Tag Archives: WWF

MasterChef SA Season 2 episode 25: Ozzy Osman eats sustainable seafood, Jason Steel baked out with sour viewer reaction!

MasterChef 2 25 Judges and gateau Whale Cottage PortfolioDescribed as cool and aloof by viewers, Kamini Pather showed some emotion and her first tears in the 25th episode of MasterChef SA last night, frustrated in her efforts to bake a Lemon Meringue Gâteau, the focus of much of the episode.  Being the darling of viewers and tipped to win Season 2 of MasterChef SA, it was a surprise that viewers reacted with such vitriol against her performance at the end of the episode last night.

While Ozzy Osman was on his way to Gansbaai as a guest of Dyer Island Conservation Trust for having created the best month-end dish, the three Finalists who had to go into the Pressure Test as a result of their poor month-end ‘cuisine’ in episode 24 were only supported by Leandri van der Wat, watching her sister Seline, Kamini, and Jason Steel bake up a sweat in what was billed as the ‘most daunting Pressure Test‘ in the series. Chef Benny Masekwameng warned. It would test their limits, in replicating the ‘work of art and masterpiece‘ of invited guest Chef Kelvin Continue reading →

Graham Beck Wines launches The Game Reserve, with focus on sustainability and conservation of nature!

The launch of Graham Beck Wines’ The Game Reserve range at the Camps Bay Retreat last week was admirable in demonstrating the wine company’s passion about restoring and conserving the environment and producing world class wines in harmony with nature. It also was a tribute to the late Mr Graham Beck, who was a passionate conservationist.

In welcoming the guests, Graham Beck Enterprises CEO Chris du Toit said that his company is focused on sustainability on three fronts: social upliftment, environmental care and conservation, and economic. Sustainability is an integral part of what the company stands for, ‘it comes from within’, he said.  The sustainability work done to date has been kept low key.

In Robertson the Graham Beck Private Nature Reserve was created in the ‘Nineties, to reverse the adverse effects of 200 years of agricultural grazing. The Madeba farm belonging to the Becks is situated in the Succulent Karoo Ecosystem, with 1500 species of vegetation. Graham Beck was the second Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) biodiversity champion, and is one of 28 such wine farms, while the Graham Beck farms and cellars have been awarded Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) Conformance Certificates, to reflect that they grow grapes and produce wines in an environmentally sustainable manner.  Four times more Graham Beck land in Robertson is conserved relative to it being used for wine and stud horse farming.

It was a brainstorming session between Pieter Ferreira, the Graham Beck Cellar Master for Sparkling Wines, and a group from the Walt Disney Company that led to the creation of the Gamekeeper’s Reserve, a Cabernet Sauvignon made exclusively for Disney Resort restaurants.  The wine was so successful that its distribution spread across the USA, and Chenin Blanc was added to the range five years later. In 2009 the name of the range was changed to The Game Reserve.

At CapeWine 2012 the full range of nine varietals in The Game Reserve range was launched to the trade, as well as at ProWein in Germany last month.  The launch event last week was aimed at introducing the wine range to wine writers, and to encourage them to help spread the message of sustainability, which is the focus of The Game Reserve range, a story told with particular passion by Erika Obermeyer, Graham Beck Cellarmaster for Still Wines since 2005, and the passionate Conservation Manager Mossie Basson.

In launching The Game Reserve range, each varietal was ‘paired’ with an indigenous animal or plant conservation project in the Robertson area, where Graham Beck Wines is situated in the Cape Floral Kingdom, an ecological hot-spot with about 8500 plant species.  Mossie Basson was previously with the Department of Nature Conservation, and now heads the conservancy work at Graham Beck Wines, tackling a  number of conservancy projects, including clearing alien vegetation, stabilising eroded areas, and re-planting indigenous plants on 1885 ha of land registered with Cape Nature as a voluntary conservation site.  They have been joined by 27 neighbouring farms to create the Rooiberg Breede River Conservancy, now covering 13500 ha, an important achievement in bringing the community together.  Mossie discovered a rare vygie, unique to the Graham Beck Private Reserve, which has taken three years to be registered.  It has been named ‘Esterhuysenia Grahambeckii’, in honour of Mr Beck.

