Chefs taking the piss - classic

Cape Town Chef and Nutcase - Jonno Proudfoot

JW - How did you get into working as a chef?

"When I left school, I had no idea what I wanted to do when a friend of a friend asked me to help out for day at his catering company. After frying 15kgs of Bacon and half a million eggs for a breakie buffet, I had to stuff flavoured butter under the skin of some chicken legs. I had seen Janie Oliver doing it on TV a week or so before and I was just loving it. At the end of that 16 hour shift, the guy gave me some cash for my efforts. I couldn’t believe I just got paid for having such a jol mucking about with food, so I suppose that was that!"

JW - Have you had any international cooking experience?

"I’ve had three UK missions but never at any fancy restaurants. I was the sous chef a restaurant on Leicester Square and I ran a breakfast restaurant in Mayfair. I also ran a pub kitchen in Bournemouth during my gap year but at that point I was more about the party than the work. I learned most of what I know at GINjA Restaurant in Cape Town and the rest I got from my enormous book collection and old faithful Google!"

JW - You presented a show on TV I hear – tell me a little more?

"That was a hoot!!! It was a kids cooking show called What’s Your Flava. Kids sent in their own recipes then two crazy twins and I had to cook them up under a heavy time constraint with no escape from the cameras. Heaps of fun but I had to keep a close eye on my language and sense of humour. They used to edit out half my jokes and lots of bloopers"

JW - Anymore TV appearances in the pipeline?

"I’ve been brainstorming a couple ideas lately but I’m in no rush at this point. I’m busy wrapping up a degree in Accounting so I’m trying not to over commit to anything else. Once I get those extra letters behind my name, banks will to be a lot easier to squeeze money out of. I’m not sure I’m finished with TV yet."

JW - What inspires your menus and cooking style?

"Most definitely the occasion I’m cooking for. Whenever I invent a dish I always consider who it’s for, what’s in season, how much effort it’s worth and most importantly how its going got be eaten. My style has changed dramatically in the last two years from hard core fusion fine dining to unfussy, relaxed country style. Whatever ingredient I’m working with, I always try to find a way to enhance the flavour as best I can. I used to find myself wasting so much time making my food look precious that I often neglected the actual deliciousness of it. I rarely pimp my dishes with fancy garnishes (so nineties)! You’ve got to keep it real."

JW - What other chefs inspire you?

"He’s received a lot of criticism but I really enjoy Jamie Oliver. He’s all fun and games on the outside but he’s a cunning businessman and he’s built up a fantastic brand with his name. He also made cooking cool. Before he came around we had Keith Floyd and Delia Smith so I think he’s had a huge influenced on people’s perception of food. Some others would be Nigel Slater (when I read his books I want to eat the pages), Gordon Ramsay, Nobu Matsuhisa and Thomas Keller (although I think he talks too much)."

JW - What do you eat at home?

"I eat quite healthily during the week. Lots of salads, pulses, grilled chicken with light sauces and dressings, tomato pastas and the occasional soup. On weekends though, I’ll chow just about anything. My favourite is a thick steak with mushroom sauce and fat cut potato wedges with some roast cherry tomatoes, rocket and shaved parmesan. In summer I go nuts for seared tuna with simple soy dressings fresh thai style salads and stir fries. I’m also a bit of a sushi slut."

JW - So what is your advice to young chefs thinking of getting into a job as a chef?

"Firstly, I would recommend doing some job shadowing. Chef school is expensive and I’ve seen so many chefs do the training at college and buckle once they hit the real kitchen because they can’t handle the pressure or the hours. Best get a sneak preview before blowing all that cash on something that doesn’t rev your motor. It’s flipping tough and senior chefs aren’t renowned for their leadership abilities and people skills. I would also recommend honing your business skills. Some of the greatest chefs in the world still have no idea how to run a business. Whether you’re working for yourself or a restaurateur, someone in the picture will be trying to make some cash. If you can manage your food cost properly and talk business with non foodies, you’ll be ticking extra boxes that make you easier to employ or lend money too."

Jonno is currently the Chef and Marketing Manager at Cloof Wine Estate - a man of many talents!

Review: Waterkloof Restaurant

WOW - what an amazing way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Unbelievably beautiful setting, amazing food, friendly and efficient service, great company and lots of laughter brought on by lots of fantastic wine!

