I cannot express how much I hope this becomes an annual event. Running from the 5th to the 14th of February a glut of international chefs and food related celebs descended on this fair (though currently rather sand-whipped) city.
The festival involved 2 special guest chefs, 13 masterchefs (with 22 Michelin Stars between them), 5 master patissiers, workshops, masterclasses, talks, seminars, food safaris, special dinners, gala receptions, chef’s table lunches and dinners, forums and a kitchen party.
Due to our issues with the internet and not being able to book tickets to events over the phone (grrrrrrr), it was only the kitchen party that O and I were able to attend. There was not a lot of information about the even anywhere online (“An informal dinner…that takes place in a commercial kitchen”) so I was a little unsure about what the party actually entailed, and when I called the hotel to confirm the start time the event was described as a kitchen table dinner so I picked my outfit for the evening and we set off.
I was mildly surprised when we arrived at the venue to see tables loaded down with chefs’ hats and aprons (though the aprons are very cool), the camera man and photographer were also rather unexpected but I was getting very excited by this point. We were informed we had to wear our hats and aprons – if I could raise only one eyebrow I would have been doing right then – and we were led into the kitchen! We found food stations with chefs behind them preparing a large variety of different foods, a bar set up near the fridges and no seats. Gulp. I’d unwisely elected to wear my high high-heels because of the length of my trousers…yadda yadda yadda. Which is to say, it was an unwise footwear choice for me that evening since it was a three-hour event and I was to be on my feet for the whole of it! After a second “gulp” we got stuck in.
There was a chocolate fountain which I actually didn’t touch because the rest was so fantastic, a vegetarian wrap/sandwich type station, freshly made sushi and sashimi, amazing Brazilian BBQ, charcuterie, pasta, fresh breads, deserts and lots and lots of wine. I stuffed myself on fresh-sliced Parma ham, salmon sushi, parmesan pasta, duck marinated in orange and papaya, cheese breads and… chicken hearts. Yep. That’s right. The hosting chef insisted that we try it and after letting O go first, who pronounced it “ok” I dived in after finishing my glass of pink fizzy stuff. I was VERY apprehensive, generally not being a fan of most things offal, but this was actually quite delicious. Strong and meaty in the way kidneys are, but without the powdery texture or completely overwhelming flavour that so often comes with innards (I’ve found). It was a real treat actually, all the more so because I was expecting the worst.
The evening flew by with the whole kitchen full of people running around in chefs hats and aprons, and when the band came out and started singing La Bamba it was clear why this was called a kitchen party. The chefs were so SO welcoming to us all, they really seemed to be happy to have us there whereas I was worried we were in the way and it was nice to be able to tell the actual person who cooked your food how much you enjoyed it.
Bring on next years event!
The festival involved 2 special guest chefs, 13 masterchefs (with 22 Michelin Stars between them), 5 master patissiers, workshops, masterclasses, talks, seminars, food safaris, special dinners, gala receptions, chef’s table lunches and dinners, forums and a kitchen party.
Due to our issues with the internet and not being able to book tickets to events over the phone (grrrrrrr), it was only the kitchen party that O and I were able to attend. There was not a lot of information about the even anywhere online (“An informal dinner…that takes place in a commercial kitchen”) so I was a little unsure about what the party actually entailed, and when I called the hotel to confirm the start time the event was described as a kitchen table dinner so I picked my outfit for the evening and we set off.
I was mildly surprised when we arrived at the venue to see tables loaded down with chefs’ hats and aprons (though the aprons are very cool), the camera man and photographer were also rather unexpected but I was getting very excited by this point. We were informed we had to wear our hats and aprons – if I could raise only one eyebrow I would have been doing right then – and we were led into the kitchen! We found food stations with chefs behind them preparing a large variety of different foods, a bar set up near the fridges and no seats. Gulp. I’d unwisely elected to wear my high high-heels because of the length of my trousers…yadda yadda yadda. Which is to say, it was an unwise footwear choice for me that evening since it was a three-hour event and I was to be on my feet for the whole of it! After a second “gulp” we got stuck in.
There was a chocolate fountain which I actually didn’t touch because the rest was so fantastic, a vegetarian wrap/sandwich type station, freshly made sushi and sashimi, amazing Brazilian BBQ, charcuterie, pasta, fresh breads, deserts and lots and lots of wine. I stuffed myself on fresh-sliced Parma ham, salmon sushi, parmesan pasta, duck marinated in orange and papaya, cheese breads and… chicken hearts. Yep. That’s right. The hosting chef insisted that we try it and after letting O go first, who pronounced it “ok” I dived in after finishing my glass of pink fizzy stuff. I was VERY apprehensive, generally not being a fan of most things offal, but this was actually quite delicious. Strong and meaty in the way kidneys are, but without the powdery texture or completely overwhelming flavour that so often comes with innards (I’ve found). It was a real treat actually, all the more so because I was expecting the worst.
The evening flew by with the whole kitchen full of people running around in chefs hats and aprons, and when the band came out and started singing La Bamba it was clear why this was called a kitchen party. The chefs were so SO welcoming to us all, they really seemed to be happy to have us there whereas I was worried we were in the way and it was nice to be able to tell the actual person who cooked your food how much you enjoyed it.
Bring on next years event!
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