Somerset Mall | WhaleTales Blog by Chris von Ulmenstein

Eat Out 2012 Top Chef Luke Dale-Roberts of The Test Kitchen has developed a full Christmas lunch range for Woolworths, allowing South African families to taste the quality of his food preparation at the most special time of the year.

The Luke Dale-Roberts Woolworths Christmas range consists of a starter of Smoked Salmon, which Chef Luke cured and smoked with rooibos tea, then painted it with pomegranate molasses, and topped it with fresh dill, and grated orange and lemon rind. An alternative starter is The Sausage, which Chef Luke has made as a Christmas Toulouse, adding duck, ginger and cranberries, which should be put on a braai. Main courses are The Lamb Supreme, which he filled with Italian-style stuffing, and added cranberries, fresh herbs, and pine nuts (R164,99 per kg), as well as The Gammon- style belly, to which he added whole spice, orange peel, and fresh ginger root, smoking it, and then cooking it at 85°C for five hours. For the Christmas meal Chef Luke developed a range of relishes: cranberry, sesame and miso dressing (R24,95); summer fruit and kumquat cumberland relish (R24,95); mince pie chutney (R24,95); and truffle, walnut and fig pesto (R29,95). For dessert Chef Luke designed a red Christmas pudding made from summer berries (R169,95), which he paired with his special Christmas mess ice cream (R59,95 per litre).

In the Woolworths advertisement for his Christmas range, Chef Luke writes: “The moment I was briefed, I knew I had to create a new-age, innovative approach to Christmas lunch that would make it easy and very special for you. My main aim was to keep the traditional spiciness…the nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and whole spice, the pomegranates, orange peel and Christmas pie filling. Keep them, but lighten them, make them South African, and above all, make them FUN!”

The Luke Dale-Roberts Christmas range is available until 25 December, at Woolworths at Cavendish Square, Canal Walk, Constantia Village, Gardens Centre, Hout Bay, Piazza St John in Sea Point, Plettenberg Bay, Somerset Mall, Tyger Valley, the V&A Waterfront, as well as at some Woolworths stores in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, and Durban. It is not easy to see the Luke Dale-Roberts Christmas product range in the Woolworths stores, as they are not displayed in one space.

Chef Luke and his family are featured in the December issue of TASTE magazine, to publicise his Christmas range.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage

Vida e Caffe is set to open its first two London stores, its magazine Obrigado reports.

The hotshot coffee shop with a Portugese touch and distinctive red branding, has spread in major cities, and has branches in Stellenbosch, Sea Point, Willowbridge, Camps Bay, Somerset Mall, Cavendish, Claremont, the V & A Waterfront, Canal Walk, Kloof Street, Green Point, Bayside, Green Market, Black River Park, Constantia and Collosseum. In Johannesburg the seven branches are located in Sandton, OR Thambo airport, Greenside, Rosebank, Hyde Park, Parktown North, Bedford Square and Commissioner Street. Knysna and Bloemfontein each have a Vida, while there are three in Durban.

A joint venture is also on the cards between a Vida e Caffe and Nando’s Peri Deli in Rivonia.