Tag Archives: olive oil

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 14 of Level 4, 14 May 2020

 

Thursday 14 May 2020, 14 th Day of Level 4, after 35 days of Lockdown đŸ˜·

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for such a special day, the highlight being to finally meet the very kind and generous Shuba in their lovely home in Camps Bay, the winner of the ADHARA extra virgin olive oil for her review of Masala CafĂ© in the Restaurant Food Delivery Group, and for being spoilt so in their home; for another beautiful 21 C day, with mist in the morning, and soft clouds in the day; for doing so well in coping with 7 weeks of Lockdown; for a good workout walk up to Fourth Beach in Exercise Time, earning 300 Discovery Vitality points after zero yesterday; for seeing a 50 year old birthday being celebrated on the Promenade, at the Thrones, with cake and all; for a lovely chat with Sherryl on the way home, she living close by, both of us living Solo and offering to look after each other when in need; for finishing my writing early today, having done most of it last night; for having a wonderful tan snooze on the terrace, not having slept much last night; for a good step count today, my highest since Lockdown; for a blood sugar reading of 5,1; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →

[spasie] opens as new unique underground experiential dining in Cape Town!

spasie branding Whale CottageSecret restaurants have been operating in Cape Town for a year or so, SecretEats having attracted attention to underground restaurants, which pop up in interesting venues such as art galleries, furniture design exhibitions, warehouses in Observatory, and in private homes in Llandudno and Tamboerskloof.  Now [spasie] has opened in Cape Town, using the same formula of different chefs preparing the dinners, and guests sitting at one long table, with one difference – the restaurant space of [spasie] is fixed.

It is not clear why Greg Zeleny, the creator of SecretEats, has created a different brand, as he was not present at the [spasie] dinner to which I was invited.  JP du Toit was ourSpasie JP du Toit Whale Cottage host, and told us that he looks after the dinners every Thursday and Friday, and that his colleague Zak Averre handles weekday daytime food from the same space.  It was like a homecoming, the venue being across the road from the former Haas, in the building where the Haas ad agency had its offices, and where the Haas kitchen prepared the food for the Haas coffee shop.  We had hosted a Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club function in the same venue, when it still was an art gallery for Haas.  JP studied Biochemistry, and lived in Japan for two years.

The chef of the week was Chef Nick Charalambous, a Silwood Cookery School student (Cordon Bleu Grande Diploma), and former colleague Continue reading →

Aluminium closures increasingly used for wines instead of cork!

Aluminium Jordan branding Whale CottageAn invitation from Waterford Communications to attend a function of the Guala Closures Group, the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), and South African aluminium producer Hulamin sounded interesting in terms of content. Eat Out Top 20 Restaurant shortlist Jardine at Jordan as function venue was an added attraction.  A passionate case was made for the benefits of using aluminium closures for wine bottling.

On  arrival we received a glass of Jordan The Real McCoy Riesling 2014 andAluminium Duck pate Facebook duck paté canapés, which were served with passion fruit jelly, and prune purée, on brioche.  Buffalo milk mozzarella, confit tomato and basil was also served as a canapé.  We sat at large round tables, covered with brown table cloths and a white overlay.  We received a bread platter, which included ciabatta, Cape seedloaf, and vetkoek, served with porcini butter, watercress pesto (with overpowering garlic), and aoili.

A number of parties with an interest in the use of aluminium in screw caps and closures was present at the Continue reading →

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 29/30 October

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*    Cape Town harbour does not appear to be able to cope with the influx of tourists coming off cruise ships.  Earlier this week about 2000 passengers on the MSC Opera were stuck on board as there were only four customs officials to deal with the passengers who wanted to go on land to explore Cape Town, and those that wanted to board for the next leg of the cruise.  Provincial Minister of Tourism Alan Winde described the incident as a ‘major setback for cruise ship tourism in the city‘.  The departure time of the ship was delayed by two hours.

*   The price of petrol is expected to drop by at least 40 cents per liter and the price of diesel by about 56 cents per liter next Wednesday, predicts the Automobile Association.  Another petrol price decrease can be expected in December.

*   The Department of Transport is attempting to prevent Emirates from adding a fourth daily flight between Continue reading →