Hidden MSG.

Bought some stuff at that great Thai supermarket on Main Road, Sea Point, on Sunday. Aside from fish sauce, peanut oil and a bunch of vegetables (bok choy!), I also bought some instant noodles. There’s something about eating hot and spicy instant noodles that I really enjoy. It’s junk food in most ways, but at the same time, it’s totally comforting. Especially the hot broth.

Less comforting is the ingredient list on the back of this packet.

“Ingredients: wheatmeal, fine palm oil, starch, salt.”

Go right ahead and file that under ‘Bullshit.’ Maybe those ingredients are the noodles, but in all those little sauce and spice packets I reckon a good amount of weird shit is included, and most likely that old flavouring stalwart, MSG. Mmm, not ideal.

Oh, they were really tasty though. And cost about R8 or something.

Portugal.

What I’m most excited about right now? That on the last day of the month I fly off to Portugal for 10 days of wine, food and adventure with two friends. Part work-research, part-holiday, all fun. With the assistance of some incredibly helpful Portuguese friends and connections (take a bow, Joaquim), it’s sure to be memorable. Just need to brush up on my basic Portuguese. How do you say, “More of that vintage Port please!”

If you don’t have helpful Portguese connections but want to visit, just browse this site for info: www.visitportugal.com.

Who Wants to Cook like a Chef?

So you’ve probably all been watching as things have progressed on Masterchef SA every Tuesday night. It must be the most talked-about show in the country, and there’s been no shortage of debate on the judges and contestants, as well as the continuing comparisons with the original Australian version aired here.

But something undebatable is how the show has more people thinking about food. Actually, not just thinking about food, cooking! I first noticed this when my mom started emailing me recipes she’d been doing, all inspired by her watching Masterchef. Then there’s friends and random other people who seem to be inspired to cook ambitious dishes. It’s undeniable, and I think it’s great: the more the better (especially if they invite you to dinner).

Woolworths have a Shop and Cook like a Chef page on their site which is basically aimed at just that: inspiring home cooks to embrace their inner Masterchef. The tips and recipes relate to the show’s weekly themes and the main contributor is the saucy Hannah Lewry from TASTE magazine. Since there are likely tons of people wanting to recreate similar recipes form the show, this is all rather a useful resource.

Regardless of whether you think the show is overly dramatized, perfectly in tune or the best thing since sliced bread, the fact that it’s enouraging more people to cook better food is a great thing for the food world. It’s probably a good thing for society too, since I’m a firm believer that time spent with friends and family interacting over quality food encourages positive social behaviour.

Whatever the case, if you’re into creating a better society, want to make gnocchi from scratch (video) or just after the perfect mushroom risotto, check out Cook and Shop like a Chef.

Breakfast Psychology.

Salmon bagel, untoasted.
Your mom finds you really interesting. You think SASSI is a term that describes your outfit rather than your seafood. You once ate your bagel toasted, just for a rush. But it was too exciting. You have nothing against other breakfasts, but they won’t ever compare with salmon and giant swabs of cream cheese tucked between two round pieces of boiled bread. You probably hang out at New York Bagel a lot, but at heart you’re still dying to go to New York to try a real bagel.

Coco Pops.
It’s not that you don’t want to grow up, it’s just that being an adult doesn’t mean you have to be responsible, right? And it’s not like sugar is that bad for you. And eating cereal one-handed while playing wii isn’t for sissies. Sometimes you think that having chocolate milk with your Coco Pops would be even better, but you suggested it to your sister once and she gave you the same look as that time you licked that 5c piece you found on the floor at KFC.

6-minute boiled egg on rye, no butter.
You’re a perfectionist. Your desk is always neat. Nothing gets all up in your grill like people touching your stuff. Okay, and spelling mistakes. Or when the people pull that little plastic screen off their cellphone. Or having an unread mail in your mailbox. Or someone that doesn’t fold their plastic shopping bags. Or asymmetry. Or general disorder of any sort. Obviously that excludes Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, because we all know that’s how things should be.

