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South African Foodies News

As the last days of a magical Cape Town summer begin to fade, foodies can look forward to wonderful Winter Menus at Constantia Uitsig Wine Estate, one of the city’s leading gourmet destinations. The spotlight will certainly be on Cape Town for the FIFA World Cup 2010, with hotels and restaurants eagerly awaiting the influx of visitors to our shores.

Although many restaurants will be offering ‘special and enhanced’ menus, inevitably with inflated prices, it will be business as usual for the restaurants of Constantia Uitsig. In recognition of the unwavering loyalty regulars have shown to La Colombe, Constantia Uitsig Restaurant and River Café, each of these popular eateries will be offering their superb and affordable Winter Menus between May and September 2010.

“Any chef will tell you it’s the regulars that keep you going in the leaner months and although the World Cup is likely to bring more diners to our door this year, we are adamant that we want to honour our loyal diners with value-for-money meals to remember”, says Luke Dale-Roberts, executive chef at La Colombe and Eat Out Restaurant of the Year for the past two years.

Diners at Constantia Uitsig Restaurant will be able to enjoy a three-course menu with a carafe of wine at a cost of R260 for lunch and R290 for dinner; a three-course lunch with a carafe of wine, and a five-course degustation dinner menu with individual wine pairings at La Colombe at a cost of R280 and R380 respectively. A three or four-course lunch or dinner (with a carafe of wine of course) will be on offer at River Café for an impressive R195 or R225 respectively. River Café patrons will be delighted to note that one child per dining adult eats absolutely free this winter and in addition, the popular laidback eatery will be offering a 20% discount on table of 10 or more for breakfast bookings.

With offerings such as these, Constantia Uitsig Estate is likely to be one of Cape Town’s best value-for-money dining destinations this winter. The Winter Menus will be available from 01 May until 30 September 2010, with the exception of Sundays.

Please take note of the following annual restaurant closures dates:

Constantia Uitsig Restaurant: 30 August – 19 September 2010
La Colombe: 9 August – 29 August 2010
River Café: 24 April – 8 May 2010

For further information please contact:

Luxury Brands Kirsten Hopwood-Smith

kirsten@luxurybrands.co.za or 021 7023436 .

The entry forms are out and this year’s McCain Tribute to Good Taste is more exciting that ever! For the first time McCain are giving chefs free reign to unleash the maestro within and create any unique and unconventional vegetarian dishes of their choice.

It’s all about those funky new ideas that you’ve always experimented with and now want to showcase to others. Be it tried and tested classical combinations with a twist, or cutting edge molecular gastronomy, now’s your chance to introduce yourself to the world! So get cooking! Who knows, the next Heston Blumenthal could be waiting in the shadows right here in SA!

Creativity, originality and imagination are what’s called for. Dishes need to be appealing to the taste buds with plenty of imagination mixed in. Impressive colour variations and a memorable taste explosion would also go far to impress the judges – along with freshness, nutrition and convenience, which are the key qualities of McCain Foods impressive product range.

If you think you have what it takes to walk away with the grand prize then enter now and stand the chance of becoming the next McCain Tribute to Good Taste Champion. Go no holds barred and unleash your creativity by creating a unique two course vegetarian meal for six people, incorporating a minimum of two McCain products per dish...... Entries close 15 February so enter now.

The McCain Tribute to Good Taste competition will this year be held at Hostex Cape which is taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 8 to 10 March 2010. Four finalists will be flown to Cape Town to compete for the grand prize of R7 000 plus a floating trophy and guaranteed publicity.

Last years winner was Sibusiso Sydney Nyandeni (23) of Vosloorus, whose winning menu featured a starter of spiced butternut soup with basil and candied orange, and a main of crushed minted cumin peas with braised vegetable ravioli and truffled frothed mushroom veloute

Entry forms are available at most tertiary culinary institutions, or alternatively visit www.saca.co.za for an entry form and full competition details. Visit www.hostexcape.co.za to pre-register for access to the exhibition.

Each year for the past five years Unilever Foodsolutions have invited six of South Africa’s leading chefs to compete in their exclusive By Invitation Only Competition. 2010 marks the sixth anniversary of what has grown to be South African’s most prestigious annual cookery competition, and will again see six of the country’s best chefs vie for top position. And the winner-takes-all prize of R40 000 in cash? It’s anyone’s guess as to who will walk away with it this year!

