Food Trucks and other disasters

So as many of you know Kyle and I recently got married. From the get-go we were set on having a fairly informal wedding reception and doing it in a way we would enjoy rather than just doing all those things that you are meant to do at a wedding. Having decided to use my mothers beautiful garden as a venue the next mission was lock down the food. 

Its official we got hitched

I was really keen on the idea of a food truck and because we opted against formal table seating the food truck signature style of food, that which you can eat on your lap or in your hands, made sense. Now there are a lot of food trucks operating in Gauteng so you would think finding one to cater the wedding would be easy enough. It wasn't. First we had to wade through all those only offering one dish like burgers, paella or ice-cream. 

Finally we found what seemed to be the perfect truck. "The Bedford Food Truck" owned by the same guys who brought you The Griffen, Steamworks and Perron. This seemed great as these were some of our favourite places to eat. They also had a good looking truck, a wide menu and since the chef owner, Thom Hughes, ran the truck they could make pretty much anything we wanted at prices that made sense to our limited budget. We started talking to Thom in December via email. He assured us that we were pencilled in for June 16th and that it was a done deal. I had wanted to pay a deposit just to make sure but I was assured we would sort it out once the final menu was nailed down.

I should have known it was not going to be smooth sailing cause it took about 3 months to nail him down for a meeting on the menu. However, once we eventually met, both Kyle and I were super happy. We even came up with this plan to turn Krispy Kreme doughnuts into an epic doughnut croque-en-bouche wedding cake. Following the meeting he promised to mail us some menu options the next day and prices so we could finalise everything. About two weeks later and after multiple requests for feedback we finally got a mail back saying they had sold the truck and could no longer cater our wedding. Yep just like that. No recommendations or introductions to people who could take over, just sorry but we can't do it anymore. I must at this point say that he did mention they were fairly busy setting up the new Peron branch and who knows maybe they needed the capital from selling it for a cash flow emergency. Whatever the reason, we were pretty disappointed. In fact, I have to admit, when I stopped to shop at the Hobart Spar a week or two later for groceries and I saw him standing on the steps of his shiny, new Peron branch it took all my willpower not to go full bridezilla and throw my shoes at him. Also despite being pretty excited about the new Peron branch and being regulars at Steamworks, I just cant bring myself to eat at any of his restaurants again. It is a pity because despite the terrible service at Steamworks, the food was really good. 

Once again I trawled the internet looking for food trucks we may have missed the first time around. I must have mailed about 10, even trying those who did single dishes to see if they could work with us. About 3 trucks replied and mostly with no we only do x-dish and cant help you. Finally in an act of desperation we posted on the popular Joburg Facebook page "I Know a Guy" asking for recommendations or suggestions. The one that people kept mentioning was the new kid on the food truck block "Zombie Chefs". A bit of light googling showed they would be at a music festival we were attending over Easter weekend; so we decided to try the food and chat to them then. To cut a long story short after chatting to them and finding out that Edward Clegg, the Chef behind the truck, had been an SA team member at the Culinary Olympics we were sold. We met with them, nailed down a menu complete with Heston style molecular gastronomy elements and our doughnut croque-en-bouche. 

A few weeks before the wedding we trecked out to the warehouse they work out of near the airport for a tasting. I was tired and had been stuck in traffic for nearly two hours (from Sandton! -how anybody does that commute is beyond me) so I was fairly grumpy to start. Soon though I was eating my way through the section of hors d'oevers  including the most delicious butter poached prawns with Tabasco pearls citrus gel and micro herbs. It was honestly one of the nicest things I had ever eaten. The confit duck terrine was also delicious. Mains were also really good. We were treated to fish and chips served in a rolled newspaper cone, coated in a corn-flake crumb and served with a vinegar spritzer for you to smell and use on the food. The lamb burger was good and the vegan Tofu so tasty, even I, ate a whole piece of Tofu which is saying something. 

Kyle and his best man Alick enjoying a brew

 before the ceremony 

We were super excited about having this food at our wedding. People know us as foodies so the expectations were high. I wish I could say that they didn't disappoint but they did. They where scheduled to arrive at 1pm to start prep so that starters could go out at 6ish, but arrived at around 3.30pm, just as the first guests arrived. Disappointingly instead of having the chef  Edward in the truck as promised we got an apprentice and the business partner who is not a chef. This and the late start really showed in the food. The prawns were tiny, overcooked and chewy, the citrus gel all wrong and it was served on soggy toast. The confit tuck terrine was not a terrine but served all mushed up on a spoon, without the cherry sauce and I found a large piece of cartilage in mine. The fish was not on a stick, not in newspaper and didn't have the cornflake crumb. I cant comment on the rest since that was all I tasted on the night. Worst of all our precious doughnut croque-en-bouche somehow became plates of hastily piled doughnuts bought from Fruit and Veg city. Not what we ordered at all. 