Waterkloof wine estate and restaurant is tucked away in a hidden ravine on the slopes of Somerset West, with the most spectacular views over False Bay.

We arrived fairly early, as the only time available when making our booking was at 12h30, and were greeted in the parking lot by the most well spoken, well mannered and bubbly car guard I have ever seen. What a great first impression!

I’m not going to rant on about the amazing restaurant layout and decor (you can go to the website gallery and have a look - www.waterkloofwines.com), because the food and service deserve more of the glory - I could not fault a thing... well almost.

Its becoming a bit rehearsed now in most restaurants when the waiter is taught to up-sell by asking “would you like still or sparkling water for the table”, which is obviously then added to your bill. At Waterkloof, they offer FREE still or sparkling water along with the hot fresh bread rolls as you are seated - how refreshing! Before deciding which wine to order (to be honest, I was not familiar with Waterkloof wines at all), I asked for a taster of the Circle of LIfe, which was recommended to me by a friend. The waiter then proceeded to give us tasters of ALL the white wines on the menu (6 in total if I’m not mistaken) to help us decide on which we preferred before ordering the bottle. I know, it sounds a little unreal doesn’t it. We had been there for 10 minutes, had the equivalent to one and a half glasses of wine, 2 bread rolls, a glass of mineral water, and had yet to be charged for anything!

We decided on the chardonnay, which was unwooded and deliciously creamy, yet light. It was decanted for us at the table and put on a bowl of crushed ice.

The menu is only made up of 5 starters and 7 mains, so you would think it would be a quick order, but with everything sounding so appealing, it wasn’t that quick at all.

We each decided to choose something different and share in order to plow our way through as much of the menu as possible.

I went with the Oyster Mushrooms with rocket and crispy soft boiled egg (R70) for a starter, and the Quail with cream spinach, horse radish devilled quail egg and root vegetables (R140) for my main.

Vikki decided on the Confit Duck Leg in pistachio crust, sultana leather and consomme gel (R70) to start and the Glazed Pork Belly with poached golden delicious apple, fresh black figs and beetroot ((R135) for her entree. Everything was truly superb, except for the ‘consomme gel’ that accompanied Vikki’s duck starter, which was a little insipid. As difficult as it was to choose, my favourite would be the Glazed Pork Belly - to die for doll!

The amuse bouche before the meal was a pork pate with beetroot puree, which was amazing! In between each course, they served a small pana cotta with earl grey jelly and dried fruit, which was a little strange but a very welcomed surprise - not quite a palate cleanser, not quite a dessert, but tasty none the less.

For dessert, we came to the conclusion that the chef does not have a sweet tooth. Although beautifully presented, everything from the quince dessert that Vikki ordered to the chocolate fondant that I ordered, seemed to lack the sweetness you would expect from a dessert. Now I know that quinces are generally quite bitter, but served with a ginger ice cream which was also not very sweet (but very gingery), it all seemed a little to tart for our liking.

We finished off with a cheese plate which was served with little cubes of what tasted like quince jelly and fresh toasted bread. To be honest, I have had better cheese plates - no gorgonzola, no sweet marmalades or fruit to accompany the cheese selection - but thats just my personal preference.

All in all, I would highly recommend Waterkloof Restaurant, and look forward to visiting again, and again, and again.

Tel: 021 858 1292

Open Monday to Saturday, lunch and dinner.

Sunday, lunch only.

Review: The Towers Restaurant

I was lucky enough to be invited to dinner by the fabulous Bianca Coleman (aka Queen Bee) at The Towers Restaurant at the Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa last night. We arrived just after 19h00 with Bianca directing me towards the valet parking, to which I refused due to the embarrassing state of my car, and proceeded to the underground parking instead.

With Crystal Towers Hotel & Spa being apart of the African Pride group, it was no surprise that the décor was breathtaking. I’m always a sucker for fibre optic lighting, especially when there are curtains of them, and the carpet studded with little shining lights had me on all fours (shut up!!) investigating the reality of what I saw – the entire reception area is absolutely stunning!

