Nicolette Dirk
This year’s Good Food and Wine Show begins today and promises to tantalise the taste buds of thousands of people.
International celebrity chef and Cake Boss’s Buddy Valastro and MasterChef Australia judge and food critic Matt Preston are headlining the show.
The show, taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, will wrap up on Sunday.
Besides an exciting chef line-up, there will also be a range of locally grown and produced fare in the Speciality Street, and the art of wine areas where visitors can discover the latest in wines, spirits, bubbly, cocktails and craft beer.
Valastro’s pastry skills on the Cake Boss television series have made him a popular personality in South Africa, while Preston has become a household name as co-host and judge on MasterChef Australia.
Valastro and Preston, along with the rest of the South African celeb chefs, will take part in live cooking demonstrations at the Celebrity Chefs Theatre.
Headlining the local chefs’ line-up will be the host of Food Network’s Siba’s Table, Siba Mtongana, and Jenny Morris, who is also a host on Food Network, and a cookery book author.
Morris, who is also known as the Giggling Gourmet, said visitors can expect a lot of food, with a good helping of laughter from her cooking showcase. During her “Romancing the Stove” segment, Morris will teach four couples how to improve their culinary skills.
“What makes food events so popular is that people are becoming more aware of what they put into their mouths. I have been part of the food and wine show since it started, and every year I am amazed at how they can top what they did the previous year,” she said.
Mtongana will also be bringing her talents to the table with her dishes from the Middle East. “Food is definitely the new fashion, and recently there has been a big focus on good food,” she said.
Local food consultant and chef Jaqui Brown will also be showcasing some of her 20-year experience of food with a range of interesting dishes that include pasta with butternut and feta, and for dessert there will be some tequila jelly.
She is also looking forward to catching up with the “legendary” Cake Boss, who she quipped was responsible for her extra 15kg. “He and Matt are so flamboyant and exciting to watch,” she said.
In keeping with the demands of the health-conscious crowd, the show will introduce the Health Hub this year, aimed at encouraging food lovers to make healthier food choices. The hub’s “well I am kitchen” will be run by health and fitness expert Lisa Raleigh.