The rare vygie has become the inspiration for the logo created for The Game Reserve range, symbolising ‘restoring harmony and natural balance‘, and its pay-off line is clever:‘Planet first. It’s in our nature‘!  The labels for the range are printed on recycled paper, and contain the BWI logo, the envirolabel icon, the QR code, information about the fauna and flora ‘paired with each of the wines’, a description of the wine, tasting notes, food pairing suggestions, and health and safety guidelines.

Mossie is a raconteur, talking passionately without a note about the nine conservation projects, and could have spoken the whole afternoon, so dedicated is he to his work to help create a sustainable presence not just now, but also in the future.  He shared that by 1978 the Cape had lost 61% of its floral kingdom, the carbon dioxide levels being higher than ever, being ‘man induced‘, he said.  He added that the threat of a shortage of quality water is a concern, 700 liters of water being needed to grow 1 kg of tomatoes.  He said that humans must stop being ‘parasites to nature‘, and should become ‘enzymes‘ and stewards of nature, looking for creative ways to manage the biosphere.

The Game Reserve wine range is the first to be associated with a private nature reserve, and the brand is ‘an environmentally responsible inspired wine brand for wine lovers who care about sustainability in order to leave a lasting legacy for generations to come’, says the brand book for The Game Reserve range.  Mossie added: ‘Each bottle of The Game Reserve must be the catalysts to spread the message about sustainability to the rest of the world‘.

In introducing the nine new The Game Reserve wines on the terrace overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, with birds chirping overhead, Erika Obermeyer showed her natural talent as a storyteller, saying:  ‘Just as in wine, our fragile ecosystem is wholly dependent on balance, harmony, continuity and longevity.  It truly is the case of ‘the sum of the parts’ when it comes to farming sustainably and responsibly.  When we practice environmentally responsible viticulture and winemaking, we not only ensure the quality of our product, we guarantee the future of our planet as well’:

*   Sauvignon Blanc 2012: one can smell South Africa and the vineyards in this wine, for which the grapes predominantly are from Firgrove outside Stellenbosch, but also from Groenekloof in Darling.  This is Erika’s favorite variety, with green and tropical flavours, describing her like a lady that smiles all the way.  Only grapes grown in an area in which one can hear the ocean are used to make this varietal.  The Fish Eagle is associated with the varietal, the highest flying predator, which keeps smaller birds away from their ripe grapes.

*   Chenin Blanc 2012 : This is Erika’s ‘good mood‘ wine, and she is delighted that the interest in Chenin Blanc is growing locally and internationally.  She described it as a ‘Cinderella’ wine, needing to be ‘dressed up’ to make her popular.  Grapes from 42 – 48 year old bush vines are used, coming from Agter Paarl, and are ‘very happy vineyards’, used to the warm weather in this region. Only 5% is barrel fermented, for mouthfeel.  The Riverine Rabbit is associated wit this varietal, the most endangered species in our country, with only 150 breeding pairs left in our country, according to a WWF count, and has been found to live in the Graham Beck Private Nature Reserve.

*   Viognier 2010:  The grapes come from Robertson with lots of sunshine.  When the grapes taste like Shiraz, they are ready to be harvested, being hand picked, Erika said.  Only 20% of the grapes were fermented in 2nd fill French oak, for creaminess and mouthfeel. It has peach and citrus flavours, and goes well with spicy foods.  The Honey Badger has been paired with this varietal, and Mossie called them the ‘engineers in nature’, in that they dig holes, which offer a home to many other insects. They love honey, and the beekeeping on the estate is therefore badger-friendly.

*   Chardonnay 2010: Grapes come from Robertson, which has limestone soils, giving the wines ‘incredible flavours and freshness‘, said Erika.  30% was fermented naturally in barrel and tank, and there was no malolactic fermentation. The wine spent 11 months in the barrel, with a weekly batonnage. Citrus aromas. The nature conservation project linked to this varietal is the Cape Eagle Owl, which catches mice and other rodents.  Often hit by vehicles, 120 perches have been built for them in the Graham Beck vineyards, to prevent their demise.

