Cape Town and The Good Food and Wine Show.

Hi,

We had a wonderful afternoon at The Good Food and Wine Show. Firstly, a big thank-you to Nazli Philander, Brand Manager (and former top marketing student) at the Sea Harvest Corporation for the invitation.

Nazli Philander (right), Brand Manager at the Sea Harvest Corporation

If you love good food, good wine, champagne, craft beer and other culinary delights I highly recommend a visit to the show. We spent four hours at the exhibition, browsing, sampling the food and wine and have decided that we must return as there is so much more to see and do than we were able in the time that we had available.

On arrival we took a quick walk around the exhibition to familiarise ourselves with what was on show. We then went to the Checkers Celebrity Chef's Theatre for a masterclass with Chef Benny Masekwameng of Masterchef South Africa fame.

Chef Benny Masekwameng

Chef Benny prepared a meal of lamb cutlets, crumbed and deep-fried mieliepap, spinach and an eggplant ratatouille. At the start of his presentation Benny told us that he was going to prepare an every day South African dish. That he did, but I must tell you that it was presented in top restaurant style and tasted anything but everyday, I had the pleasure to taste his meal (I felt like a Masterchef Australia contestant, I love that show, cannot wait to see who wins but sad it will be coming to an end soon). The meat and the vegetables were very good, the crumbed and deep-fried mieliepap was fantastic. This meal will definitely find its way onto our dining room table in the next day or two. When I cook (not often, and always a tomato based pasta) I am rushed off my feet trying to prepare the meal, Chef Benny was so relaxed and had all the time in the world. Wonderful presentation skills and obviously loves what he does so well.

I will not be able to share everything that we experienced today so I have selected a few highlights. First, the Crosley Troubador 7 in 1 Encoding Entertainment Centre (neither food nor wine). Retro, with all the modern bells and whistles and plays vinyl at 33, 45 and 78 rpm (for the younger reader I suggest you ask your dad to explain), absolutely beautiful. I want one for our old house in Montagu. See for yourselves ....

Crosley Troubador 7 in 1 Encoding Entertainment Centre

We had the pleasure of tasting a variety of wines, an excellent Malbec from Chile and a number of South African wines. What stood out for us was the wine from the Orange River Cellars, so good we bought a couple of bottles to enjoy at home. We are not experts but suggest you try their wines, well priced and very drinkable.

Another exhibitor that caught our eye was Dial-a-Picnic (www.dialapicnic.co.za), their slogan is "When Nature Calls." The specialise in weddings, corporate functions, romantic occasions, birthdays and the like. You call them and tell them where (anywhere) you would like your picnic and they will cater and set it up, you and your guest(s) just arrive at your chosen venue and enjoy. Sounds great.

For dinner, we had a bacon and cheese roosterkoek (a traditional Afrikaans delicacy), netjies man, I could have easily had a second serving. The Argentinian prawns looked wonderful and the aroma whilst cooking was lovely. There is something to suit every palate from far and wide.

After our next visit I will have more to share, we intend spending time at the Sea Harvest kitchen watching their cooking shows which we regrettably did not have time to do today.

Looking for something to do over the next three days, we highly recommend you spend a day enjoying the exhibition.

Ciao until next time,

Clive.

-oOo-