I was not going to let anything ruin my wedding day so despite all the problems I let it all go on the day... None of the guests noticed, since they had no idea what we had planned, and everyone was fed. Making a fuss would have served no-one especially not us who just wanted to enjoy our day. After the wedding we did, however, send a long email explaining what went wrong and how disappointed we were. To their credit we did get an apology although no explanation of why it was all such a mess was given. It was just such a pity because these guys can cook and the potential is all there but for whatever reason, no doubt mainly due to the chef being MIA, they were a mess and it really impacted on the food we served our guests. 

The bottom line in that food trucks may seem like an easy, budget friendly option for your wedding catering but from our experience you should think carefully about this option. There may be a reason traditional wedding caters charge so much for their services. People expect more from a wedding caterer than your average event caterer because its once in a life-time event. If you can't respect that and take the job seriously I really think you shouldn't take weddings on.

Two Peas - AfrikaBurn Edition

Truth be told its been crickets on here for a while. The fact of the matter is Kyle and I have been swamped for the last few months. We got engaged, then we got involved in planning and running a theme camp at AfrikaBurn and finally we got married last week. Don't be fooled by pinterest boards and TV specials planning a wedding is downright stressful and one of the hardest things we have ever had to do. That said it was utterly worth it and in the end I now get to call my best friend my husband. What a pleasure. Plus I suddenly have all this free time on my hands where I am not planning a wedding so I get to write and we get to cook again.

Luckily this adventure has given us plenty to blog about, albeit in retrospect, starting with AfrikaBurn. If you don't know what AfrikaBurn is, it wont be possible to explain it within the confines of this blog post, other than to say its the SA regional Burning Man event and to go watch the delightful video below (created by what has to be our new favourite Israeli - Elisha Goshen). If you look closely at around 5:54-5:55 you can see both Kyle and I (I am the one in the green crocodile onsie).

AfrikaBurn 2016 (credit Elisha Goshen)

AfrikaBurn is about gifting, there are no shops, no money and nowhere to buy wors rolls. We joined a theme camp called X-Communication which was the temporary home of 90 odd people including an art team from Russia, many Israelis and a few Americans, some Dutch guys, and a small group of South Afrikaans. All these people needed to be fed and watered for a week in the middle of the Tankwa Karoo. 

Among other things, Kyle and I volunteered to organise the food and kitchen. Planning 3 meals a day for 90 people for 7 days is no small task at the best of times but when you need to organise, buy, keep fresh and transport hundreds of kg's of produce from Jhb to Tankwa (1350 km including 100 km of the worst dirt roads in SA), all without fridges it becomes almost mindbogglingly difficult. 

Dry Ice, PnP online shopping, Makro and Westpack lifestyle were all our friends (not to mention our actual friends Manon, Jacques and the rest of the X-Communication crew). We packed each days dry goods into a large black containers with menus and the corresponding perishables into cooler boxes with dry ice. Everything was labelled by day with the idea being that whichever team was cooking that day would have detailed menus and all the ingredients at hand. 

Food Prep

One of Kyle's finest moments in this this had to be the design and manufacture of the fantastically simple but ridiculously effective combination braai-oven. Thanks to this we manged to bake many enormous loaves of fresh bread for lunch daily. No mean feat in the middle of the Tankwa! The Russians loved it so much they asked for the designs so as to create their own. 

Kyle's Oven and the delicious Burn Bread

Would we do it this way again? Definitely not. Dry-ice is brutal on fresh produce and doesn't last a full weak. Cooking for 90 people on gas and open flame can test even the most skilled cooks espeically in gale force winds and dust storms.  Next year it will be smaller kitchen groups with each one preparing a meal for 6-8 people once in the week in the communal kitchen.

Despite the lessons I would say  I would say we ate pretty well with everything from borscht courtesy of the Russians, falafels and tahini from the Israelis, Kyle's famous lamb curry potjie, burgers, wors rolls, tons of fruit and fresh bread with lashings of peanut butter and jam. Pretty good for desert cooking I'd say. 