1/3 cup Muesli & yoghurt.
You’re a health nut, engrossed with dietary regime and at least considering, if not always counting, calories. Though you pretend not to. You know the difference between muesli and granola, but feign ignorance to stop being harassed for being food-obsessive. You work hard, but aren’t a brown-noser and are quick to point it out. You’d probably have been promoted if you didn’t always get caught with health sites open on your browser. You always thought it would be great to mix your own muesli, but between work, yoga, running and cleaning up after Nibbles (she’s Abyyssinian), where’s the time?!

Protein shake.
Look china, I don’t have time for breakfast, okay, I got like ten deals coming through and I gotta eat fast and lean and if the battery on my Motorola RAZR dies before I get to the office I’m going to ride over someone in my Beemer till they’re flat like my washboard stomach, okay, so don’t get fresh with me or I’ll squat thrust you into next Thursday.

Weetbix, 2 pieces.
“Only when you see the invisible can you achieve the impossible.” – Weetbix eater.  Who says concrete is inedible? Who says you can’t when you know you can? Who says our stomachs can’t digest anything? Who wants to see 1-litre of milk get entirely absorbed by two small pieces of dehydrated wheat-like breakfasty stuff? Apparently the Weetbix storage facility has to be 100km from the nearest dairy farm, or the cows’ milk udders dry out. Fact.

Bacon & fried egg sandwich.
You’re average. Not in a bad way at all though. You’re not crazy, yet you’re not crazy cool either. You’re actually a balanced human being; practical, emotional, but not too much of either. Just the right amounts. You’re the bread and butter, the vanilla ice cream, the VW Polo 1.4 of human beings. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The world runs on people like you. The world needs people like you.

What Your V-Day Restaurant Says About You.

“Table for two, please.” Yes, Valentine’s day is a fucking minefield, especially when it comes to restaurant choices. Go high-brow and you’re poncy and making too much effort. Do nothing and you’re making no effort at all. Unless you’re cooking something special at home. Either way, when your girlfriend said, “I don’t do Valentine’s,” what she really meant was: “You better fucking treat me to something I like or I’m dumping your ass and calling up that guy who works in HR.” Truthfully, girls don’t want a fancy restaurant or a fluffy white teddy bear with a heart or a box of Ferrero Rocher. Okay, that’s a joke. Every girl wants Ferrero Rocher, any time, all the time. But they do want to feel like you’ve actually thought about them, so hopefully you did when you decided where you’re going tonight. So what does your Valentine’s Day dinner destination in Cape Town mean you’re saying to your lover…

The Grand (Camps Bay) – I love you but I also love looking at foreigners, especially the models.
Hudsons The Burgerjoint – I love you because you’re a hipster like me.
Royale – I love you because you were a hipster before hipsters were popular/scorned.
The Test Kitchen – I love you because you have good (expensive) taste.
Il Leone – I love you and want to suck on a spaghetti strand together, mi amore.
Caprice – Jeez, check the legs on that bird.
The Dog’s Bollocks – I love you ‘cos you can get off work early to get here before they’re sold out of burgers.
Spur – I love you but it’s the 14th already, goddamnit!
Nando’s Kloof – I love you in a Halaal way.
&UNION -  I really like you. And your friend. Ooh, and her too.
HQ – I love you because you’re a carnivore.
El Burro – I love you, let’s get spicy!
Beluga – I love you but love a deal more.
Bungalow – I love you. And your plastic surgeon.
Bombay Bicycle Club – I love you and all your tattoos and dreadlocks and bad habits.
Haiku – I love you in the dark.
Woodlands Eatery – I love you and your decorative tastes.
Rafikis – I love, like, things, man, so many things, like, ya, fully.
Dias Tavern – I love you just as you are.
Paulaner Brauhaus – I love you almost as much as I like Weissbier.
South China Dim Sum – I love you for being hard to get into.
The Power & The Glory – I love you in like, ways that you’ve probably never heard of.

Taste The Glory – Winners.

Thanks to El Jimador tequila we’re throwing a little bash tomorrow night that’s sure to involve a good dose of Mexican food, laughs and of course 100% agave tequila from El Jimador – the kind that makes you crazy without making you feel it the next day.

Since Movember is behind us now, it shouldn’t involve too much facial hair, but then again, I’ll just have to see. Congrats to the winners for their quirky entries: Mark Bullivant, Cam Corder and Vito Da Silva.