It’s a competition which chefs across the country aspire to be invited to enter, and the elite chefs who’ll be competing in the mystery basket cook-off at Hostex Cape in March this year, are Michelle Barry (Principal: Christina Martin School of Food and Wine, Durban), Dilene Boyd (nee Cranna. Independent Pastry Chef, Johannesburg), Rudi Liebenberg (Executive Chef: Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town), Mike Bassett (Chef Patron: Ginja Restaurant/Myoga Restaurant, Cape Town), Paul Gindra (Executive Chef: Radisson Blu Hotel, Sandton), Nicholas Froneman (Executive Chef: Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel, Durban)..

All handpicked for their contribution to the food industry, enduring reputations, unwavering commitment to quality and standards of excellence, and their outstanding culinary talent and skill, each chef will bring their own edge to the competition, leaving no doubt that the challenge will be heated. It’s an all-or-nothing winner-takes-all, mystery basket contest of the highest stakes – the ultimate in culinary competitiveness!

See these six culinary trendsetters in action on the MAC Brothers stand at Hostex Cape at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on 10 March 2010. Visit www.unileverfoodsolutions.co.za for further information on the cook-off schedule.

MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGE

The invitation to take up the challenge in the ultimate competition of their careers comes from South Africa’s leading foodservice manufacturer and supplier, Unilever Foodsolutions, as part of their annual Chef of the Year competition. A highlight on South Africa’s culinary calendar, the Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year has grown over the years to become the foremost competition in South Africa, with prize money exceeding R15 000 in the Junior category and R20 000 in the Senior category. Originally known as the Marvello Chef of the Year, the Unilever Foodsolutions Chef of the Year has grown over the years to represent the finest culinary talent in our country and has seen its competitors take up the challenge, win, and use the opportunity to boost their careers.

This prestigious competition was won last year by Jodi-Ann Pearton of The Food Design Agency in Johannesburg and has, since its inception in 2005, seen some of the country’s most celebrated chefs compete for and win the top prize, including Arnold Tanzer (Food on the Move, Johannesburg), David Grier (De Oude Welgemoed Restaurant, Cape Town), Margot Janse (Le Quartier Francais), Graeme Shapiro (formerly of The Restaurant), Reuben Riffel (Reuben’s, Franschhoek) and George Jardine (Jardine Restaurant).

With the increased demand for companies and large corporations worldwide, to be both environmentally friendly and environmentally responsible, McCain Foods SA have once again taken it upon themselves to raise the bar, set the trend and put it in the ‘bag’.

Already a company renowned internationally for their environmental policies, McCain Foods SA, together with premier brand awareness company, Brand Guru, have developed a limited edition McCain Eco Bag in answer to environmental degeneration and the wastage of natural resources rife within the hospitality industry the world over.

Made from recycled McCain Food Service banners (essentially recycled PVC) each bag is individually stitched and assembled, and comes with a McCain eco tag which reads, “I used to be a McCain banner.” “No two bags are alike,” says Gabby Alberoni of Carbon d’Afreeque, a Johannesburg based company that manufactures a line of ‘eco-pieces’ made from recycled PVC billboard skins. “And best of all is the amount of sustainable job creation generated since these bags were conceptualised. They are the perfect off-run product to benchmark the McCain brand as thinking ‘out of the box’ and ‘into the bag’.” Comments Noreen Barnett of McCain Foods SA, “We are very proud of our McCain Eco Bags because, not only do they make a strong statement about the environmental crisis facing all corporations, specifically those, like us, who rely on the sustainability of the environment for our livelihood, but are also a novel representation of our unique South African culture, distributed throughout the international McCain family of colleagues, suppliers and distributors.”

McCain Foods SA - committed to making the planet a cleaner, greener place; in style. For further information on Carbon d’Afreeque and their line of eco-friendly pieces please visit www.carbonfree.co.za.

Combining the energy and infrastructure of the Slo-Jo beverage solutions company with the innate knowledge of a third-generation coffee expert, an exciting new range of coffees is set to turn up the heat in the South African beverage industry.

RedBerry, a brand born of the Beaver Creek coffee company, which has previously enjoyed exposure to coffee connoisseurs throughout South Africa through the Coffee of the Month Club, has been acquired by Slo-Jo, a company synonymous with a diverse range of innovative hot and cold beverages. Dylan Cumming, whose grandfather still roasts the beans on the family’s Beaver Creek Estate and who created the RedBerry coffee company, has retained shares in the company and has been appointed as managing director. Dylan’s extensive coffee knowledge and marketing experience will undoubtedly stand the company in good stead as it joins forces with Slo-Jo, a company renowned for its service ethic and innovation, with a well-established infrastructure and distribution network.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT VANESSA NAUDÉ ON (011) 672-2037 OR Vanessa@stratpr.co.za

Nando's Goes American

"Rumor has it they are opening a second DC location near Dupont Circle".