A WORD ON MY PAPER PLACE - CELEBRATION OF LIFE WITH MEANING:
CXPress: 15 June 2005

To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub…While the Garden Route sleeps, Knysna dreams and by sunrise they have converted dreams into reality. Not surprising that Knysna receives so many accolades, leaving the rest of the Garden Route green with envy! They say there are a thousand reasons why not, and one reason why - this surely must be Knysna's credo.

Months ago two of us from the Chaines des Rôtisseurs were invited to attend a meeting called by the chair of"a food festival to be held in Knysna later this year"to see if we could assist with any input. Suffering from Outeniqua rust we reluctantly joined. My thoughts at the time were:"Great idea for 2006 or '07, maybe…"-how wrong can one be?

On Friday last we attended the launch of 'Gastronomica, Celebration of Life with Meaning' in Knysna. What an amazing surprise - how professional, nothing left to chance. These guys have done their homework and secured another great success for Knysna, if the launch is anything to go by.

I was invited to the launch presentation, but a previous commitment meant I opted for the media presentation. The list of sponsors alone suffices to show the convenience in this planned spring event.

I shall not try to tell all here, but in the pipeline are personal appearances from well-known celebrities in the world of food, fashion, art, music and theatre from far and wide, as well as famous local personalities.

As this is mainly a food column, let me emphasize that aspect briefly just to make the mouth water a little. I will start with Reuben Riffel, Chef de Cuisine and co-owner of Reuben's Restaurant in Franschhoek. In a short eight months Reuben scored top honors in the 2004 Eat Out Food Guide Johnnie Walker Restaurant Awards, not only as top chef, but also securing top restaurant of the year.

What a scoop!

Chef extraordinaire and renowned TV and radio chef Francois Ferreira, whose new recipe book is to be launched shortly, will not only present some astonishing cooking ideas but will perform his fantastic cabaret acts simultaneously, making it all the more exhilarating.

Equally electrifying will be the Femme Fatale - a celebration of four renowned chefs and an award winning wine maker.

Firstly, there is internationally known Jody Adams of the Rialto Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe recently awarded Rialto four stars (its highest accolade) and I quote from the citation:"Eating Jody Adam's food is like stepping into a winter greenhouse just at the moment when spectacular orchids burst into bloom."She is also the author of a number of cookery books, some of which are co-written with her husband, Ken Rivard.

Liezie Mulder is well known to fans of Knysna's île de pain, where she guides the kitchen with experience gained during her studies in the"USA trade"after obtaining a degree in landscape architecture.

She spent five years at the same Rialto, starting in a line position under Jody and ending up as restaurant manager.

Need I say more?

Leslie Faull-trained chef Dee Hartley is back in Knysna, hopefully for good this time. Dee has again joined up with her brother, Corne Levitan (do you remember when they ran Redbourne Lodge?), and is the chef and co-owner of world renowned Mackintosh's country store. She, too, will be cooking up a storm.

The fourth lady to don a chef's hat is Tammy of Hungry Heads Gourmets. Silwood-trained, she will be preparing a contemporary gourmet food experience for the Cuisine Couture & Couleur, which is a must for those who wish to keep up with the mainstream.

Ronell Wiid, 1999 winner of the prestigious Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award for her 1998 Hazendal Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, will be in attendance during the festival to tell you all about the joys of wine making and drinking.

What really took my fancy was the announcement of the first annual national chocolate and patisserie invitational challenge, which will be something of an eye-opener for those of us that enjoy chocolate and a good dessert. The winner will receive a five-day master class on chocolatiering and pastisserie preparation from international chef-training centre Condirama in Switzerland.

The driving force behind Gastronomica is Pat Mulder, who has conceptualized the whole idea and, together with her various sub-committees, got the show on the road. I suggest you diarise the festival dates (September 23 to October 1) now and watch CXPRESS for an up to date programme nearer the time. Miss it at your peril!