Yesterday I had the honour to get to know Koekedoor judge Mari-Louis Guy better over a 3½ hour period, first visiting the Cakebread Studio which she owns with her brother and business partner Callie Maritz. The get-together was crowned with a visit to the One & Only Cape Town, where the three of us indulged in what is my favorite Afternoon Tea in Cape Town. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: SA Chef’s Academy
Restaurant Review: Giulio’s good value, homely Italian hospitality!
My friend Tony Ward and I went to try the month-old Giulio’s Italian restaurant on Loop Street yesterday, and we were charmed by the down-to-earth friendliness from mother and son owners Giulio and Franca Loreggian.
I noticed the use of the olive branch and wreaths to bring Italy into the restaurant, given the Loreggian’s Italian descent. We were lucky Continue reading →
Chef’s Warehouse & Canteen Chef Angelo Scirocco S. Pellegrino Africa/Middle East Young Chef 2015 Finalist!
As a writer I receive invitations to many special events. Yesterday’s Africa/Middle East finals of the S. Pellegrino Young Chef 2015, held at the SA Chef’s Academy, was one of those memorable events, particularly as the nine finalists no doubt will become the future top chefs of our country and of Dubai.
Originally ten finalist chefs aged 30 years or younger were selected to represent Africa and the Middle East. Chef Eka Mochamad of the Pepper Fine Dining Restaurant at Jumeirah in Dubai had to withdraw due to the early birth of his child. The nine finalist chefs were from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Dubai, many meeting for the first time at the competition. The Continue reading →
Fun foodie day in Cape Town with MasterChef Finalist Seline van der Wat!
It was on Twitter that I saw Seline van der Wat, MasterChef SA Season 2 Finalist, request suggestions for food destinations in Cape Town. I had so enjoyed her spunk on MasterChef SA that I invited her to join me in sharing my Foodie Cape Town yesterday.
We met at Melissa’s on Kloof Street, where I had my favourite iced coffee for the day, and Seline gave me some feedback about where she had been in Cape Town relative to my list of favourite food destinations. The Neighbourgoods Market at the Biscuit Mill and Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants were the only two food stops she had been to already.
We talked about MasterChef SA Season 2, and she wore the wooden rabbit brooch which she had worn throughout the show. She wears it every day, and her sister and fellow MasterChef SA Finalist Leandri was given an identical one as a gift. One senses that they are very close, Seline being slightly older, and having an older sister who recently made them aunts, as well as a younger sister who is still at school. She lives in Pretoria, and has resigned her job as an engineer working on renewable energy via Hydropower. From a rigid day job she would escape to the kitchen to express her creativity via cooking, she and Leandri sharing an apartment. Seline could not stop raving about Chef Chris Erasmus at Pierneef à La Motte, loving his passion for food, and his sense of community. She plays the piano, guitar, and cello. They grew up in Mafikeng, and lost their mother about ten years ago, necessitating them to cook for the family of four daughters and their dad. Having such famous daughters has made their dad a celebrity in their home town, and he has met many more of the locals since his daughters were on TV. He himself now hosts Moroccan dinner parties, while the youngest sister is starting to learn to cook and bake as well. Seline said that she and Leandri did not watch soaps on TV Continue reading →