*   Rosé 2012: Grapes from 5 – 17 year old trellised vineyards in Robertson, and hand harvested. This wine has fresh and fruity aromatics, and is easy drinking, made in a white wine style using Shiraz grapes, with a ‘tiny dash of Pinot Noir‘.  The rare vygie is the conservation project linked to this cultivar.

*   Pinotage 2010: Erika said that she is proud that this variety has sorted out its negative image, as it is a unique variety, which she has made to be soft and sweet, with strawberry, cherry and plum flavours, and soft tannins. Grapes come from Franschhoek, bushvines from Agter Paarl, and Robertson.  The Bat Eared Fox is the conservation project for this variety, which also helps work the soil.  It is protected from being killed, due to its close resemblance to a jackal.

*   Merlot 2011: This is a tricky variety, which Erika described as a ‘fragile and feminine wine’, and is fresh, with soft tannins.  Handpicked grapes come from Firgrove’s coffeestone soils predominantly, and from Franschhoek. The Cape Clawless Otter is the nature project for this variety, and the restoration of the Vink River has created a safe home for the species in the nature reserve.

*   Shiraz 2009: The grapes come from Firgrove, with spicy white pepper, black olive, cherry, berry, and cranberry flavours. The roots of these vines go down 5 meters into the 500 million year old coffeestone soils, seeking the moisture deep down, being the ‘Energade’ for this grape variety, Erika said.  The Eland is linked to this cultivar, an animal needing a lot of space, being the largest antelope in Africa, and is well adapted to the Karoo.

*   Cabernet Sauvignon 2011: This wine is a blend of Robertson, Darling, and Firgrove handpicked grapes, the wine having tobacco spice and fruity flavours, matured in French oak for twelve months, a wine ‘more serious in style’, and which delivers on tannin structure.  The Leopard project has studied, via cameras, the Cape leopard, half the size of the Kruger Park ones, to analyse which ‘corridors’ the leopards use to meet and ‘dance’, so that they can plan their farming activities around these, Mossie explained!  Seven leopards have been recorded as roaming in the area.

Most of the closures on The Game Reserve range are screw caps, the wines designed to be sold in specialist wine stores and by the glass in restaurants.  The range is well-priced at about R60 for the white wines and R80 for the red wines.  Erika explained that while some of the white wines have been made at the sister Steenberg cellar, they will make all their red and white wines from a rented facility in Stellenbosch from next year. Graham Beck Wines sold its Franschhoek estate to neighbouring Antonij Rupert Wines about two years ago.

The building housing the Camps Bay Retreat was erected in 1929, and is named Earl’s Dyke Manor, originally owned by the Knacke family.  A partnership led by Maree Brink, owner of the Village & Life Group, took over the ‘custodianship’ of the property in 2002.  Head Chef Robyn Capendale has been at the hotel for the past three years, was the Young Chef of the Year 2010, and had the amazing experience of being selected to work with Chef Heston Blumenthal at the three-star Michelin UK restaurant The Fat Duck in a five-week placement, chosen from thousands of applicants.  She learnt his ‘multisensory perception’ approach to cooking, the study of ‘how the brain influences our appreciation of food‘.  Chef Robyn prepared the Graham Beck function as her last event, before she moves into her new position as the Village & Life Executive Chef responsible for the catering at all the properties in the Group.

When we arrived we were served the Graham Beck Brut Blanc de Blancs 2008, accompanied with canapés prepared by Chef Robyn and her team: oysters with ginger and gooseberries, and smoked salmon, cream cheese and caper bruschetta.  After the wine tasting we vacated the tables, so that the staff could set up the tables for lunch. This afforded one to step down to the garden again, where tables had been set up to taste more of the wines in The Game Reserve range. More canapés were served, being delicate fig and camembert tarts, and rare roast beef tagliata topped with parmesan shavings.

The starter was unusual, being deep fried crumbed cream cheese and fresh herb filled calamari tubes, served with a fennel bulb and tomato salad, which was paired with a choice of The Game Reserve Viognier 2010 and Chardonnay 2010.  Anel Grobler sat next to me, and as she is allergic to calamari, had a wonderful looking replacement asparagus, ham and poached egg starter served within ten minutes. The main course of slow cooked rack of Karoo lamb, poached for eight hours Chef Robyn revealed, was served with rosemary jus, pomme dauphine, carrots, asparagus, and courgettes, and was paired with a choice of The Game Reserve Merlot 2011 and Shiraz 2010.  The dessert was a trio of chocolate delice, chocolate soil, and chocolate sorbet, topped with a hazelnut tuile, and was paired with The Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.  A further treat was coffee served with petit fours of chocolate and pistachio shards, homemade toffee, and coconut ice.

