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by N. A. Ross, edited by Manos Angelakis
It is close to 6 degrees Fahrenheit in New York but I’m sipping champagne in the warm breeze on the deck of a luxury catamaran sailing along Cape Town’s Hidden Coast. The historic restored quayside on the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront teems with restaurants and outdoor cafés offering a variety of international cuisine and live music.
 The Mount Nelson Hotel, an 1899 pink colonial estate at the foot of Table Mountain and one of the finest hotels in the world, has opened its highly acclaimed kitchen to the public by introducing a Chef's Table private dining experience, allowing diners access to the previously secret domain of the hotel's master chefs. Charcoal and white tiles extend from the main body of the kitchen into an inviting alcove containing a ten-seat oak table. A large (raised and tilted) leather-framed mirror reflects activities in the kitchen, allowing seated guests a 'behind-the-scenes' look at the exciting world of chefs at work. Diners are presented with a five-course gourmet extravaganza, each perfectly complemented by a fine wine specially chosen by the hotel's "wine chef" from the extensive cellar. One of the courses is demonstrated and presented from an oak and granite moveable cooking hub.
South African born and bred Garth Stroebel, Executive Corporate Chef for the African Collection of Orient-Express Hotels, oversees the Chef's Table experience.
Over the past two decades, Chef Stroebel has garnered numerous international culinary awards. Most recently, he won the prestigious Pinnacle Chef award for service excellence and contribution to culinary standards in South Africa.
With his quest to bring only the best to his guests' tables, Chef Stroebel creates and oversees menus that feature locally harvested fruit, vegetables, fish and meats. He has secured leading local and international suppliers of quality foodstuffs, including Beluga caviar, Scottish salmon, Dutch cheeses and the finest fresh Cape seafood from the Mount Nelson's own charter boat anchored at the charming fishing village of Kalk Bay.
 Garth's groundbreaking new South African cuisine celebrates the fact that Africa has finally met The World, so each plate captures the best of both. Signature recipes include plump, champagne-poached oysters (fresh from oyster-beds at the mouth of the Breede River) partnered with sliced, lightly fried perlemoen (abalone), moistened with its own juices and crowned with fresh dhania (coriander), and poached crayfish tail atop confit of salmon trout and velvety-smooth Cape Riesling sabayon. Other items include a tiny loin of venison on a sweet potato cake topped with pea puree. By its side, pancetta-corsetted breast of guinea-fowl on a warm lentil salad with star anise jus. Wild mushrooms and naba (Kalahari truffles, pronounced with a Bushman click of the tongue) would round out this course. His freshly smoked Constantia goat's cheese with Cape-Malay spiced beetroot chutney on the side, sends gastronomes over-the-top, finished with his very decadent chocolate and cardamom tart with berry sorbet. Other signature dishes include Smoked Crocodile with Marogo; Red Onion Marmalade and Samoosa Wafer; Dukka Spiced Springbok Loin, Butternut Cake and Beetroot Jus; North African Spiced Corn Fed Chicken Breast with Pumpkin Fritter and Charred Corn Salsa.
All dining participants receive a recipe of a demonstrated dish, as well a Mount Nelson exclusive 'Cook's Apron' as a memento of their evening. Open for dinner only, Chef's Tables are priced at R500 (approx. US$75) per person inclusive of matching fine wines per course.
Another exceptional Cape Town restaurant is Saffron. Slightly off the beaten path, it offers a dinning experience second to none. There I had a deceptively simple dish, Medallions of Beef with Cèpes and Chanterelles. I loved it so much, I made a pest of myself to get the recipe, which follows:
Ingredients, serves 4:
8 filets mignon, each 1 inch thick and as close to the same size as possible.
5 1/4 oz. cèpes or porcini mushrooms
5 1/4 oz. chanterelles
3 1/2 tbs.. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
for the sauce:
2/3 cup Drambuie
2/3 cup beef stock
3 1/2 tbs. butter
3/4 cup finely diced mixture of carrots, celery and onions
pinch of thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. Malabar Black peppercorns
Execution:
Wash the mushrooms and slice thinly.
Prepare the sauce by braising the diced vegetables with the bay leaf, the thyme and peppercorns in half the butter over low heat. Add the Drambuie and flambé. Add the beef stock, reduce by 2/3 and strain. Whisk in the remaining butter.
Heat the olive oil in a pan, then brown the medallions to the desired doneness. Take out of the pan and keep warm. Braise the cèpes and chanterelles in the same pan. Place a medallion in the center of each of 4 plates, the mushrooms on top and another medallion on top of them. Pour the sauce and serve.
This dish requires a big and hearty red wine and fresh peasant-style bread.
Enjoy.
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