Valentine’s Day seems to be far away. However, preparations have already started with plans for weekend getaways, romantic candle-lit dinners and movies with your partner.
The Capital Hotel School in Pretoria suggested that a romantic picnic and refreshing salads would be a perfect way to celebrate the day of love.
Capital Hotel School managing director and principal Ronel Bezuidenhout said the school’s motto was about “embracing the art of hospitality”.
Bezuidenhout also said they were inspired to give a different take on professional cookery especially during holidays such as Valentine’s Day.
“It’s about having fun and experiencing who we are, to see what we can do and exploring our culinary skills. Let’s just celebrate love - this idea does not have to be for a boyfriend or husband, we can simply celebrate the month of love. I think this year especially, our country and everybody needs a little bit of love,” she said.
“Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we would like to offer you the opportunity to not only receive the best tips on how to set the most romantic Valentine’s Day table setting but also to learn how to style the most romantic meal to spoil your loved one on the day,” said Bezuidenhout.
With less than a month to Valentine’s Day, the hospitality school invited The Star to engage in finding affordable ways to have a romantic day without exceeding your budget.
According to Bezuidenhout, you can never go wrong when the food and atmosphere of the date is perfect.
Local chef Alicia Giliomee made quick and easy healthy salads to celebrate the perfect Valentine's Day date.
A romantic picnic indoors with small candles and garden flowers in an empty glass jar and colourful pillows on the floor are one of the few ways to celebrate love.
Capital Hotel School marketing director Cecile Boshoff said: “Seeing as though Valentine’s Day falls on a week day, it’s kind of hard to go all outdoors and have a picnic. So we thought we should bring the picnic in doors by using glass jars, garden flowers and pillows.”
“The idea we had was that you should use anything that you have in your household. That is were we came up with the concept of using the bottles, mayo, jam, chutney jars. Clean those jars and use them as decor and plating,” said Boshoff.
The decor of the picnic would not be complete without the food, and group executive chef Alicia Giliomee told The Star that quick and easy meal suggestions for Valentine’s Day would be healthy salads.
She said her first thought was that making a Valentine’s Day-inspired dish had become overrated.
“Hospitality is a great passion for me, it’s about incorporating everything that you feel and putting it on to a plate. It’s easy to call yourself a chef but there is definitely a difference between a chef and a cook. A cook is just going to put something on a plate while a chef thinks, inspires and encourages communication on the table. There must always be a point of conversation on the table,” said Giliomee.
“I first thought, Valentine's Day? I was like, argh no, it's been done so many times. So we got together and said we wanted to do something that accommodated the South African weather. We went for a picnic because you can save a bit of time,” said Giliomee.
“A classical picnic dish would be prawn Marie rose - you would have your avocado, prawns, thousand island dressing, and the rose itself would have been the traditional take.
Chef Giliomee said her prawn Marie rose had sweet chilli rose sauce with watermelon and beetroot carpaccio.
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