Tag Archives: Karen Loubser

Peninsula All-Suite Hotel Wine & Dine interesting pairing with Steenberg wines!

Peninsula Steenberg John Loubser Whale Cottage PorfolioOn Thursday evening I was invited by Communication Services Africa (CSA) to attend The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel monthly Wine & Dine at its Sunset Restaurant, paired with Steenberg Wines, both clients of the PR consultancy.  We had a fun evening, with a lot of banter from both the host Chris Godenir and Steenberg General Manager and Cellar Master John Loubser.

Chris Godenir has been at Three Cities for a number of years, and has a special relationship with his staff at The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel, not losing his cool easily.  One has to get used to his sense of humour, which he surrounds himself with continuously, making one unsure whether he says something in jest or is serious.   Poor John and I both were on the receiving end of Chris’ jibes, and I decided to take the positive out of his comments, which in my case showed that he reads my blog!

Chris announced that the Wine & Dine was the first opportunity for their new chef Hajierah Hamit to cook for a special group, the dinner being sold out. I sat next to Chris’ vivacious wife Alison, and she told me interesting stories about integration in the workplace, the challenge no longer between different cultural groups, but rather between age groups, quoting generation Y and X behaviours in the workplace, and how these can cause conflict.  She is a consultant smoothing over such age related conflict in the workplace.  At the media table too were Joanne and Patrick Gibson (Joanne writes for the Sunday Times Food Weekly about wine), Cayleigh Bright of Glamour Online and her friend Will, and Megan Drury from CSA. Continue reading →

Peninsula All-Suite Hotel Wine & Dine interesting pairing with Steenberg wines!

Peninsula Steenberg John Loubser Whale Cottage PorfolioOn Thursday evening I was invited by Communication Services Africa (CSA) to attend The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel monthly Wine & Dine at its Sunset Restaurant, paired with Steenberg Wines, both clients of the PR consultancy.  We had a fun evening, with a lot of banter from both the host Chris Godenir and Steenberg General Manager and Cellar Master John Loubser.

Chris Godenir has been at Three Cities for a number of years, and has a special relationship with his staff at The Peninsula All-Suite Hotel, not losing his cool easily.  One has to get used to his sense of humour, which he surrounds himself with continuously, making one unsure whether he says something in jest or is serious.   Poor John and I both were on the receiving end of Chris’ jibes, and I decided to take the positive out of his comments, which in my case showed that he reads my blog!

Chris announced that the Wine & Dine was the first opportunity for their new chef Hajierah Hamit to cook for a special group, the dinner being sold out. I sat next to Chris’ vivacious wife Alison, and she told me interesting stories about integration in the workplace, the challenge no longer between different cultural groups, but rather between age groups, quoting generation Y and X behaviours in the workplace, and how these can cause conflict.  She is a consultant smoothing over such age related conflict in the workplace.  At the media table too were Joanne and Patrick Gibson (Joanne writes for the Sunday Times Food Weekly about wine), Cayleigh Bright of Glamour Online and her friend Will, and Megan Drury from CSA. Chris introduced John, the most creative interpretation of a CV John has probably had to endure, but it raised many laughs, and Continue reading →

Tracy van Maaren Wines presents its portfolio of fine boutique wines!

Tracy van Maaren Tracy Whale Cottage PortfolioLast night I attended the first Tracy van Maaren Wines Trade Tasting, representing a handful of select fine boutique wine estates, held at Auslese. Each of the wine estate’s wines offered for tasting was personally paired with a canapé designed by Chef Harald Bresselschmidt of Aubergine.

Tracy started her wine career by working as PA to Dana Buys at Vrede en Lust.  She then moved into the clothing industry, but regretted this move.  She returned to the wine industry, working at Jordan.  Almost nine years ago she started her company, her first wine clients being Vriesenhof, Raats, and Catherine Marshall.   She represents her clients’ wines in the ‘mid to top restaurants’ and independent retailers (e.g. Caroline’s, Wine Concepts, and Vino Pronto) in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, with Paarl and Franschhoek.

Auslese is a renovated house, available to rent for functions, about two blocks from Aubergine.  It has a smallish kitchen, and the space was cleverly used to set up tasting tables for nine brands, with Pol Roger (Churchill’s favourite champagne) represented in the entrance hall by Great Domaines’ Derek Kilpin andTracy van Maaren Pol Roger Whale Cottage Portfolio their brand new French import Morgan Delacloche.

Arriving at about 18h30, there was no crush, and one could get to easily taste the wines and food pairings, chat to the wine representatives, and to the invited guests, which included John Maytham of Cape Talk, Mark Bland of Expresso, Mandi Jarman of Aquila, Chef Vanessa Marx and her colleague  Rumby of Dear Me, Catharina’s Manager Ronel Smidt, sommelier and consultant Jörg Pfützner, John and Lynne Ford, and Mike Duggan of Wine Concepts. Continue reading →