It was a long relaxed afternoon with a perfect setting, perfect wines, perfect food, and perfect company, perfectly organised by the Graham Beck Marketing team headed by Etienne Heyns (main photograph), and its new Public Relations agency Waterford Communications.  The sustainable approach to the creation and launch of The Game Reserve is admirable, as is the company’s philosophy: ‘We are consummate caretakers – of our wines, people, environment, customers and consumers. Nothing less will do’!

Disclosure: With our media pack we received a rabbit wire art keyholder, a set of recycled pencils and pens with a wooden sharpener, a vygie plant, and a bottle each of The Game Reserve Chenin Blanc 2012 and Shiraz 2009.

Graham Beck Wines, Tel (021) 874-1258.  www.grahambeckwines.com Twitter:@GrahamBeckWines

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

Woolworths supports Seafood Sustainability standards, consumer communication challenge!

After writing about Woolworths confusing labelling of its seafood packs, and its in-store SASSI posters, we were invited to meet with Justin Smith, head of the retailer’s ‘Good Business Journey‘ sustainability programme, and Michael Basson, their Seafood Technologist, on Thursday, to explain and clarify Woolworths’ seafood sustainability commitment and programme ahead.

What the retailer had communicated in one of its e-mails to us, but what was not clarified despite our request, is that the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) has requested all retailers, including Woolworths, as well as restaurants which have aligned themselves to the principles of sustainable seafood practices, to remove any SASSI colour rating on packaging of their fish offering, due to the misleading ‘greenwashing’ practiced by some retailers and restaurants. The term was explained as the use of the colour green on a pack of fish to imply a ‘green’ SASSI rating, without the content in fact being a SASSI ‘green‘ rated fish.

One would have thought that SASSI would be grateful for all consumer education and communication about its sustainable seafood initiative, but the organisation must have picked up so many problems that it has taken this radical step. From this month onwards no new packaging with the SASSI rating may be printed by any retailer, but existing packaging material may be used until it runs out. This explains why we found packs of fish with and without the SASSI rating at Woolworths.

In response to the SASSI directive, Woolworths has launched its ‘Fishing for the Future‘ campaign, which declares its commitment to sustainability. A new logo and colour scheme (currently blue, but likely to be used in white and black) will go onto all fish packs sold at Woolworths.  The retailer still endorses SASSI, but will be more focused on communicating the international Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) rating of its fish (currently only hake) through the blue MSC logo.   The MSC evaluation is not based on a colour rating – either a fish supplier has the rating or it does not, so a fish pack bearing the logo will be proof that the fish was caught, processed and sold according to sustainable seafood standards.  Woolworths has had a You Tube video prepared to explain its seafood sustainability. Oddly, the description below the video states that ‘Woolworths offers the widest range of MSC certified fish’. However, currently the MSC only certifies ‘trawled hake’, we were told.  All MSC certified fish automatically is rated as ‘green’ by SASSI. In MasterChef SA’s episode 15 Woolworths first flighted a TV commercial to declare its seafood sustainability, and featured the MSC ‘eco label’, but did not refer to SASSI.  In-store (i.e. in the St John Piazza store in Woolworths and in Canal Walk) there is no MSC information, and only SASSI information.

The company realises that it needs to be far sharper at communicating what the different seafood assessment companies and their systems stand for, and what it means for the quality of the seafood it sells.  We talked about the ‘blue’ rating which Woolworths has used on its in-store poster, not an official SASSI colour rating, but which it uses to denote ‘imported or farmed fish’ with the blessing of SASSI. We asked why hake is ‘green’ rated by SASSI but that the pickled fish sold at Woolworths, which its label says is made from hake, is rated ‘orange’.  Michael explained that the hake for the pickled fish comes from Namibia, and therefore carries this rating.

