The Taste of Cape Town (11th – 14th of April) is one of my all time favourite festivals. It’s a night out of pure culinary pleasure and so far I’ve attended 4 of them, 2013 will be my 5th event. Last year I was lucky enough to interview well-known cookery author, writer and event coordinator Justin Drake about the Taste of Cape Town Festival, were food, art and a good toot meet! The dishes I had last year were exquisite, both in presentation and flavour.
The Taste of Cape Town Festival has found its home at the Green Point Cricket Club. Previously it was held at Camps Bay High, The German School in town, St George’s Grammar School in Mowbray, until it found its home at the Green Point Cricket Club in 2012. This year is its 6th event which includes some of the Western Cape’s finest, such as:
- Azure Restaurant, 12 Apolostes (Bakoven)
- Beefcakes Burger Bar (Greenpoint +)
- The Brasserie (Tokai)
- Dash Restaurant & Bar (Greenpoint)
- De Grendel (Durbanville)
- Fyndraai Restaurant (Franschoek)
- Il Leone Mastrantonio (Green Point)
- 96 Winery Road (Stellenbosch)
- Jewel of India (V&A Waterfront)
- Savour Restaurant at 15 on Orange (CBD)
- Signal at the Cape Grace (V&A Waterfront)
As well as 4 Pop Up Restaurants:
- La Colombe (Constantia)
- The Pot Luck Club at The Old Biscuit Mill (Woodstock)
- The Boat House (Scarborough)
- Makaron at Majeka House (Stellenbosch)
Here are a few items that have already caught my eye:
- Chalmar beef fillet, butternut, corn and gremolata (parsley, garlic, olive oil type pesto/dressing) from Azure.
- The 24-h-braised lamb breast, parmesan polenta & smoked tomato jus from Dash Restaurant.
- The De Grendel duck, edamame bean, 5 spice, potpourri risotto. Their braised beef, gnocchi, sweetbreads (which is “afval” if I remember correctly. No, I don’t usually eat this but if these top chefs can’t convince me, no one can!), tomato, garlic and bordelaise as well as their BBQ Quail, baby gem caesar, parmesan & croutons.
- Fyndraai Restaurant also has lamb ribs with wild herb & garlic potato custard which also sounds good.
- 96 Winery offer crispy pork belly strips…I sure am a sucker for piggies!
- The Signal caramelia cremeux hazel nut crunch, pear, marshmallow & pear crumble ice cream also sounds like a dream.
- The Pot Luck Club also has pork belly with XO & red cabbage slaw.
As you can see I don’t eat seafood nor curry but download the menu for yourself so that you can pick out your favourites. I always do this before I head there so I know exactly what I’m looking for at the event! 🙂
The @TasteofCT #TasteofCT13 offer many other stalls and features including wine sales, treats, craft beer stalls, Pick n Pay and Chef’s Theatre. Usually around October I say, “Isn’t it time for the Taste Festival yet?” So I can’t wait for this year’s event! Get your tickets from the Taste of Cape Town website for:
- Standard entry R80
- Premium 1 for R180 which includes entrance, R100 worth of crowns & a tasting glass.
- Taste Clubhouse which is R685 and includes a tasting glass, R150 worth of crowns, entrance to the club house with a complimentary bar and a Taste of Cape Town gift bag (this must be for the Joburgers visiting 😛 ).
There are numerous “seatings”:
- THURSDAY (18:30 – 22:30)
- FRIDAY (18:30 – 22:30)
- SATURDAY (13:00 – 17:00 and 18:30 – 22:30)
- SUNDAY (12:00 – 17:00)
Join the Taste of Cape Town Facebook Page for more updates 🙂
*Competition to follow shortly, come back to BCTCBlog for another visit soon 😉