A Pork Revolution - Bannatyne's

As a lover of food, who also happens to be an ecologist and animal lover, sourcing sustainable food that is ethically produced is important to me. One of my biggest struggles is finding pork which is ethically reared. Ironically, it is the pork that I am most fussy about since pigs are highly intelligent and factory farming of pork can be an extremely unpalatable business. Enter Bannatyne's - Hand Reared Pig, producers of artisan pork and charcuterie. 

The Bannatyne Husband and Wife team

We came across this husband and wife team doing a demo at the Good Food and Wine Show and were immediately taken with their passion and energy.The story of Trevor Bannatyne and his wife is point on point with our own dream in terms of the life Kyle and I are working towards. The description on the website sums it up pretty well "From Business Analyst to rural kwaZulu-Natal pig and livestock farmer. My pregnant wife, our baby boy and I packed up the creature comforts of city life to follow our dream of farming & running our own online deli. Our goal is to rear animals ethically and produce the best artisan pork products available".

Learning About Artisan Pork

They started off having bought a small intensive piggery and have been converting to an outdoor piggery (having spoken to a friend of mine who audits pig farms this is by no means a small or easy task). Trevor also explained how for them the traditional roles are reversed, he spends most of his time in the kitchen, while his wife spends her time in the piggery. And, after my brief encounter with them I say this is one women I would trust to love her pigs. They also produce free range lamb, beef and chicken which is an integral part of the piggery as it allows livestock rotation, which in turn allows the land to recover sufficiently from the destructive actions of free range pigs. This is of course, not without its own challenges, as Tevor explained. They once lost 180 chickens to Rooicat!

Dry Cured Bacon

Dry Cured Bacon:

The cooking demonstration was like an artisan pork 101 for us. Trevor explained how to dry cure your own bacon using pork belly in about 10 days. You start by curing the meat in a 3% salt cure by weight. ie. if you have a 1.5kg piece of belly you will use 40g salt and 10g sugar plus if you want a bit of pepper, clove and thyme for flavour. The pork should be placed in a zip lock bag and covered in this mixture making sure to rub it in at the ends. This is placed in the fridge and turned daily for about 2 - 2.5 days before the bacon is hung in a cool, dark place. They have converted an old rondavel on the property, for this purpose, which averages around 14 degrees centigrade throughout the year. You can also smoke it at this point if you wish. Because in this method you are using a dry curie as opposed to the quicker brining process, used by most commercial producers, you not only don't get the wet liquid coming off in the pan (only the fat which renders out) but you also get a lovely cracking from the skin as opposed to the chewy rind typical of bacon in years gone by. 

Just look at that crackling! Bacon + Crackling = Love

Trevor also demonstrated a slow cooked pork belly which had the most amazing texture and pure pork flavour and an usual fennel spiced chorizo sausage, which we both loved!

Fennel Chorizo - Yum!

You can be assured that soon as we have made space in our freezer we will be placing our on-line order for these remarkable Pork products! (visit http://bannatynes.co.za/Products for details on their range and how to order).

Trevor Bannatyne in Action

The (not so) Good Food and Wine Show

I realise this blog is a little bit after the fact but between one thing and another its been a hectic two weeks for the Two Pea's and a Potato Team. Our Potato dog somehow managed to swallow a piece of cow hoof the size of a Pringle chip which lodged itself well and truly in his gut. Needless to say, our silly Potato ended up having surgery and a lengthy (not to mention expensive) hospital stay. The good news is the little guy is now home and rather enjoying the fact he now gets four home cooked meals a day as opposed to his usual kibble. 

But I digress. Last weekend we visited the Joburg edition of the Good Food and Wine Show ("GFWS"). We were excited. Between the promise of great food, wine tasting and celebrity chefs such as, Adriano Zimbo, John Torode and Brent Owens it looked to be a good day out. I had heard mixed reviews in the past of this show but also that it has improved greatly. 

We had decided to Uber to the venue but after waiting 1.5 hours for the surge pricing to drop and then having a driver cancel our trip hoping to take advantage of the again increased surge pricing, we decided the only way we were going to get to the venue was by our own steam. Walking in the doors, a little bit grumpy it must be said, we opted to go do some wine tasting to calm our shattered nerves. This was not a good idea. There were about 10 wine estates present and it seemed like every person in the venue was trying to taste them all at once. The GFWS system is that you are required to purchase a tasting glass and tasting tickets. Each taste costs you a ticket. This means that even if you could get to the front of the lines you would not be able to taste many of the estates. It must be said most of the estates, to their credit were not enforcing this rule strictly. After all you can hardly hope to sell a case of wine to somebody who has not be able to taste it. After battling the lines for about 10 minutes we gave up and opted to rather have a draft from the guys at The Craft Beer Project. With many familiar craft brew names, we were soon watered and on our way to explore the rest of the show. 

