
Caroline Rillema of Caroline's Fine Wines holds two of the best wine tastings every year: her Red Wine Review in July and the White Wine Review on Wednesday, 19th October. She selects wines that have four and a half or five star status which she judges to be great wines. It is an incredibly well attended tasting, held this year at rather hot Table Bay Hotel
Giorgio dalla Cia on their stand with Jan . Giorgio was the winemaker behind the Meerlust brand for years and was the originator of their iconic Rubicon red blend.  Now, with his son George, he makes their own special wines, grappas and chocolates
Constantia Glen’s Dr Horst Prader with their winemaker, Justin van Wyk
Catherine Marshall was presenting her special Pinot Noir and everyone we spoke to said it was their favourite of the evening. We agree
Caroline with her nephew and niece
The warm hearted Wallace family all together in wine. They have the farm Wallovale in Elgin and Paul Wallace is a renowned viticulturist working with many top brands. His two sons Mark – a qualified winemaker, currently working at Hamilton Russell and Bobbie (in his final year at Elsenburg) have followed him into the wine world. Nicky Wallace is "the dynamo behind the family brand" and works tirelessly on the farm marketing the wines, running the tasting room and the newly completed guest cottages
Two stalwarts of the South African wine industry, Ken Forrester and Jeremy Walker, here with Johann Reyneke
Constantia was well represented. Gus Allen handles the sales and marketing for Constantia Glen, Stuart Botha is the Eagle’s Nest winemaker
The future of wine making: Elsenburg and Stellenbosch University students attending the tasting

Someone wanted a picture of John with the Wallaces. Suspect is Bobbie Wallace
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016

Thursday, July 28, 2016

This Week's MENU. Angala, Tuk Tuk Brewery, Societi Bistro's Tour de France, Sunday lunch at Bertus Basson, The Sommeliers Selection Awards, Spanish Braised Pork Cheeks, Wine of the Week

The view across the valley from Spice Route in Paarl to the Simonsberg
July winter weather in the Cape can be violent. On Monday night and Tuesday we had one of our epic storms, storms that would have frightened the life out of sailors in centuries past. The gale force wind hits us full on, the sea roars and this is followed by pelting rain. The temperature drops fast and we are so thankful to be inside, warm and dry, and our hearts go out to those who are not. But we do welcome the rain as the dams are slowly filling up. Hopefully, this will ease our drought. Since Sunday, here in Sea Point, we have had nearly 100mm of rain, and Sea Point generally has lower rainfall than other parts of the Western Cape. Has El Nino stopped at last?
MENU has a new Facebook page 
Tuk Tuk Brewery in Franschhoek launches the beers brewed in house     Tuk Tuk Micro Brewery, which is part of the Leeu Collection, opened in February this year and is already a very popular venue on Main Street in Franschhoek, on the next corner above Quartier Français. They have been selling CBC beers on tap and, this week, they introduced their own beers, brewed in the in-house 250-litre capacity brewery which you can see as you walk into Tuk Tuk. The beers are a Pale Ale, a Weiss (or Weizenbier (wheat beer) beer and a Dunkel made by brew master Dewald Goosen. We enjoyed these with a rather good selection of classic Mexican street food served family style from the Tuk Tuk Taqueria
Another visit to the Place of Angels – Angala. We loved our first stay at this chic small Boutique hotel on the slopes of the Simonsberg in April last year and were delighted to be invited back to see the new Spa and have dinner and stay the night. We had a marvellous time in this peaceful and tranquil place. Angala is surrounded by Vrede and Lust and Rupert and Rothschild vineyards. You enter through Vrede and Lust gates and then drive 2 k up the mountain till you come to this lovely guest house with superb gardens and view. They have recently installed a spa and they also have a special Winter Spa package for two. http://www.angala.co.za/
Societi Bistro's Tour de France     Enjoying good French food at Societi Bistro with some well paired wines. Having had a successful 10 weeks of Italian food and wines Societi invited us to come and try their Culinary Tour Through France -10 Weeks. 10 Regions. 10 Exceptional Wines. A different region and wine every week. Despite a cold and miserable Saturday afternoon, we so enjoyed sampling the dishes from the menu with many great local French style wines. Now you can too. http://societi.co.za/france/ It's a lovely way to enjoy eating out in winter
Sunday lunch at Bertus Basson, The Spice Route, Paarl     Who doesn't enjoy Sunday lunch if someone else is cooking for you? And it appears, from the full restaurant with lots of large parties, that Bertus Basson's generous offering of a four course lunch for R290 is attracting lots of you. We were very impressed at the variety on the menu which is served family style. And, of course, the restaurant is up on the Paarl mountain with superb views across to Franschhoek on the left, then looking right across past the Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, Klapmuts and, in the distance, Table Mountain. Lions Head rides like a shark through the Durbanville Hills and beyond is the west coast
The Sommeliers Selection Awards at The Stack, Leinster Hall     This is the second year these accolades have been awarded. Suppliers can enter their wines and these are judged by professionally trained Sommeliers who chose their 'Wine list 2016' selection. Suppliers are asked to submit their wines in various categories, NOT by varietal or blend. The Sommeliers say they prefer to make listings this way rather than by cultivar as it makes wines easier to recommend to customers and pair with food. All wines are tasted blind and judged by taste alone. There were some surprises when the wines were revealed. We love it when these surprises appear. We so approve of blind tasting and no sight of labels which can lead to predictable expectations
We finally found some pork cheeks at Joostenberg this weekend. We have heard how good this cut of meat is (beef cheeks are supposed to be even better) and Lynne wanted to try out this recipe with the Spanish ingredients. They were succulent. Do use good stock and check halfway through the cooking that the liquid is not evaporating, add water if it is. You serve this with rice rather than potatoes, but the choice is up to you.
1 1/2 T olive oil - 2 large onions, finely chopped - 3 garlic cloves, chopped - 600g pork cheeks, excess fat trimmed and cut in half - 1 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt and pepper and mixed dried herbs - 1 tsp ground cumin - 2 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika - 300ml medium dry sherry - 500ml beef stock - 3 carrots, chopped in rings - 1 celery stick, finely chopped - 1 fennel bulb, sliced - 1 turnip cut into 2 cm cubes - 1 bay leaf. To finish, 1 T flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped and 1 T flaked almonds
Heat your oven to 170 ⁰C. In an ovenproof casserole with a lid, fry the onion in the oil till soft and beginning to take on some colour. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Dip the pork cheeks into the seasoned flour and, adding a little more oil, brown them on all sides. Add the spices and stir for one minute. Remove and set aside. Add the sherry to the pan and quickly stir to deglaze the pot, to incorporate all the good brown crusty bits. Put back the pork and onions and pour on the beef stock. Add all the vegetables and then add a lid to your pot and transfer to the oven. Cook slowly until the meat is tender. This should take an hour or two. Just before serving, scatter over the parsley and the almonds. Serves four
Wine of the week: De Krans Touriga Naçional 2014 
Current farm price is R65. Its a Platter four star wine
We had this with the Pork cheeks and it was a serendipitous match. This robust wine has mulled wine spices, black pepper and cranberries on the nose, luscious red and blue berries with brandy and milk chocolate notes and those lovely soft tannins one expects from the Portuguese and Spanish grapes





