I have always felt that South African cheese could be as good as any cheese produced anywhere in the world.
The cheese platter at George Jardine’s is evidence of how good it can be. Too often in restaurants you get a badly chosen selection of cheeses straight from the fridge that taste of very little.
A few [...]
Church Shop on Spin Street in Cape Town is owned by the President people. They are a design company, and they
organised the Toffie Food Festival in 2011 (and another one coming in 2012).
They sell all sorts of stuff there. I mean, all sorts.
Retro design calendars, vintage balls from South America, wooden sunglasses, T-shirts with photo’s [...]
Posted in Niblets. 
Tags: cape town, church shop, melissas, spin street, tabak chili sauce, toffie food festival 
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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 [...]
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 [...]
Posted in Niblets. Tags: bean there, cats pee, franschhoek, honest chocolate, liam mooney, recycling, salmon bar, wale street, wine bottles, wine snobs No Comments » read more »
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Posted in Niblets. Tags: boerekos, chris erasmus, el bulli, eric bulpitt, ferran adria, franck dangereux, french laundry, gaaitjie, george jardine, luke dale roberts, magic herb, nancy kinchela, noma, paternoster, pierneef a la motte, pop up restaurants, pot luck club, suzi holzhausen, the roundhouse, the saxon, thomas keller 3 Comments read more »
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 [...]
The amphitheatre at Paul Cluver is really a special place. It’s set into the side of a slope and is surrounded by tall gumtrees that lend a forest glade like atmosphere to the events.
The seating is wooden benches, made from locally sourced wood, and the whole setting overlooks the small stage area. There’s only seating [...]
Noordhoek is one of my favourite suburbs in Cape Town.
There’s the fantastic beach where you can walk for miles. It’s usually almost deserted, which I find amazing, as it’s so close to Cape Town.
Close by you’ll find the Noordhoek Farm Village, which is a huddle of little retail and food outlets built around a grassy [...]
Posted in Niblets., Restaurant Reviews Tags: foodbarn, franck dangereux, noordhoek No Comments » read more »
Raziyah Johnston was born in Durban, raised in Ireland, and is now living in Cape Town.
So don’t be surprised when you hear her south Dublin accent when you meet her. And you will get to hear it in torrents, as Raziyah is a passionate, enthusiastic, knowledgeable advocate of all things connected with Indian food, especially [...]
Posted in Food Markets, Niblets., What's New Tags: durban, herbs and aspices, indian food, ireland, raziyah johnston, sea point, south africa, spice emporium 3 Comments read more »
I asked a brandy industry person last week how come South African brandy does so well in international awards competitions and the answer was a simple one; “Because it’s good stuff and takes longer to make”.
And it turns out that SA brandy must spend a minimum of three years in a cask while Cognac can [...]
Posted in Niblets. Tags: colombard, klein karoo, LadiSmith Brandy, south african brandy 2 Comments read more »
It all just sounds idyllic.
Lounge around the beautiful grounds of the historic Roundhouse restaurant in Camps Bay, soaking in the view down the Atlantic Coast, with the backdrop of the magnificent Twelve Apostles range sweeping down the peninsula, while taking in some of the most chilled live music you can listen to.
That’s the scene this weekend at [...]
Grabbing a bite to eat at Willoughby & Co. in the V&A has always been a bit of a ritual for me, usually after a movie or some shopping.
So to discover that they are breaking the law, and are brazenly open about it, came as a shock.
Here’s what happened.
A bottle of Kikkoman Sauce (red top) was [...]
Posted in Niblets., Restaurant Reviews Tags: cameron stewart, consumer protection act, kikkoman sauce, low sodium, michele mirotto, national consumer commission, restaurants association of south africa, rialto foods, v&a, V&A waterfront, wendy alberts, Willoughby & Co., willoughby's 38 Comments read more »
One of my favourite chefs, Luke Dale-Roberts, is coming round for Christmas.
Well, not literally, but the next best thing, his food, is.
That’s because he has created a Christmas range for Woolworths – chutneys, relishes, dressings, pestos; lamb, salmon & sausage, gammon belly, pudding and so on.
Now this is the kind of thing I love – supermarkets [...]
South Africa has one of the world’s most sustainable, ecofriendly wine growing regimes in the world.
In fact, winemakers from Australia and other wine producing countries come here to learn best practices in this area.
One of the leading producers in this area is, without a doubt, Avondale.
Their guiding ethos is “Soil is Life” – Terra Est [...]
What a great idea! The best recipes from Pick n Pay’s Fresh Living magazine brought together into a snappy, beautifully presented, easy to follow recipe book, called The Best of Fresh Living featuring 140 of the Fresh Living teams favourite recipes.
Aimed at busy families, the cost effective recipes are divided into four sections; salads, starters and [...]
I was delighted to get a call from the people at Free World Design to ask me to chose a movie connected with food which would then be the basis for a meal prepared by Jacques Erasmus of Hemelhuijs.
The idea is as simple as it’s creative. Sundowners on the roof, followed by a movie (which I’ll introduce [...]
We had a huge entry - 123 e.mails – the highest we’ve ever had for a competition.
It was a difficult task; to match our panels eventual choice of the ten best restaurants.
Nobody achieved this.
But one person got 8 out of the 10 correctly.
And that person is Michael McKenzie of McGregor and The Waterkant, Cape Town.
We congratulate him, wish [...]
A big congratulations to the 100 Places to Eat that made the Top 100 list. The reaction to the list has been extraordinarily positive.
But the judging didn’t stop there, as the panel had to go on and chose the Top 10 Places to Eat from this list.
Last night, the Top 10 places were revealed to [...]
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