I’ll be in touch to liaise the details regarding dinner tomorrow, but in the meantime, for you or anyone else that’s interested, I’ve included a handy tash chart below, for planning next year’s Mo. Enjoy.

Grandmaster Pete.

Okay, I’m not one to post things from press releases. In fact, usually they’re so boring and far up their own arses, I couldn’t be bothered to read them. But this one that popped in about Peter Tempelhoff caught my attention for several reasons…

1. Peter Tempelhoff. The guy’s a seriously talented chef. I’ve met him and he’s also a really down-to-earth dude. He cooks some seriously modern cuisine over at The Greenhouse restaurant at the Cellars Hohenort in Constantia. Constantia is also known for having good wines, hot mom’s and no street lamps.

2. Grand Chef. He’s been appointed a Grand Chef by Relais & Chateaux. Grand Chef sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? Other great Grands include: Grand Prix. Grand Jury. Grandmaster Flash. Pretty heady company.

3. Heady Company. I glanced the mail and noticed that his new title is shared with a few other decent chefs. You might recognise names like Raymond Blanc, Michel Roux Jr., Heston Blumenthal, Joel Robuchon, Daniel Boulud and Thomas Keller. Also Grand Chefs. Congrats Peter, well done to you. Please don’t launch a cooking show now like some of these guys though.

The Greenhouse Restaurant.

Nando’s x Tomatoes.

“Try it. it’s really not hot.” That’s the new line to describe Nando’s new Tangy Tomato flavour, which, as you’ve guessed, isn’t spicy. You know Nando’s, the flame-grilled chicken spot that has no problem making hilarious TV ads* (though my all time favourite by them is a tactical ad on the side of one of their trucks, saying “Poultry in motion”). But who is Nando? Is he really Portuguese? Does he have a large moustache, and not just in Movember? Actually, I don’t really care about any of that. All that matters is that they keep making tasty chicken.

Yes, I’m a fan of Nando’s and do support them. I could tell you that they sent me a box of tomatoes to celebrate the launch of Tangy Tomato (they were really tasty tomatoes too). I could tell you they also gave me a voucher to go try the new Tangy Tomato flavour. I could go on about how it is really tasty, doesn’t burn – seriously, no spice! – and mention that you should try it. I could also talk about the time I once ate five Nando’s chicken burgers in a sitting. Or the time I asked for it to be “seriously, as hot as you can make it” and spent a fair bit of time busy with my own #OccupyBathrooms movement.

I could, but instead, I’m just going to say give it a try the next time you visit Nando’s.

–

*speaking of funnies – how did I miss this one?? Click here.

Food x Film.

The sharp folk at Freeworld Design Centre have decided to throw a series of food movie nights in November, which is a pretty sweet idea if you ask me. If you haven’t been to this venue, you’ve missed out. It’s an architects wet dream, a designers heaven and inspiration for any creative out there. It has an interior design showroom, news stand, design reference library and what has to be the slickest ‘canteen’ in Cape Town – Hemelhuijs restaurant. Plus it has a 98-seat theatre that makes it perfect for screening food-related movies to a bunch of Cape Town foodies.

I say food-related, since, well, not all the movies are directly about food. And by ‘not all the movies’ I really mean the movie I chose, The Freshman. Yes, they were brave enough to ask me to choose one of the movies, so on the evening of Wednesday the 16th November I’ll be watching The Freshman with anyone else who cares to join.

Tickets to the movies are R40, but if you’re smart, you’ll also partake in the dinner and movie combo for R120. This will be hosted downstairs at Hemelhuijs, with food prepared by the designer, chef and aesthetic genius, Jacques Erasmus.

Full schedule for the month at the FDC website, along with details on other movies (I Am Love and Tampopo are the others I’m keen on).

www.freeworlddesigncentre.co.za

Nike x Wine.

Imagine the dude hauling barrels around your nearest wine cellar was rocking out in a pair of these bad boys? Would certainly beat those rather naff Blundstone boots so ubiquitous with winemakers. The Nike Zoom Stefan Janoski ‘Vineyard.‘ The designer’s dad has a vineyard in California, he designed some shoes and this is the result. Wine-stained tan canvas Nike’s, limited edition of course. Probably damned pricey, but something quirky and cool.

Thanks to fieldnotes_za for the heads up.