Last year I had the good fortune to attend ‘Chefs who Share’, organised by Barbara Lenhard and Florian Gast of Opulent Living and assisted by Belmond Mount Nelson Chef Rudi Liebenberg, a fantastic dinner held in the City Hall, which raised money for the MAD (Make a Difference) Charity and Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. All proceeds went to the charities, as the chefs, sommeliers, and suppliers all donated their time and produce without charge. This year ‘Chefs who Share’ goes one step bigger, with an international chef being added to each team of two local chefs.
The food served is outstanding, each set of tables being looked after by two top local chefs and the international chef, as well as a local sommelier. Yesterday I was honoured with being the first to taste the dessert which Chef Darren Badenhorst from Grande Provence will serve at the decadent dinner on 11 September. Chef Darren is partnering with Chef Franck Dangereux of The Food Barn (with Chef Anton Schmaus from Germany), and they spent a long four hours on Friday to plan the menu for their section of tables. While Chef Darren has not revealed what the other dishes will be on the menu, Chef Darren made me his ‘Galaxy of Textures’, which meets the theme of chocolate for all desserts to be made for the dinner, coming in especially from his 
leave to meet with me, and hence dressed in his civvies. The name comes from the ‘starry night’ pattern from the beautiful brand new plates imported from France, grey with a blueish star pattern, almost similar in design to their outside table tops, we discovered as we chatted outside yesterday. It also reflects the different texture profiles of the dessert, from smooth to chunky, crunchy, and poppy. The dessert consists of a Kirsch Morello cherry centre, encased in a frozen espresso mouse, coated with toasted macadamia nuts and carbon dioxide chocolate pops, a salted caramel foundation, a cocoa sponge soaked in Kirsch too, 40% Valrhona half spheres, 40% full Valrhona spheres coated in 80% Valrhona chocolate, more Morello cherries, wood sorrell, chocolate crumble, rose caviar, and gold and silver foil. What a delicious mouthfull! Chef Darren also shared that he has a new Restaurant Manager and sommelier starting on 1 September, Khuselo Mputa from Aubergine. Chef Darren told me that their Wine & Dine Collaborations have been hugely successful, sold out each month.
The other chef pairings for the ‘Chefs who Share‘ dinner are Chefs George Jardine of Jardine at Jordan, PJ Vadas, who has left Camphors at Vergelegen to open his own The Hog House restaurant, and Gerd Kastenmeier from Germany; Chefs Marthinus Ferreira from DW Eleven – 13, Christo Pretorius from Azure at the Twelve Apostles, and Alfred Muller from Germany; Chefs Christiaan Campbell from Delaire Graff, Chantel Dartnall from Restaurant Mosaic, and Andreas Mayer from Germany; Chefs Rudi Liebenberg, and Michelle Theron from Pierneef à La Motte; Chefs Malika van Reenen from Signal at the Cape Grace, Chris Erasmus from Foliage, and Bernhard Reiser from Germany; Chefs Jackie Cameron from the Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine, Jürgen Schneider from Springfontein Eats, and Christian Greiner from Germany.
Part of the proceeds of ‘Chefs who Share’ is raised from an auction of artworks by some of our country’s leading artists, and we have just received the list, which includes father and son artists Anton and Lionel Smit, respectively, as well as Dylan Lewis, Ingrid Bolton, and Jean Doyle. The artists were chosen as their ‘work and ethos align with those of the event of this calibre‘.
‘Chefs who Share’ was sold out within four days of ticket sales opening! It promises to be an evening of fine food, fine wines, and fine art, all for a good cause!
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
20
3070
27k
20