We were escorted through the very empty restaurant (it was a Monday night, and we were early) to our table. There were quite a few different seating areas, including a private dining room. Our table was an intimate table for two, romantically lit by only one candle, which would have been perfect if you were having a bad hair day, but not so perfect for trying to read the menu.

One of the attentive waiters picked up that we were struggling to see and brought us a lamp to shine some light on the subject, in this case the menu.

Now being a chef and having worked in numerous restaurants for the better part of my life, I do try very hard not to be too critical, especially if I am an invited guest. But as I am giving an honest review from my perspective, and this is not going into any publications, I owe it to all of you (assuming anyone is actually reading my blogs – one must be optimistic!) to portray the restaurant from my experience.

From the decent selection on the menu, I decided to go for the Seafood Bouillabaisse as a starter, and the Sole for my mains. Bianca opted for the Steak Tartar, followed by the Veal wrapped in pancetta for her entrée. On both occasions, Bianca’s choices won hands down.

My Bouillabaisse tasted like it was made with canned tomato and onion, seriously lacking some fresh herbs and depth of the true French original. It was topped with a stale bread stick – needless to say I didn’t finish my starter. The steak tartar on the other hand was amazing! Served in three neat tiaans, all with different toppings: sour cream, a raw quail egg and micro herbs. The flavour of the beef was not overpowered by any of its accompliments, the texture perfect and the meat of great quality. I was selfishly hoping that Bianca would not like it so that I could finish it off for her – no chance of that!

My main course of Sole with Norwegian Salmon (already an odd combination), sweet potato and a caviar and lemon grass foam was beautifully presented and a really decent sized portion. However, if you are going to follow the craze of foams, you need to do it properly, or don’t bother. The lemon flovoured milk, that I’m assuming was suppose to be the foam, with a little dollop of fish roe (not caviar) was completely lost with this dish. I could not tell the sole apart from the salmon – it tasted like a whole new breed of fish altogether. Ok, I’m probably being over critical here, but I am being honest!

Again, Bianca’s entrée was a lot more appealing. Her veal wrapped in pancetta was served on a gorgeous rich mushroom ragout of sorts, which had a slight undertone of truffles – yum! My only negative remark would be that the pancetta slightly over powered the flavour of the veal.

I failed to mention earlier that the amuse bouche was a piece of salmon nigiri, and the palate cleanser was a chilli and lime sorbet. The homemade bread on the table was straight out of the oven and delicious!

Overall, the company and the setting was amazing, the service attentive, and the food very mediocre. As I was not paying, I didn’t get to see the final bill, but I think it came to around R750, which was for two people having a two course meal with two bottles of wine and a bottle of mineral water.

Best cooking show Ive seen yet!!

Now why aren't there more cooking shows like this one? I ask you with tears in my eyes??

Mothers Day at Nazareth House

My heart really goes out to the children of this world who don’t have a mother to thank and appreciate on Mothers Day. This is not the case at Nazareth House however, my charity of choice - the children there have many mothers to thank. They have loving nuns and full time staff that provide them with absolute unconditional love and care that every child rightly deserves.

I decided to spend a day with these amazing children preparing a High Tea for their “mothers” to celebrate and say thanks this Mothers Day. This would not have been possible without the help of some sponsors that I pulled in, namely:

•Charly’s Bakery

The fabulous Charly’s Angels, Daniella and Alex, really went all out to help make this occasion bright, cheerful and delicious. They sponsored cup cakes, petit fours, heart shaped cookies and orgasmic cheese cake!!

•Vredehoek Spar

David and Johnny from the local and very popular Vredehoek Spar very generously allowed me to go shopping for ingredients for the sandwiches, wraps, teas and coffees, which rounded off the High Tea spread.

•Exclusive Hire

Nicola and her team very kindly sponsored all the décor, including the cakes stands, crockery & cutlery, which formed the foundation on which to display all the yummies for the day!

All in all, a great day was had by all! I’m looking very forward to spending some more time with the kids during their June / July school holidays, making pizza’s, home made burgers and what ever else tickles their fancy!

