Cape Town - The hiss of fresh fish hitting the pan mingled with the clanking of plates and the odd mildly-panicked yelp.
This was no professional outfit – it was a group of novice chefs throwing their all into whipping up a hopefully delectable meal in the One Ingredient kitchen, together with cognac brand Rémy Martin.
Weaving his way expertly between stations was One Ingredient creator and chef Matt Manning, a sniff here, a swirl there and the odd bit of advice thrown nonchalantly in where needed – it was clear he was at home among beginner cooks. While we were flustered and constantly watching the time, he was grinning and cracking jokes.
The evening was part of Rémy Martin’s “One Life. Live Them” campaign.
The idea is to recognise and celebrate our many talents – we’re not just defined by one skill. The aim is to encourage people to “live richer, larger lives”.
To help spread the message, the brand has teamed up three local ambassadors who live that philosophy.
Home Affairs department spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete is passionate about building a better future for this country, but he’s also a published poet, political analyst, and he paints and writes.
While he was still at school, Ludwick Marishane invented Drybath, the world’s first bath-substituting gel. Now he heads Headboy Industries and, in addition to being an entrepreneur, he sees himself as a philosopher and foodie.
Then there’s actor Oros Mampofu. You may have spotted him on TV, but he also devotes time to learning more about philosophy and quantum mechanics, and is a martial artist.
The campaign has seen the brand arrange a series of bespoke events to help enthusiasts explore their interests aside from what the world sees at a glance. Petrolheads were able to thrill to the revving of powerful engines, bruisers had ringside seats to a boxing match, geeks let their tech sides run riot, and foodies – well, we got stuck in at One Ingredient.
The chef invited us into the kitchen to create a couple of dishes featuring the evening’s ingredients: cranberries, as well as Rémy Martin, of course.
After settling the nerves with a couple of cocktails featuring Rémy Martin, Chef Manning herded us all through to the demo room where he effortlessly whipped up a starter of cold smoked trout, pickled celery, toasted pinenuts, saffron dried tomato, parsley agar, with a cranberry and vanilla burre noisette.
Once we realised we’d be expected to recreate the dish moments later with no recipe, there was a flurry of pics and questions.
A strict time limit, as well as promised prizes for the best presentation, turned up the heat. Cooks sharing stations quickly aligned, one popping fish fillets into searing hot pans, while the other harvested a clutch of microgreens from the neighbouring team which was hoarding them. High stress levels aside, it was an exhilarating experience and once our dishes were plated, and plastered all over Twitter and Instagram, we tucked in.
But there wasn’t long to gloat, as before we knew it we were hustled back to the kitchen to prepare the main course – whole roasted petit poussin, ballontine of braised chicken leg with cranberry fluid gel, wild mushrooms, asparagus, bacon lardoons and walnut.
It was a slightly more challenging dish, but mercifully some of the more complex ingredients had been prepped for us – it was just a case of making sure everything was cooked and looked gorgeous.
Competitive banter over the stove turned to intimate conversation at the table, as we discussed our interests and passions, beyond our day jobs.
And, of course, savoured the cognac pairing with each course.
It was an inspiring evening – we learnt new skills in the kitchen, made new foodie friends, and took home Rémy Martin’s slogan as a challenge: You only get one life, live them.
For more, see www.facebook.com/RemyMartinSouthAfrica or www.facebook.com/OneIngredientPage
Cape Times