I had the opportunity to attend a GINJA food experience a few weeks back and this is how it all went down…

On arrival we were greeted by Chef Francois with a welcoming drink – the healthy option was a taste of Juiced Co.’s vegetable and fruit juices! They were really pleasant actually, and that’s coming from someone that only eats vegetables because I know I have to. Next on the list was a Wolftrap Rose, which would not be my drink of choice, but still fairly light and not too dry.

The “lunner” (lunch and dinner) table was set in an adjoining room; it looked like it had been taken straight out of the GINJA magazine! We moved to the dinner hall to get stuck in, but not before we had a little snoop around the large kitchen area which is set up as a food studio and is used for team building events and cooking classes (something I’d love to give a try!)

The first course was Haddock & Hake Mousse served with Raisin Relish and Home-Baked Seed Loaf, paired with a Wolftrap White blend. I must say, the seed loaf was so tasty I had well over my fair share!  The raisin relish had a sweet taste that complimented the food and would be something I’d like to put on a nice piece of cheese.

The second course, or palate cleaner, was a small Green Salad with Fynbos Vinaigrette. This little salad looked too pretty to eat; I felt bad breaking it apart. This feeling soon changed to delight once I had my first mouthful. It was delicious!! I’m not sure was it was about this salad that was so tasty, but it definitely had the underlying taste of parmesan cheese… and as I am sure you have guessed,I love cheese!

The main course was Traditional Tomato Bredie served with Green Pepper & Onion Flavoured Samp & Beans. This was honestly my first taste of samp and beans, and I have seriously been missing out!! The textures and tastes were on point! The bredie was a mixture of lamb and beef, and it fell apart in your mouth; I’m salivating now just thinking about it. The wines we had with the main course were Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2013 and Porcupine Ridge Syrah with Viognier 2013. These wines are definitely more to my taste. At this point in the evening the conversation at the table was in full swing. People at the table included chefs, bloggers, previous masterchef contestants as well as a few people in the media – all were great conversation.

When desert came out, everyone was quiet for a few minutes, only because everyone had their mouths full! Dessert was Koeksister Cassata with Pomegranate Relish. This is basically the best ice-cream you’ve ever tasted. The koeksister was still fresh and crispy, even though it in a pool of ice-cream. To accompany this sweet delight a La Motte MCC or JC Le Roux Scintilla 2008 was served. Chef Francois opened the bottle using a huge knife, slicing the top off (which I’ve only ever seen in movies!) I learnt this is called Sabrage: Sabering the champagne bottle. It was really amazing to watch, I had always thought the bottle was just being broken open! This way of opening the bottle actually leaves the top at a perfect pouring angle, almost like a built in speed pourer.

The conversation extended well into the evening, people were tweeting about the wonderful food and great company. On our way out we received a little goodie bag with some of the delectable things we had eaten in the evening, including that raisin relish (for my cheese of course) and parmesan infused olive oil. All-in-all this was a great experience and I would highly recommend the recipes that are put in the GINJA magazine!

Website: www.ginjafood.com

Facebook / Twitter  / Instagram: GinjaFood or GinjaFoodStudio

22 boats ventured out for a burn session in gusty conditions during the Point Yacht Club’s Port Captain Sprints Keeler and Dinghy Bay Series on Saturday in the bay. 

Four keel boats participated in the quiet meander around the bay, heading off on a beat towards the passenger terminal, before heading down towards Maydon Channel before racing around the sand bank back towards the finish area. Kevin Rainer helming the L26 did well to stay far ahead of the inform school lads sailing on Container World in the one design class. While Alkistis skippered by Greg Donkin relished the conditions, after the race he headed towards the harbour entrance extending their afternoons sailing.

