I was lucky to have been able to book one of the sold-out tables for the Tokara Tribute to El Bulli, the number one restaurant in the world for many years, in honour of its alchemist chef/owner Ferran Adria, who served dinner for the last time at El Bulli last night. Tokara Chef Richard Carstens’ advertised eight-course dinner became a 13-course feast, and was a fitting tribute to a chef who created Modernist Cuisine, and who is best known for deconstruction and molecular gastronomy. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Roses
Good Food and Wine Show in Cape Town to be a-maze-ing
A guest appearance by Gordon Ramsay, the owner of maze restaurants in Cape Town, London, New York, in Tuscany and Sardinia, Melbourne and Los Angeles, amongst others, will be the highlight of the Good Food and Wine Show, taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 13 – 16 May.
Ramsay will cook up a storm in the Chefs in Action Theatre at the show, and will host book signings of his cookery books. He is part of a team of BBC Lifestyle celebrity chefs, including master patissier Eric Lanard, star of Glamour Puds; Anjum Anand of Indian Food Made Easy; Michelin-star chef Giorgio Locatelli from ‘Tony and Giorgio’; chocolate wizard Willie Harcourt-Cooze, star of Willie’s Wonky Chocolate Factory; and Patrick Williams, specialising in Caribbean-style food. Local chefs George Jardine of Jardine at Jordon, Giggling Gourmet Jenny Morris and Luke Dale-Roberts of La Colombe will also offer workshops. Only ten persons can attend a celebrity chef session, to make it completely hands-on.
The Good Food and Wine Show will also have a Celebrity Chef’s Restaurant, offering a menu designed by the BBC Lifestyle celebrity chefs doing the cooking demonstrations. Other interesting attractions are a Grolsch Beer and Food Theatre, in which food and beer pairing will be demonstrated; an interactive cocktail arena, using Roses and Monis products; children’s cooking classes; bargain priced wines; the Alchemy of Gold Brandy Theatre will demonstrate brandy cocktails and educate visitors about food and brandy pairing; the Stellenbosch Slow Food Market members will sell their best fresh produce; vanilla ice cream will be presented in 101 ways by BBC Lifestyle chef Eric Lanlard; and cookbooks can be bought and signed by the chefs present.
Close to 55 000 visitors are expected at the Good Food and Wine Show, and therefore the Celebrity Chef demo’s must be booked in advance.
It costs R 80 to enter the Show, R 350 to attend the “Get Fresh with BBC Lifestyle Hands-on workshops”, and R 300 to attend a demo in the Gordon Ramsay Chefs in Action Theatre. The Gordon Ramsay VIP Experience costs R 750. A special dinner hosted and cooked by Gordon Ramsay will be held at maze at the One&Only Cape Town on 15 May and costs R 1 500, but is sold out already. More details about the Good Food and Wine Show are available at www.gourmetsa.com
POSTSCRIPT: This post was written ahead of Gordon Ramsay’s arrival in South Africa. While his presentations at the Convention Centre were reasonably well received (other than an issue with book-signing), his 2-minute appearance at the charity R 1500 a head dinners on Friday and Saturday evening, without honouring a promise to meet diners and to allow a Q & A session, whilst he was already galavanting at the Tiger Tiger club in Claremont, was highly criticised – read here.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com