Nazareth House is a non-profit organization that relies on donations, gifts and volunteers to sustain itself. If you would like to make a donation, or get rid of some of your children’s old clothes or toys, please either contact me, or Jannice at: fundraising@nazhouse.co.za

www.nazhouse.org.za

Smoked Snoek Risotto

I use to hate snoek. Only because of the amount of bones it had and the effort it took to eat it. I was converted when I tried the typical South African snoek braai that was prepared by some locals in Gaansbaai the night before going shark cage diving. I never actually made it into the harbour the next day, let alone a cage in freezing cold water to be drooled over by some of the oceans biggest serial killers, because as with most South African braai’s, I got a little too drunk the night before and couldn’t stomach the thought of coming face to face with a Great White. Anyway, the snoek braai, that was prepared with butter, apricot jam, parsley and garlic, and then deboned for me in order to get me to eat it, was UNBELIEVABLE! I was reborn and willing to accept snoek into my life as my new favourite fish!

I still do it on the braai with the butter apricot garlic concoction, and have always loved snoek pate (no bones you see!), so I started experimenting a bit more with smoked snoek. I have made a few dishes, some not so remarkable, but this one is my all time favourite - Smoked Snoek Risotto, finished off with some sour cream and served with a butternut, feta and orange salad.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp butter

60ml peanut oil (or vegetable oil, but not olive oil)

300g smoked snoek (deboned obviously)

3 or 4 shallots, or one brown onion, diced

3 garlic cloves

1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 red chilli, sliced

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp coriander powder

1tsp smoked Maldon salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

250g risotto / arborio rice

100ml chardonnay (pref wooded)

750ml chicken stock (I added 2 tbsp of shitake mushroom stock powder to the chicken stock, but this isn’t essential)

Handful cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

1/2 cup of cream (more if you like it creamier)

3 tbsp parmesan cheese

Saute the shallots / onion in the butter and oil, followed by the garlic, ginger and chilli. You want the onions to be slightly browned, but not burnt, before you add your spices and seasoning. Fry for another minute or two and then add half (250g) of the snoek, reserving the rest for later. Immediately add the risotto, and stir to get it nicely coated with buttery spices until you hear it starting to ‘sizzle’ slightly before you add the chardonnay - keep stirring until the wine is absorbed by the rice.

In a separate pot, keep the chicken stock on a low heat, and ladle about a cup at a time into the risotto, stirring constantly while the rice absorbs the liquid before adding another cup. Once you have added the last cup, turn off the heat and cover the pot, which will allow the rice to absorb the rest of the liquid while you start the salad.

Once your salad is ready, about 10 minutes, remove the lid from the pot and add the cherry tomatoes, parsley and the remainder of the snoek. Put the heat back on low, and then add the cream and parmesan and stir constantly. To make it really rich, add a knob of butter at this stage too.

Serve with a table spoon of sour cream, grated parmesan and extra parsley.

Brandy & Food Pairing insert for All Access

When I was asked by Homebrew Films to do an insert on All Access for the Brandy Festival (www.brandyfestival.co.za) alongside Jenny Morris, I almost s#@t myself in excitement. Not just because I love All Access, but mainly because I LOVE Jenny Morris. Her approach to food and her witty personality are so encouraging... just makes me want to cook in the nude! Now I know that sounds weird, and probably illegal if your serving paying guests, but Jenny just has that effect on you (I hope her husband doesn’t read this).

At one stage during the shoot, while she was preparing her delicious pork fillet on pears with a brandy infused sauce, she stirred the sauce with her finger and proceeded to stick it in Mark Bayly’s mouth for a taste. Mark didn’t really have a choice in the matter and was a bit taken back, but he got over it pretty quickly and sucked every last drop of that gorgeous sauce off of Jenny’s finger. Everyone on set had a good chuckle!

Jenny was given the Joseph Barry 10 Year Pot Still Brandy to play with, which won best brandy in the world, which is quite a feather in South Africa’s cap!

I was given the new trendy Collison’s White Gold Brandy, which after quite a bit of sampling, I decided to rather enhance the underlying characteristics of fig, hazelnut and vanilla than to pair it with food - a dessert was the obvious choice. I made a very simple but incredibly delicious fig tart made with fresh Mediterranean figs, hazelnut pastry and a vanilla pod and white brandy custard.

To find out how to make either one of these recipes, you will have to either watch All Access or email me and I’ll gladly send them to you!

BORSCHT! - say what?

