Johnnie Walker - The Black Box experiment

 
Recently myself and husband had the opportunity to check out a cool experiment with Whiskey.
Now when I was invited to experience it I had no idea as to what I was going to encounter exactly, the only thing I knew was that it would be myself, the husband and 2 or 3 other people for us to try out some whiskey... and that it would be a more intimate experience than the usual table of foods and drink pairings (I can be a little shy at times so less crowds, yes please). Sounded intriguing - so I replied yes to the email.

LOOT.CO.ZA 10th Birthday Bake Off

Recently my little one and I were invited to bake off against other bloggers and their kids at the SA Chefs Academy in celebration of Loot.co.za 's  10th Birthday.


We all baked the same recipe which was a chocolate cake. We then iced it with a chocolate ganache. And there after decorated it with any or all of the sprinkles that were on offer

Whisky Launch - The Private Barrel Co.

Last month I had the privilege of attending a rather scrumptious lunch at the Cape Grace which was paired with whiskey... yes you heard me, not wine but beautiful and golden, amber whiskies.

Thanks to Checkers who are importing some beautiful whiskies and branding them under Private Barrel Co. Each bottle is brought to SA in limited numbered batches.

....

So over the past few months I have been blessed to attend a variety of events. A few stood out that I thought I would share with you.

Chefs Table at The Protea Hotel President Bantry Bay

What a view of the sunset in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, SA.

Recently I had the opportunity of being invited (plus a partner) to dine at the chefs table of The Protea Hotel President in Bantry Bay, Cape Town.

Taste of Cape Town

On Thursday evening I was able to visit The Taste of Cape Town.
It was the third year I've been and every year its a little different.
I managed to sample some of the yummy food on offer and wander around with my partner, we saw  cool demos, tasted things to drink and wandered around the stalls where there was plenty to buy. Here are a few of the photos I took. As usual I took way to many and found it hard to pick which ones to show you! hope you enjoy :)

  

Bombay Sapphire Gin had a pretty blue stall with people buying cocktails from them. I didn't taste any of them but they sure looked pretty.

Lunch with Olive Pride at the SA Chefs Academy

Here are some photos of a gorgeous and very delicious lunch I had last week hosted by Olive Pride and made by the chefs at the SA Chefs Academy.
Just look at the windows with stacks of natural light- Isn't it stunning?

I am not a keen olive eater - so I approached the lunch with a little caution. RSVP'ed and Told them I am vegetarian - (which I have been doing for 5 months now :) and feeling great for doing it!) and wandered if I'd have anything I liked to eat...
Well every course was delicious - there wasn't one thing I didn't like. 

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Would you say these photos were taken with my cellphone? well there are... to see more of my cellphone pics check out my instagram account HERE


DISCLAIMER: I always find it hard to decide whether to blog about a breakfast/lunch/dinner or event... Some are nice but just not blog worthy - while sometimes some are lovely but don't fit with the theme of my blog (healthy food, gluten free etc) PLUS if I had to blog about every event my blog would be to filled with events and very few recipes!

Well this lunch was an easy YES!
It had all the factors I loved about an event.. Great lighting, Good healthy food and lovely Company (without any push that I had to blog about it = no pressure!) yay!
This post is my own thoughts, photography and opinions
 

V&A Waterfront - MASTER OF THE TRADE ROUTES

Its hard to imagine that just last week I boarded the SA Agulhas II (an ice breaking scientific ship) for a dinner of exquisite proportions.
Thoroughly thrilled and honoured to be a judge for the first round of the competition,  Master of the Trade Routes where 27 restaurants from the V & A Waterfront competed for place as the number 1 restaurant.

HOW IT WORKED
Being 1 of 8 judges in the first round - we each got to eat at 6 restaurants. It was great fun and interesting to try out 6 of the restaurants at the V & A Waterfront over roughly 5 weeks. And we narrowed it down to the TOP 8 Restaurants

THE TOP 8
Dash Restaurant (Queen Victoria Hotel)

Den Anker

Harbour House

Reuben's (One&Only Cape Town)
Sevruga
Signal (Cape Grace Hotel)
The Grand Beach
Willoughby & Co


The final judging took place on board the SA Agulhas II and was decided on the night. 

THE WINNER
I can happily say that I got to eat at the top 2 restaurants and that I had really hoped that my top 2 would win! AND my prediction of my top 2 restaurants came in First and Second just as I had hoped and predicted - in the exact same order!

