Tag Archives: Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

Chefs who Share Young Chef of Year Finalist canapé creations presented at The Taj!

imageYesterday afternoon Opulent Living hosted a function at The Reserve at Taj Cape Town, to introduce food writers to the seven Finalist Young Chef of the Year candidates, and to allow their creative canapés to be tasted.

The canapés form one part of the evaluation of who wins the Chefs who Share Young Chef of the Year 2015, the other part of the evaluation being the handling of the chefs of themselves in the next 48 hours, including during the Chefs who Share Gala Dinner taking place in the City Hall on Thursday evening. Continue reading →

‘Chefs who Share’ serves (Michelin) star Gala Dinner in aid of disadvantaged children, raises R 2,5 million!

Chefs who Share Mercedes-Benz Whale CottageWhen Opulent Living‘s Barbara Lenhard and Florian Gast organise an event, you know it will be beyond perfect, the German precision being evident from the minute one enters the venue.   Outperforming its ‘Chefs who Share – the ART of Giving‘ Gala Dinner and Auction of last year, which raised R1,2 million then, R 2,5 million was raised at ‘Chefs who Share‘ on Thursday evening from the 250 tickets sold at R3000 each for the Gala Dinner, and the smart auctioneering of art works and other auction lots.

Arriving at the not-often-used Darling Street entrance to the City Hall, the Mercedes-Benz (the company was a sponsor) CLS Coupé was outside the steps, and photographs taken of the VIPs attending.  Halfway up the steps were the tables to register one’s attendance, with tall vases of beauty created with vegetables, all of which plus the vegetables used for the table decor going to a soup kitchen the following day.  Outside the Hall itself, waiters greeted us with glasses of Chefs who Share Barbara Lenhard Whale CottageGraham Beck MCC, and one could admire the artwork hung in the passages, which was auctioned later in the evening.  A continuous stream of canapés was offered, and the waiters linked to the creators of these Chefs who Share Rudi Liebenberg canapes Whale Cottageserved them, which helped in that they knew what they were serving.  Little name cards, with the description of the dishes and the chef’s name, made the identification for Tweeting easy.  Those served by Chefs Jackie Cameron, Rudi Liebenberg with Michelle Theron, Darren Badenhorst, Malika van Reenen, and Christiaan Campbell attracted particular attention.  It was in the passage that we could chat and congratulate Barbara, who looked beautiful and glamorous in her Gavin Rajah dress. Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 6/7 September

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy’s response to the axing of Virgin Atlantic’s London – Cape Town flights is embarrassing and appears unprepared, with poor wording, likely to have been a telephonic interview: ‘The slight (sic) cuts will definitely impact on tourism to the destination, especially if you look at Summer where the demand for Cape Town is quite great (sic), especially from the UK market’ !

*   ‘Chefs who Share’ is adding two further Auction lots for its charity Gala Dinner on Thursday 11 September, the culinary highlight of the year in Cape Town.  The proceeds go to the MAD (Make a Difference) Charity and Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The additional Auction lots are attendance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at pit lane level, and VIP tickets to attend the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai. (received via media release from Amplicon PR)

*   Col’Cacchio is again giving back to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital this year, in donating R 5 of sales per pizza in its Continue reading →

‘Chefs who Share’: Art on a plate and on auction too, all for a good cause!

Grande Provence Galaxy of Textures Whale CottageLast 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 Continue reading →