The origin of Borscht (including its spelling) is debatable, some saying it is of Russian origin, some saying Polish, and others the Ukraine.

I had it for the first time when working in London where my larger than life bar lady from Poland insisted that I try it. It did not go down too well then, but since I have an abundance of beetroot growing in my garden, I thought I would give it a go (with my own twist) considering its enormous health benefits.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp butter

30ml oil (I used peanut, but veg oil will do)

10 organic beetroots, peeled and quartered

2 peeled potatoes, quartered

1 onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 carrots, sliced

2 tbsp fresh thyme

150ml chardonnay (or any other white wine)

500ml light beef stock (2tsp in 500ml boiling water)

Fry the onions, garlic and carrots in the butter and oil until the onions are nice and soft, but not browned. Careful not to burn the garlic as this will cause the soup to taste bitter.

Add the fresh thyme, beetroot and potatoes and saute for a few minutes, followed by the wine. Reduce slightly, then add the beef stock. Season with black pepper and a little salt - the stock will add quite a bit of saltyness already, you can always add more once the soup is cooked.

Cover and cook for between 30 and 40 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through. Taste it and test for seasoning. I added some raw honey, white pepper and a dash more salt to balance it all out nicely. Once cooled slightly, carefully ladle into a blender and blend in batches. Be careful - beetroot stains!!

To finish the dish off, I made Chilli Bites* with tamarind and honey, added a bit of self raising flour to fluff them up a bit, and fried them in peanut oil until crispy and cooked through - about 3 minutes on each side.

Carefully ladle some soup into a bowel, place a chilli bite in the middle and top with some sour cream. Pretty dam good if I may say so myself!

*You can buy a Chilli Bite mixture from most Pick n Pays, which is produced by Spice Mecca, and then follow the instructions on the box, and add any extra flavourings that you want. They are really easy to make from scratch if you not feeling as lazy as I am - let me know and I’ll send it to you - free, gratis, vir niks!

A Raw Foods (only) Lifestyle

For a very refreshing change, I spent this past weekend on a course that promotes a lifestyle of eating only raw foods.

Peter and Beryn Daniel, the couple who run a company called Soaring Free Superfoods, hosted the course at Rustenburg Girls High School. They are trained Raw Food Chefs and authors of South Africa's first gourmet raw food recipe book, RAWlicious (comically referred to by the press as "the uncook book").

To be completely honest, had my mother not paid for the course, this is not something I would ordinarily decide to spend my weekend on. I am a chef after all, and the thought of doing a course on how not to cook, over a weekend, didn’t really grab me. Knowledge is power they say, so off I went to learn how not to cook…

I took away a lot more than I thought I would, including a raging cold brought on by my poor body obviously going into major shock from the lack of any saturated fats, diary, meat, and of course alcohol. I learnt how to make diary free cream cheese (made from macadamia nuts, water and probiotics), which was surprisingly delicious.

Another recipe that really stood out was the Gourmet Raw Pizza. Now if you had have told me that you can make a pizza without any flour, cheese or an oven, I would have sent you on your bicycle back to the funny farm. But as this course was about “eating as close to nature as possible”, without cooking anything and thereby loosing all (or most) of the nutrients in your ingredients, I was proven wrong. Beryn made a pizza using hulled buckwheat, flaxseeds, courgettes, tomatoes and cold pressed organic extra virgin olive oil, all combined in a food processor (an essential tool in a rawfoodists kitchen) to form a paste. This paste is then smeared onto a dehydrator sheet and left to dehydrate overnight, in a…. dehydrator, another essential piece of equipment for a rawfoodist. The tomato sauce and toppings are pretty much self-explanatory and can be changed according to your vegan preferences. The “cheese” topping was made with cashew nuts, water and nutri yeast! Once the “cheese” is added, the pizza is then put back in the dehydrator to “melt” the cheese. Just when I thought I had heard it all!

Although I can’t promise (in fact I wont promise), that I could live this sort of lifestyle forever, purely because I cook for a living, I highly recommend this course. It really shines some light onto how some foods are produced (such as margarine actually being plastic – true story) and what the body ACTUALLY needs to sustain itself as apposed to what we are lead to believe that it needs.

For more info, go have a squiz at their website: www.superfoods.co.za