1ST: Signal Restaurant (Cape Grace Hotel)
2ND: Dash Restaurant (Queen Victoria Hotel)


Congrats to Signal and Dash.
Thanks to the V & A Waterfront  -  It was a great competition which was exciting to be apart of.

OPRAH MAG 10th BIRTHDAY

This was one of those events that I immediately regretted not taking my "big camera"with me. (I usually take my proper camera with me to most events). Instead these photos are taken from my cellphone as I thought I wouldn't need my camera and could take a break from taking photos for at least one event.. of all the events why had i picked this one? ... Silly me!

So with that out of the way - please excuse the quality of these photos, I am sorry.. next time.

O Magazine in South Africa turns 10- yay!
The event was held at the Tablebay Hotel at the V & A Waterfront, Cape Town. As you can see in the pic above everyone got a pink goodie bag to take home filled in true Oprah style with nice things to touch and hold. Thanks Oprah Magazine :)

I love sparkly things and couldn't resist taking a pic of the chandeliers... I wander if one of these will fit in my lounge, probably not!  Anyway...

We had a lovely lunch which lasted all afternoon with talking (speeches and poetry) , entertainment (singing), eating and chatting in between.  The food comprised of:

Menu

Starters: 

Grilled Vegetable Terrine

Mains: 

Karoo Lamb Rack

OR 

Vegetarian Dish

Dessert: 

O's 10th Birthday Cake

I opted for the vegetarian option for lunch which was seemed to be a mushroom type of lasagne which was very creamy and delicious. Many people with the lamb exclaimed how delicious my dish looked and wished they could have some. I didn't share - it was yummy.

Dessert was the very pretty and pink 10th birthday cake with sparkly jewels. It was so girly it just made me smile. *sigh* - if only cake looked like this every day. 
 

Congrats to the Oprah magazine team on their 10th birthday! now for the teen years ;)

 

NOTE: I was invited to this event and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon with food and entertainment thanks to Oprah magazine SA. All opinions are my own. Thanks O mag SA

Taste of Cape Town

On Thursday evening I attended an event called Taste of Cape Town in Green Point.

(Tents backed by the Green Point Stadium in the distance)

Taste of Cape Town happens over 4 days once a year. The event has an array of stall holders and restaurants that come together to show how delicious they are! ;)
 

(Tents in every direction)

For those of you who have never been or don't live in Cape Town I would describe taste of Cape Town as: An outdoor event with rows of tents placed around a design for you to walk around - you can see,buy and taste various foods, drinks and yummy things.

After the sun set much fun and EATING was to be had! Every stall seemed inviting with the sides open ready for you to browse and taste.

I didn't only eat but cooked a little too at the canape and wine pairing tent. My cooking partner was Colleen of the blog Brownie girl. We had fun preparing canapes under the guidance of Chef Chart who was very entertaining.

Then off to some food tasting:

Dishes on offer from Taj Cape Town

Braised rib eye of Beef from The Westin Executive Club

In all my wanderings I really liked some of the stalls decor and vibes.

The San Pellegrino/Aqua Panna water stall had fresh herbs and flowers and this gorgeous vintage bicycle as well as wooden crates and a fountain. I thought is was  the PRETTIEST stall. I mean isn't that bicycle just so unique and pretty with the wicker basket?

The JimmiJagga stall (a wine spritzer drink brand) had their staff faces painted and wearing hats galore. they also had a great vibe with a live band playing and a photobooth with photographer for lots of fun! Plenty of seating and bar area for everyone to relax to their pure Cape Town vibes... They were definitely the BEST DRESSED and VIBEY-IST

The Fine Brandy by Design had a beautiful lit up bar and a cool concept of pairing brandy cocktails with their dishes. They paired up with a restaurant and the food paired with their brandy cocktails were very delicious! With their barmen dressed in white and waiters neatly dressed in black. Fine Brandy was in my opinion tasty, TRENDY and UNIQUE.

One other little stand stood out with yummy looking delights called Ma Mere Maison. Unfortunately which I did not sample their goodies but I couldn't resist taking photos of their stall. I thought their design and decor was so cute. They had a red and white chevron background (cool) and pretty macarons as well as nougat etc...  They definitely looked the YUMMIEST!

It is often hard to know where or what to focus on with big events, especially with lots of stall holders... You can't highlight them all and even if you picked your BEST there would be so much that you would miss out telling you the reader!So next year do yourself a favour and go. It is yummy, I promise.