In the Flying Fifteen class, Provincial champions, Paul Changuion and Tim Duguid got into their groove quickly straight out of the starting blocks, easily leading the small fleet of double handed dinghies. They worked hard during the three laps of the windward leeward course, remaining a head of the competition.
Behind them, Myles White and Estelle Buys battled it out with Heidi and Michael Kavanagh for second position. The Kavanaghs sailing on their magnificent classic Flying Fifteen just lost out to the determined White and Buys who got off to a bad start, just off the line but made up for their lost time reading the conditions perfectly.

Two of Durban’s brightest future sailing stars had a disappointing start to the season, after the mid-week announcement of their invitation to the ISAF Youth Worlds in December in Langkawi, Malaysia. Benji Daniel and Chad Stevenson capsized minutes before their start and for most of the double handed race, the tired duo that had been put through the paces at training battled to right their 29er. Daniel and Stevenson blitzed around the course once they eventually got going, only to rip their jib as they neared the finish line. 

A number of the smaller dinghies came out to the race area, but as the winds strengthened before racing got underway, majority of them quickly made their way back to the safety of land. Three fledgling crews also went for a bit of a swim, as they battled with the gusts that knocked their boats over. Rescue, with the efficient Moses Cele and Victor Cele worked well, scooping them out of the water and towing their boats back to land. Wind speeds gusted up to around 25knots, a big ask for the small vessels. 

Round two of the Port Captain Sprints Keeler and Dinghy Bay Series  takes place this Saturday with Race Officer, Lucy De Freitas preparing to set a similar course for the boats that come out to participate.

For more info visit www.pyc.co.za or join the Facebook group.

Results

Keelers Series

Division B

1 Jennabee (Peter Goble)

Division C

1 Alkistis (Greg Donkin)

Division One Design

1 Tequila Sunrise (Kevin Rainer), 2 Container World (Jethro Brophy-Tintinger)

Dinghy Series

Fleet A

1 Wayne Smith (Hobie 14), 2 Murray May (Hobie 14), 3 Rob Samways (Dart), 4 Coert Grobelaar (Halcat), DNS Reg Aburrow (Dart), DNS Martin Zimmerman / Carl Zimmerman (Dart)

Fleet B

1 Paul Changuion / Tim Duguid (Flying Fifteen), 2 Myles White / Estelle Buys (Flying Fifteen), 3 Heidi Kavanagh / Michael Kavanagh (Flying Fifteen), 4 Benji Daniel / Chad Stevenson (29er)

Fleet C

RTD Campbell Alexander

Fleet E

RTD Trevor Gibb / Scott Bowman (Mirror), RTD Ian Bowman (Optimist), RTD Menlisi Mkhize / Sma Dlamini (Feva) DNS Barus Praise Tera, DNS Yashir Seetal / Blake Reinhardt (Sprog)

Pic by Sophie Thompson

The First Lego League competition, sponsored by global software giant SAP, took place at the KZN Department of Education Training Institute in Durban on Saturday, October 24^th.

The competition was organised by The KZN Science Centre who supported, trained and prepared the learners throughout the year.

After an exciting day’s competition which saw 17 teams participating, it all came down to a nail biting finish when 2 teams tied for first place. After a tense playoff ensued – SAP Legocy of Crawford College La Lucia emerged as the overall winners.

SAP Legocy will now go through to represent KZN at the South African National SAP First Lego League championships at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Johannesburg this December and, if they win, they will represent South Africa at the international championships held in the USA in March 2016.

Prenisha Raghunandan, the Crawford College La Lucia school teacher who spoke on behalf of the learners said that they were amazed and ecstatic to win such a prestigious competition and look forward to the nationals in December where they will not only represent their school but their province as well.

Candice Potgieter, Chief Executive Officer of The KZN Science Centre says, “Over 150 learners from 17 schools took part in this year’s competition. The standard was really high and it is so rewarding to see the impact this competition has on the lives of these learners”.

Other category awards that got handed out on the day were for the Robot award, The Robot Performance Award, Project Awards, Core Value Awards and lastly, the Judges Award.