A PERIPHERAL event of Solo Studios in Riebeek Kasteel from August 18 to 20, seats for The Night Of The Long Tables are being snapped up; in the 24 hours since I last looked at the website, when only one was fully booked, two more are now too.
Aardvark Eats, Kokos Huis, and the Friday at the Royal Hotel are sold out. This leaves The Valley Deli on Saturday, August 20, Royal Hotel on the Saturday, and Chef Guiseppe on Friday. Olive & Vine has space for four on Friday, and three on Saturday. I cannot stress enough how urgently you need to get onto this.
Olive & Vine is hosted by Almo Geldenhuys, whom I’ve known for the many years he cooked at Ginger & Lime, where we spent lots of fun evenings (and one spectacular weekend in Yzerfontein) doing interactive cooking. Almo relocated to Riebeek Kasteel during the first lockdown and there he stayed. I can’t blame him – he has a lovely house with a huge garden, and an amazing circle of friends, lots of them fellow foodies.
Almo’s favourite cuisine is Asian so that’s what he’ll be serving. The long table will be set up in his home, which he bought based on the magnificent kitchen. The houses has sliding glass doors and a wonderful indoor/outdoor flow for entertaining. The menu begins with toasted edamame beans, wasabi chilli salt and sesame seeds. Meang khum is a tastebud tantaliser comprising spinach leaves with various toppings like peanuts, toasted coconut, thinly sliced chilli, lemon grass, fresh lemon, ginger and red onion.
For the main course, fish and prawn cakes with an Asian dipping sauce will be served, along with Asian coconut broth with miso-roasted butternut, and Indonesian beef rending curry. On the side, dirty rice and sambals. To finish on a refreshing note there will be lime posset with rose syrup and pistachios.
The Saturday night will be fully interactive, lasting about three hours with guests participating in the preparation of the dishes… “Guests will have to work for their supper, and pay for it!” says Almo. Relax, he’s kidding; no one is forced to do anything they don’t want to.
No previous cooking experience is required, and guests may get as involved as they wish or just sit back with a glass of wine and enjoy the views and social interactions.
Due to the opening of Solo Studios on Friday, time will be tighter so guests can help with plating if they want to, and all the dishes will be explained at the table, as opposed to in the kitchen during cooking. The kitchen will be accessible on both evenings so people can wander in, chat or ask questions, says Almo.
The emphasis is on having a good time, while being introduced to new and exciting Asian ingredients and flavours that are easy to replicate at home; plus a folder with all the recipes cooked during the evening will be available.
For more information, click here.