The retailer acknowledged that it must work far harder with its staff to educate it about sustainability generally, and about seafood specifically, through its internal ‘Champions’ programme.

Kingklip cannot be caught as such, but is a by-catch with hake.  To preserve the kingklip stocks, a number of fishing actions are implemented, including the reduction of ‘bird bycatch‘, as sea birds caught in fishing nets drown.  Torry lines are used as ‘bird-scaring devices‘ on the boats and nets to scare birds away from the boats. It was explained that kingklip does not have to be thrown back when caught in a net with other fish varieties, and that the torry lines ensure that the stock of kingklip and other endangered fish varieties will grow. When we challenged the Woolworths representatives as to why they are selling an ‘orange‘-rated kingklip, they said that it was better to sell and control it, than to have no influence over it at all. Woolworths does not sell Cape salmon, but sells a substantial amount of Norwegian salmon. It is a large and well-managed industry in Norway, prestigious, and of high quality standards.  Its catch and export to South Africa meets sustainability standards.  Trout is now rated ‘green’, having previously been rated ‘orange‘, as stocks have improved.

The value of the SASSI education campaign is that it has enhanced the awareness of the consumer and the restaurant client in choosing ‘green’ rated fish, which means that the supply of green rated fish will grow.  It was heartening to hear that SASSI is adding more and more imported fish species sold locally to its rating list.

Woolworths is known to be a tough taskmaster to its suppliers in setting quality standards.  The Woolworths Seafood and Fish Sustainability questionnaire which suppliers have to complete checks the fishing companies’ sustainability policies, their environmental policies, the fish varieties that are targeted, the fish varieties that are by-catch, where the fish is caught, the method of catching which is used, the use of torry lines, methods used to prevent bird, turtle and mammal (i.e. dolphin) catch, and the sustainability status.  In addition to the paperwork, the retailer has random ‘traceability‘ (i.e. checking the origin of the fish via a paper trail) and DNA tests conducted on its fish supplies via a third party.

In October consumers can expect to see a co-ordinated in-store and marketing awareness campaign to explain the source of Woolworths’ farmed fish; to educate the shopper about SASSI, MSC and the benefit of eating ‘green‘ fish; the retailer’s policy on selling ‘orange’ fish; and the goals Woolworths has for its continuous improvement in its sustainable seafood programme.  It is anticipated that SASSI and the MSC will also run a joint communication programme to educate consumers about sustainable seafood.

From a consumer perspective it seems a shame that SASSI has decided to disallow retailers to label their fish ratings in future, given that it currently causes confusion as packaging stock runs out, and it undoes the good work that a leading retailer like Woolworths has done in making the SASSI, and to a lesser extent the MSC, sustainable seafood standards, the basis on which South Africans should buy and eat fish, better known.

POSTSCRIPT 18/7: SASSI’s John Duncan wrote a detailed response to this blogpost, to support the information provided by Woolworths about the withdrawal of the SASSI coding on retailers’ packaging.  It contains valuable detail, and therefore we have copied it into the blogpost. “It’s great to see that Woolworths took the time to meet with you to explain the current challenges with regards to their seafood labelling programme. Just to clarify some of the background to SASSI’s decision to ask Woolworths and other retailers to remove any SASSI related prodcut labelling, please find some more information below: Over the last few years, as awareness of SASSI’s traffic light system of colour-coding has grown, a number of seafood-related companies, have begun to add green, orange, red and blue labels to seafood products both on packaging and on menus. Although WWF recognizes that the majority of these companies have adopted these strategies in order to communicate about sustainability with their clients, it is important to point out that globally, WWF does not support 1st party ecolabelling schemes (i.e. self-regulated). In line with the FAO’s Guidelines on Ecolabelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries (FAO, 2005), we believe that the most credible ecolabelling schemes accepted in international forums such as WTO, ISO, FAO and ISEAL are voluntary, third party and operated independently of those with interests in the issue in question. Third party schemes such as the MSC and the developing ASC are generally considered to offer buyers of labelled products the greatest confidence and levels of credibility because compliance with criteria is usually based on verifiable, impartial and transparent certification procedures and standards. It is important for retailers and consumers to understand why WWF cannot support 1st party eco-labelling processes such as colour-coding of seafood with SASSI colours. Although SASSI has some level of oversight on labeling processes with SASSI Retail participants such as Woolworths, it seems clear that there are now a number of companies that are adding unaudited colour-coded logos to their products, which poses significant risks to sustainability as these companies can and do add the incorrect colour coding to their products either because of a lack of understanding or, intentionally in order to greenwash unsustainable products. A similar risk is that companies employing unaudited colour-coding systems can be developing their own definitions of what each colour means, which would be misleading to consumers who assume that all colour-codes relate to SASSI colour categories. These are clearly significant threats to WWF’s work and in order to mitigate these risks, SASSI requested that retailers remove any colour-coded labeling associated with seafood products. Ultimately, SASSI is not an eco-labelling organization and WWF strongly encourages companies wanting to communicate with consumers about sustainability through on-product labeling to investigate the options of independent 3rd party eco-labelling schemes such as the MSC. Woolworths have done an amazing job over the last few years of raising awareness of our work and we are greatly encouraged by the work Woolworths has done to develop its range of MSC certified products (which include SA’s trawled hake as well as imported products such as Alaskan salmon, Portuguese sardines and others). I hope this helps to clear up any confusion around this topic, for more information on all of these issues, please have a look at our website (www.wwf.org.za/sassi). Many thanks John”

