I had not been to Stellenbosch since the beginning of Lockdown in March 2020. Last week I spent a day in the town, to walk through its centre, and updating my information of restaurants that have opened and closed in the town since my last visit.
I discovered multiple new coffee shops and informal eateries, and a growing number of wine bars. And the start of a challenge to Chef Bertus Basson’s dominance of the university town as far as fine-dining goes.
Utopia Cape Town is one of the first restaurants to stock the brand new Cape St Blaize range of gins, distilled in its artisanal distillery in Mossel Bay.
I attended a tasting at Utopia, led by Leroy Maritz of the three gin variants.
What makes the gin unique is the beautiful handcrafted hand labelled porcelain ceramic bottles, which have been specially made by Mossel Bay locals. The brand home is a historic building which dates back to 1786/7.
Two weeks ago I attended a pop-up dining event at RED! The Gallery on Wale Street, hosted by Chef Ridian Kabeya, who had invited me and 19 others to attend his dinner. We were a mix of Influencers from the modelling world, a lawyer, an artist, two restaurateurs-to-be, and I the only food writer.
I knew only one person, Vee Roux of MoreVino, who supplied and introduced each of the three wines which were paired with each dish. Continue reading →
As a food writer, I do strike it lucky once in a while. One of the highlights of this year’s invitations was that from the Finnish Embassy to attend their ‘Fancy Finnish Food’ Dinner held at the home of the Finnish Honorary Consul Philip Palmgren. The aim of the event was to communicate to South Africans what Finnish cuisine and spirits are all about.
My friend Gary Peterson joined me for this exciting event, which was attended by 26 guests seated at one long table. We knew no one else, but I did know of Chef Dion Vengatass, a former Chef at the Mount Nelson Hotel. Continue reading →