Getting Pigheaded at Chefs Warehouse.

Yup, the picture pretty much says it all. That’s Liam on the right, me on the left and our little porky friend in the middle. Finally I get to combine my passion for pig with the talents of Liam Tomlin, who is nothing short of a culinary genius.

The three of us will be hosting a class at Chefs Warehouse on 7th July where we will:
a) feast on a menu from heaven that Liam has designed, each dish involving some part of our good swine friend there
b) imbibe copious amounts of ALPHABETICAL, the wine I make with Simon Wibberley (read my good mate Jamie Who’s writeup on it here)
b) also drink a few other things – think local artisan cider, bubbles, etc
c) generally revel in the glory that is excessive indulgence

For a taste of what we’ll be er, tasting on the night, see the menu below, which I’ll be helping Liam prepare (aka staying out of his way in the kitchen all day)…
Proscuitto popcorn
Oysters with chourizo
Pork cheek rillette with deep fried pigs ears
Liam’s “bacon and eggs”
Confit belly of pork
Chinese-style barbecued pork

There’ll be loads of food and drink and it all goes down at Chefs Warehouse on the 7th July. Cost is R450pp and there are ONLY 20 SEATS AVAILABLE.

For bookings, more details, etc, visit the Chefs Warehouse website here. It’s going to be awesome!

Buy This Book.

If you’ve been to Thailand and eaten street food, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say it’s incomparable and unbeatable. If you haven’t, you should go. And if you have been and were too sissy to eat the street food, well, you’re a moron. But you can still buy the book. There’s not much else to it. Just buy it. It’s written by the chef of a Michelin-star Thai restaurant (nahm in London). It’s one of those big, fat and heavy books that look great on your coffee table. But you’ll want to use it in the kitchen too. It has great images and is well put together. And it has some killer recipes. Like this Crab Wonton and Barbecued Pork Soup – see pic below (taken of book, not my version). Wait, let me say that again: Crab Wonton and Barbecued Pork Soup. How ridiculously good does that sound? Imagine that for lunch today?

(available at Chefs Warehouse)

The Pig.

I am angry right now. Why? Well, because of a cooking class. It’s called ‘The Pig.’ Okay. Nothing else. Not ‘Cooking with Pig’ or ‘Preparing Pig.’ Just ‘The Pig.’ A class devoted simply to this great animal. Anyone that has been following my posts knows I am obsessed with pig. Bacon. Jamon. Whatever. All good. But that’s not the whole deal. Then there’s the fact that it’s hosted by legendary charcuterie man, Neil Jewell, of Bread & Wine. I love that restaurant’s food. Like really love it. And now he’s doing his very own cooking class. Wow. This is one class that gets me salivating. And they’re giving away a seat. Sick!

Then why does this all make me angry? The problem is I won’t be in Cape Town at the time. Argh! Why the hell does my timing really have to be so bad sometimes. Okay, I will be doing a burger reconnaissance in New York, so can’t really complain. But freaking hell, when was the last time someone hosted a course on pig??? All the other cooking schools go on about ‘perfecting the souffle’ and shit. Not Chefs Warehouse. There it’s just: ‘The Pig’ by Neil Jewell. Love it. But won’t be there. So now I’m angry.

Chefs Warehouse & Cookery School.

Chef’s Warehouse & Cookery School.

Irish chefs in Cape Town aren’t the quietest bunch it seems. First Conrad ‘Conman’ Gallagher runs riot before bolting back to Ireland leaving a wreck of several restaurant businesses and news headlines in his wake. Then Cormac ‘The Customer is Wrong’ Keane shows up and offends two thirds of Cape Town (a third of the city’s diners in person; the other third online, it seems). Though he’s not really a chef. And I haven’t eaten at Portofino so can’t comment on the restaurant itself.

Liam Tomlin, on the other hand, does things differently. He prefers to make a noise through his food. Quiet, but with a deliberate demeanor, this Irish chef is the real deal, as several cookbooks and award-winning restaurants in different countries attest. These days Liam’s energy is focused on his new cookery school and chef’s boutique, situated on New Church Street (that small road the Protea Fire & Ice Hotel is on) in Gardens. It’s set to open in two weeks and he has already sold out on several courses, which starting at R500 for an evening class are of professional quality and price.

The place has several ambitions though. First up are the professional cooking courses, ranging from one-night classes to a 10-month comprehensive course held every second Saturday. Guest chefs will get involved too, and he’s got all the big names from the Cape and some internationals on the cards. Then there’s the shop, selling everything from cook books to knives to custom-made kitchen islands that Q from James Bond would enjoy.  On top of those are the private dinners, wine & food evenings, food photography classes and more. Quite the smorgasbord. In fact, I’m sure you could get a smorgasbord there if you asked. Nicely.

The place was a mess of carpenters and builders when I walked through it, but doors are due to open in two weeks. More info available from Rachel at rachel(at)chefswarehouse.co.za.

www.chefswarehouse.co.za