POSTSCRIPT 26/7: At Woolworths’ Willowbridge branch they had a new information banner (‘We’re hooked on sustainable fishing’) next to the smallish fish department today, focused on the Marine Stewardship Council, which they will use in their seafood sustainability communication, as reflected in the interview reported above.  It simply communicates: ‘By buying MSC-certified seafood, you’re helping to make sure there will always be plenty of fish in the sea’.

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

MasterChef episode 15: Blood, Sweat and Tears; Fishy in Paternoster, Khaya Silingile sauced out!

Last night’s episode 15 of MasterChef South Africa is one of the most beautifully filmed, on the beach of Paternoster, the ‘kreef town’ of South Africa, Sue-Ann Allen said.  The Red Team of Sarel Loots and the Blue Team led by last week’s dish winner Manisha Naidu had to cook their seafood platters on the beach. The Red Team lost the challenge and went into the Pressure Test, and Khaya Silingile had to leave MasterChef SA.

Chef Pete Goffe-Wood said that Paternoster is a ‘quaint West Coast village, a magnet for chefs passionate about seafood’.  He spoke about the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI), which educates consumers about buying seafood responsibly, and also to order it responsibly in restaurants. Unfortunately he did not explain it further, ‘green’ rated fish being in order to order and buy, while ‘orange’ and ‘red’ rated fish denotes fish varieties that are overfished and scarce, and should not be eaten.  To tie in with the programme, Woolworths flighted a commercial based on its fish offering, and also declared its SASSI responsibility.  The six Finalists were introduced to Chef Suzi Holtzhausen, who ran a cooking school in Johannesburg before moving to Paternoster eight years ago, where she runs a B&B and her restaurant Gaaitjie, beautifully located on the rocks at the edge of the beach.

The Finalists were divided into two teams, being allowed to choose their team members. Manisha chose Sue-Ann and Lungi Nhlahla for her Blue Team, while Sarel chose Deena Naidoo and Khaya for his Red Team.  They had to ‘celebrate West Coast local cuisine‘, and prepare in two hours a ‘Seafood Platter of a Lifetime’, with enough food for fifteen of Chef Suzi’s invited guests and ‘VIPs’, being locals of the fishing village.  The Blue Team chose to prepare grilled crayfish, marinated trout (an odd choice for a village catching its food from the sea), and fried calamari. Manisha chose to make a white wine sauce for her team’s fish dishes.  The team’s food was served first, and its food was described as being ‘nice and soft’ by a local, its prawns were liked, as were the oysters served with horseradish sauce. The Red Team also made prawns, deep fried calamari, yellowtail, asparagus, served with wasabi mayonnaise, tartar sauce, chilli sauce, lemon butter, and peri peri sauce.  Sarel had to gut the fish, and whilst doing so, he cut himself badly, and had to receive medical treatment.  Khaya and Deena carried on without him for a while, probably giving their team a knock.  The southeaster was blowing strongly, and Khaya tried to shield her team’s food from it.  The prawns and yellowtail were praised, the crayfish was said to be undercooked, and the good selection of sauces, especially the tartar sauce, was liked.  Manisha commented about how stressful it is to stand and wait for the voting.  Chef Suzi and her guests had to each vote, and the first team to obtain 8 votes was declared the winner, the honour bestowed upon the Blue Team.

