Croft Chickens are free-range, happy hens. I use Candy and Chris’ delicious, plump livers and their whole chickens and can also recommend their pies, rolls, spatchcocks and stuffed roasts too. What is a tasty roast chicken without a super crispy roast potato? Try the accompanying recipe. It promises to please.
Read MoreNothing can compare when it comes to goat’s cheese from Fran’s Swissland Cheese. If you live in KZN I suggest you visit her farm on the Midlands Meander. Her St Maure, slightly warmed on a bruschetta with home-marinated beetroot, is a delicious snack.
Read MoreBack to ‘local is lekker’ and the suppliers I am currently using. Pork pies, sausages, sliced gammon and well-smoked, streaky bacon from Caz, of Dargle Valley Pork, are top class. They help make breakfast memorable. Pork mince balls with chunky barbeque/pineapple sauce is an unusual dish and worth a try.
Read MoreI would like to see more rabbit dishes on our country-restaurant menus. It is often our best seller on a Sunday at Hartford House. Try Ziggy’s New-Zealand rabbits and make a superb hot terrine or casserole.
Read MoreChristina Martin’s bread-and-butter pudding, with her chocolate variation, was always a hit on the Saturday lunch buffet. This is a true classic that will be appreciated, forever.
Read MoreA preferred choice of mine was coronation chicken with toasted almonds. I had never eaten this before my training days at the Christina Martin School of Food and Wine and had always jumped at the opportunity to make it. Poaching and stuffing apricots into chicken breast, wrapping in plastic and poaching was a method I enjoyed. This is probably the reason I use the sous vide (cooking under vacuum in a water bath) process today. The creaminess of the sauce, the fresh fruity flavour with the crisp freshly-roasted almonds makes a delicious light-lunch option. Serve with a freshly-picked herb salad.
Read MoreI will always remember sitting in Christina’s office at the age of 16 - a whole year before I needed to be there. This was my interview to be accepted into the Christina Martin School of Food and Wine. For me, getting into this course was not an option. My heart and mind were set. I have to admit I felt intimidated but, at the same time, I was in awe of Christina’s absolute dedication to the industry. From that day I grew to understand and appreciate her constant insistence for perfection. That first intimidating interview resulted in my being accepted - and the opportunity to savour the most delicious, crisp-and-chunky whole-almond biscotti. Christina had a large glass jar filled with them. It was love at first taste! I remember thinking ‘this is what I call an office’.
Read MoreAs students of the Christina Martin School of Food and Wine we were exposed to many different cooking styles, and functions ranging from top-quality private home dinner parties and gourmet restaurant food; to deli combinations, in-store launches and cocktail parties - all very stimulating. We would make whatever the menu dictated, fill the clients serving dishes and they would return home for their dinner party for which, they led their guest to believe, they had spent the whole day preparing. One specific dish I remember often preparing for this type of occasion was Cape Malay pickled fish. Guests always went crazy for it
Read MoreRich, hearty pies with homemade quick puff pastry always excite me. This recipe is so easy. There is no reason to ever buy a commercial, ready-to-make roll. The rich, buttery aromas and flavours of homemade puff, from the minute the heat of the oven hits the pastry, are incomparable.
Read MoreChunky mushroom risotto can be served to complement main courses, such as crispy sage-seared chicken breast; oven-roasted fillet; or have it just on its own for a vegetarian delight.
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