28th July 2016
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This week's MENU recipe. Spanish Braised Pork Cheeks


We finally found some pork cheeks at Joostenberg this weekend. We have heard how good this cut of meat is (beef cheeks are supposed to be even better) and Lynne wanted to try out this recipe with the Spanish ingredients. They were succulent. Do use good stock and check halfway through the cooking that the liquid is not evaporating, add water if it is. You serve this with rice rather than potatoes, but the choice is up to you.
1 1/2 T olive oil - 2 large onions, finely chopped - 3 garlic cloves, chopped - 600g pork cheeks, excess fat trimmed and cut in half - 1 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt and pepper and mixed dried herbs - 1 tsp ground cumin - 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika - 300ml medium dry sherry - 500ml beef stock - 3 carrots, chopped in rings - 1 celery stick, finely chopped - 1 fennel bulb, sliced - 1 turnip cut into 2 cm cubes - 1 bay leaf. To finish, 1 T flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped and 1 T flaked almonds

Heat your oven to 170 ⁰C. In an ovenproof casserole with a lid, fry the onion in the oil till soft and beginning to take on some colour. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute. Dip the pork cheeks into the seasoned flour and, adding a little more oil, brown them on all sides. Add the spices and stir for one minute. Remove and set aside. Add the sherry to the pan and quickly stir to deglaze the pot, to incorporate all the good brown crusty bits. Put back the pork and onions and pour on the beef stock. Add all the vegetables and then add a lid to your pot and transfer to the oven. Cook slowly until the meat is tender. This should take an hour or two. Just before serving, scatter over the parsley and the almonds. Serves four

MENU's wine of the week is De Krans Touriga Nacional 2014

The current farm price is R65. Its a four star Platter wine
We had this with the Pork cheeks and it was a serendipitous match. This robust wine has mulled wine spices, black pepper and cranberries on the nose and luscious red and blue berries with brandy and milk chocolate notes and those lovely soft tannins one expects from the Portuguese and Spanish grapes
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2016