Clare Mack and Neil Pendock go back to school and learn how to make risotto, gnocchi and fruit minestrone
If Guy Ritchie was to direct Master Chef SA, Liam Tomlin would be typecast as the cynical hard man judge with lethal knife skills. For Dublin-born Tomlin learned his trade in London with the Roux brothers. “You [...]
1. Why did you become a chef?
Firstly, my love and passion for food.
Secondly, I suppose it is in the genes. My grandmother was a wonderful cook. I always looked at all her trophies and certificates for cooking and baking competitions she won and thought that one day I wanted to be just like her.
I grew [...]
Tania Harrison grew up on a farm in the Karoo, and years later, via Paarl and Cape Town, she began to source food from her family farm to fill the “fridges of urban foodies”.
She started on the internet and the business has grown to such an extent that she is in expansion mode and you [...]
I am all into recycling. Especially glass – it’s such a wonderful raw material, you can do anything with it.
In the space of two days this week I came across two things being done with old wine bottles that I thought were great.
The first was in Liam Mooney’s little design studio on Wale Street, (beside [...]
Bean There on Wale St. Cape Town is the latest coffee emporium to open.
It’s a great addition to the coffee scene. The original branch is in Joburg.
The interior is relaxing and open plan; white with touches of turquoise and lime green dot the shop.
The coffees they sell are only African, and all are fair-trade. They [...]
Every time I eat Chef Bjorn Dingeman’s food at Holden Manz I am more and more impressed.
It’s about a year since he took up the reins as Head Chef. His previous stints have included, amongst other places, time at Babington House in Somerset in the UK.
I had lunch there the other day and I really [...]
I adore mussels, always have. But I’m very picky about the way I like them cooked.
In South Africa, as I understand it, an individual is allowed to pick 25 wild mussels. Outside of that you have to buy farmed.
The centre for mussel farming in South Africa is Saldanha Bay on the West coast.
The majority [...]
Kate Schrire is the kind of local producer that we admire.
She’s feisty, passionate, dedicated and a major addition to the artisanal producer scene in Cape Town.
She makes great tasting ice cream, chock full of the best ingredients to be found in the Western Cape.
She gets her cream and eggs from local producers. Her strawberries come [...]
What a clever book. ‘1000 Great Wines’ rounds up the best 1000 wines from around the world that make for affordable drinking.
So needless to say the most important thing to do first was to flick immediately to the South African section.
Drum roll please, here are the 16 most important South African wineries according to this [...]
Nigella Lawson has recently published this recipe for salted caramel and had her photo taken for the front cover of a UK magazine – Stylist.
Here is the recipe.
SALTED CARAMEL
Real salted caramel requires patience, dexterity and a sugar-thermometer, none of which come naturally to me, but a salted caramel sauce can be rustled up in [...]
The food at the South China Dim Sum Bar is inspired by South East Asian street-food.
Wontons, pot stickers, noodle dishes, steamed buns, and a small dish of braised beef short rib graced a small but perfectly formed menu that I tried out.
Owners Edmund Hung and Clinton Ho-Wing are Chinese South African’s who hail from Johannesburg.
They [...]
This is an idea I came across from the US, and I think it’s fantastic – wooden flooring made from recycled oak from wine barrels.
There have to be loads around, as the Winelands has to dispose of quite a number of barrels every year that have outlived their usefulness. Add to that the great tradition [...]
Angel fish has a lovely firm texture and is very tasty.
It’s also on the SASSI green list, and it’s great value for money.
For example, a kilo of yellowtail (green list) would set you back about R90, while the angle fish comes in at a more modest R55.
Asian flavours and fish are a match made [...]
It’s that time of year to get the crystal ball out and polish it off to see what might lie in store for South African restaurants and diners during 2012.
These are turbulent times, with increasing uncertainty at every level, nationally and internationally. Recession, the credit squeeze and anti drink-driving campaigns are affecting dining out in [...]
“Small plates of global dishes” is what’s on offer at Luke Dale-Roberts newly opened Pot Luck Club and Gallery in The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock.
It’s right beside The Test Kitchen, and at first appearance it shares many of the same signature design elements. Everything is very earthy and elemental – lots of blonde wood, [...]
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers and supporters a happy and peaceful holiday season.
Thank you to everyone, for your support during 2011, and we look forward to an exciting and eventful 2012.
Reuben Riffel
Reuben is one chef who needs no introduction, and he’ll be with his family in Franschhoek on Christmas Day.
“Every year on Christmas day my mom and mother in law cook the food.
I enjoy all the traditional South African dishes like pickled tongue but crayfish korma is always on the menu and [...]
I’ve never bought a dud bottle from Shirley in Vino Pronto, beside the Caltex garage, on Orange St. Gardens.
She has such a refreshing way of looking at wine, and her one sentence tasting notes are brilliant and to the point.
Here’s a small collection she has recommended for Christmas. Check them out.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR SPILL READERS!! [...]
Charles Back needs to write a book about becoming a success in the Western Cape
food and wine industry.
We all then need to read it, carefully, from cover to cover.
He has shown how, through clever brand and product development,
you can build world beating wine brands (the Goats do Roam range
has been the top selling South African [...]
Luke Dale-Robert’s latest venture is The Pot Luck Club & Gallery, a tapas bar and art gallery, which is situated adjacent to his award winning restaurant, The Test Kitchen, at The Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town.
There will also be a dedicated cocktail bar and an accompanying list of boutique wines to complement the food.
Diners [...]
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