 
NOTE: I was given a media pass courtesy of Fresh Living Magazine, Pick n Pay and Taste of Cape Town. My Media pass allowed me to taste some of the food and drink on offer and a goodie bag. Many thanks to these sponsors. This post is purely my own thoughts of how I found the event.

One & Only Nut Cracker themed High Tea

I attended the Press Launch for THE ONE & ONLY CHRISTMAS HIGH TEA in August for Christmas. Yes they are that organised!

The Christmas theme at The One & Only is sure to be cute and special this year with a high tea spread that I found really pretty with a festive nut cracker theme. There were cute little nut crackers everywhere .

If my stomach was bigger and could have handled more food I would have tried one of every single thing on the table.... I wish! So choose wisely if you are not a big eater!

I personally loved the tiny canille and the creamy and smooth mini cheese cakes not to mention the florentines! I tried many more things too ... mmmm

Canille on the right - a giant bowl of yumminess!

Tea is R145 per person and includes teas and coffees. Early booking is advised.



Seeing as Christmas is a few days away - run off and go try it before its over and gone!


*photos are all my own*

MISS K's IN GREEN POINT

A little while back I was invited to lunch with a few bloggers and media at Miss K's. It was a small intimate lunch with the owner herself - and what a lovely lunch it was.

 Miss K herself - so friendly and warm. And an array of deliciousness that is in her eatery.

I was fortunate enough to have a generous and delicious salad all to myself as I have been avoiding meat lately and everyone else was having a seared tuna salad - which looked so good. But wanting to avoid the seafood and meat aspect I had a veggie salad. It was a show stopper of a salad!!! Filled with delicious veggies, fruit and salad ingredients. I think I will need to return for another one :) It was huge so next time I'll share some of my salad with the husband ;) as I couldn't finish the one they served me.

 The delicious salad I had / outdoor seating / painted wall mural / fresh flowers.

The vibe and layout is quite nice with an open kitchen counter where you can see the cooks and kitchen staff cooking. The outside area has tables, chairs and umbrellas for the sun and fresh air seekers. 

The event was lovely with a delicious lunch followed by very nice chocolate brownies (they were as fudgy as they were chocolatey). *note return again for brownies*

A kind thank you to Kirsten and her PR team for inviting me.

To see their menu and other details visit their website here

SIGNAL RESTUARANT AT THE CAPE GRACE AND PAUL CLUVER WINES

On Thursday night I was invited to attend the Food and Wine Dinner at the Cape Grace Hotel in their Signal Restaurant paired with Paul Cluver wines - All compliments of The Cape Grace Hotel (thank you!)

View from the library window

We started out in the library  at 7pm with canape's and white wine and some chatting. I had the lovely husband with me to talk to (phew) as I'm not so good at meet and greets.


After half an hour we were led through to the restaurant for dinner. To my great surprise we were seated at our own table of 2 and each party of people had their own table depending on the amount of guests they had booked for. It was like any usual night in a restaurant seating wise. I really liked this as I didn't have to make small talk with other diners but just enjoy the evening with my husband. I sounds like I hate talking to people - I don't I promise! but it was nice having the husband all to myself :)

After a brief talk by the chef Malika van Reenen explaining the menu and then a talk by Andries Burger from Paul Cluver wines about the wines that would be paired with our food. Both were interesting. Andries made me want to visit Burgundy in France from his stories. It sounded so beautiful and amazing.

Starter
green gazpacho toasted cumin flat bread, homemade blueberry yoghurt cheese paired with Paul Cluver Close Encounter Riesling 2011 - I have to say I really loved this wine and drank it through out the night - it paired well with everything! I have added it to my list of must buy wines.

Main
twice-cooked crispy duck leg with wild mushroom and lentil ragout, beetroot gastrique paired with Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2009 - The duck was lovely and the mash very creamy. The wine wasn't to my taste - then again I'm no wine buff.

Dessert
summer strawberries, rose and litchi paired with Paul Cluver Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2010 - The summer strawberries was served in the form of a sorbet which was very light and refreshing, it was lovely. The wine was very sweet - being a dessert wine and lovely.


PRIOR TO THE EVENING:
I had let the hotel know that my husband is allergic to nuts a few days prior to the function and The Cape Grace were really good at making sure that he didn't have any food containing ANY nuts!
They really were very thorough. I felt that they had taken the time to prepare their staff and several of the waiters and staff were aware of the allergy and made sure that everything was nut free.


*Thank you to Leah De Klerk who helped organize everything