The Red Team of Khaya, Sarel, and Deena went into the Pressure Test back at Nederburg, and they had to replicate the dish that won the silver medal at the Culinary Olympics in 1995, of which Chef Andrew Atkinson was a SA team member, and which he said took four years to perfect. It was a brioche encrusted Springbok loin, an asparagus tower with a mushroom and leek ragout, a peppadew relish, and served with a Béarnaise sauce infused with Rooibos tea, and charcoal and tomato pasta.  They had 2½ hours in which to replicate the dish.

Deena picked up a problem almost immediately, in that his Béarnaise sauce ‘split’, which he said ‘derailed my thought process‘, the first time we have really seen Deena worried.  He added that he was disappointed with himself, and said that ‘I don’t think I have performed adequately in this challenge’.  His sauce was said to resemble scrambled egg, his asparagus looked like a ‘leaning tower‘, the pasta was ‘spot on’ said Chef Andrew, with the right thickness and he could taste the roasted nutmeg. The asparagus lacked seasoning, and some of it was overcooked. Chef Benny Masekwameng praised the well-cooked relish. Sarel bumped his sore finger whilst preparing his dish, and said it throbbed in ‘ache and pain’. His Béarnaise sauce was prepared at too high a heat, and curdled.  The asparagus tower was praised, and all the spears were of the same length, Chef Pete said. The meat was described as ‘blue’ by Chef Pete, but Chef Andrew said that it was in order for game to be served rare. His ragout had  ‘just the right amount of balance’, and his dish was judged to be almost identical to that prepared by Chef Andrew, except for the sauce. Khaya made the pasta herself, saying it was not as easy as it looked. She admitted that she had never made Béarnaise sauce before, and her sauce ‘split’ too. The judges spoke amongst themselves about her preparation, saying that she had left things ‘to the last minute’ and that her pasta was too thick.  Her asparagus spears faced the wrong way, she was told by the judges, her asparagus tower looked like a ‘teepee’, not all the asparagus spears being of the same length. Chef Benny praised her for her meat being perfectly prepared but lacked some seasoning but this was counteracted by her spicy relish. Chef Pete found her meat dish to be ‘very bland’, not being able to taste the mustard under the crust. Chef Andrew added that the pasta was too thick, that the sauce had split, and that he could not taste the nutmeg.  She said that she was ‘content‘ with what she had prepared. As Khaya’s dish had the most errors, she was sent home, with words of praise for her passion, and she was encouraged to carry on with it. Chef Pete wished her well with her new family, having announced her pregnancy in episode 13.  She said that she enjoyed many highs and few lows in the programme, and that she had learnt patience by participating in MasterChef SA.  Her friend Lungi seemed more sad than Khaya herself, crying about her departure.

Exciting news is that Chef Michel Roux Jr, of two-star Michelin La Gavroche restaurant in London, is to be featured in episode 16 next week, conducting one of too few Masterclasses on the programme series.

POSTSCRIPT 27/6: Visiting Woolworths’ St John’s branch in Sea Point today, it was interesting to see their SASSI poster near the fresh fish section. Of concern, however, was that more than half of the fresh fish packs do not denote the SASSI sustainability colour rating. Of even greater concern is that they sell quite a lot of kingklip, rated ‘orange‘, defined as ‘conservation concern’ on its own in-store poster! They qualify ‘orange‘ fish, writing that ‘some ‘orange’ fish are caught when catching ‘green’ fish. This is known as bycatch. We only sell selected bycatch from well managed fisheries’! One wonders if kingklip qualifies as ‘bycatch‘. The poster also states that ‘Woolworths is working with its fish suppliers and WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to ensure sustainable seafood.’ It provides a cell number (079 499 8795) which one can sms to obtain the SASSI rating of any local fish type.

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