The beer that saved us....

One of the first stops was to the Incredible India stand. The stand had a large display of all manner of spices which the stand staff diligently took us through explaining the flavour and uses. It was fascinating, though it was a pity that  we were unable to sample the spices, rather than just look and smell the small display pots. Wandering around we manged to taste a few things here and there before stumbling upon the charming husband and wife team from Stanley's Snails where we learnt about the intricacies of snail husbandry. We also loved the Disaronno Ammeretto Sour jars which keep us from going dry and left us with a set of cute jam jars. The food on sale in general was underwhelming and especially the burrito/soft shelled taco I had from a food truck in the venue whose name I cannot recall.

Learning about spices at Incredible India

Stanley and his charming snails

An underwhelming meal

Our favorite exhibitor of the day, hidden away in a far corner of the show, was the guys from Smoked Flavours. Smoked Flavours produce something they refer to as 'liquid smoke' which allows you to add a smoked flavor to almost any dish using a few drops of the liquid. The liquid is made by distilling the smoke flavour from actual smoke into a concentrated liquid which comes in a variety of wood options, each suited for different dishes or ingredients. The bottles were well priced at R35 each and we have used them a number of times since the show always to great effect. Our smoked ricotta ravioli was particularly delicious. 

Kyle learning about Smoked Flavours Liquid Smoke

There were a number of demo's going on at various paces throughout the venue but it was hard to tell what was being demonstrated where and at what times. We only, by chance, stumbled on the highlight of our day a demonstration at the Slow Food stage by Trevor Bannatynes from Bannatyne's Artisan Pork and Charcuterie which will be the subject of our next blog. Our penultimate stop of the day was to a cooking demonstration by Brent Owens in the chefs theater which we will also discuss in more detail in the next blog. 

Trevor Bannatyne showing off his dry cured bacon

Finally at 7.30pm as the crowds began to thin we decided to try the wine section again. We manged to taste some lovely wines from Alvi's Drift and purchased some of their ADS Chardonnay; which is well wooded and deliciously complex. We were just about to move on when the show organisers announced that the wine exhibitors had to stop all tastings in preparation of the show closing. This was at 7.45pm and the published close of the show was 8pm. This was less than ideal as we had planned our day around coming back to the wines after the cooking demo's and had based this on the fact the show only closed at 8pm. 

Brent Owens Cooking Demo

All in all we had a good time but I probably would not go again. At R155 per person with tasting tickets and R200 for chefs theater tickets (45 minute demo) it was an expensive day out that felt more like attending a trade show than a festival of good food and wine. 

Cafe Del Sol Classico

My first experience of Cafe Del Sol in celebration of my friend Jadene's 30th. The party was held at the Landmark Bar which forms part of Cafe Del Sol Botanico in Bryanston. The cocktails menu was as long as it was delicious and the bruschetta, truffle popcorn and other snacks were a tantalising hint at the potential delights of the main menu. I will admit to taking out a beautiful Le Cruset pot plant with my ever expanding rear after maybe a touch too much festive cheer but then I probably would have done the same without any festive cheer knowing my clumsy ways. 

 Kyle and I have been keen to go back to where it all started at the Olivedale Branch or Cafe Del Sol Classico as it is now known. Getting a booking, however ,is no easy task; especially, if like us, you tend to follow your cravings rather than plan eating out well in advance. In a stroke of luck, on Friday, Jadene (who incidentally is friends with the owners and an ardent fan) managed to secure a last minute booking for four of us at Classico. 

Right off the bat we were impressed with the comprehensive wine list which is a nice mix of local and imported wines and includes both value for money and small batch boutique wines. As it was an unusually wet winter evening, we opted for dark and fruity Paul Wallace 'Black Dog Malbec' out of Elgin and a Beyerskloof Reserve Pinotage, both of which we really enjoyed. 

Dinner Delights - Pictures by Jadene Tager

My favourite dish of the evening was the Porchini Risotto which was deep and earthy; laced with the decadent flavour of truffle oil. We also enjoyed the Ameretto Semifrodo and the Chocolate Tart (both pictured above). Kyle and I shared a starter of ravioli filled with butternut and amaretti biscuit in a creamy walnut sauce. We felt this dish lacked balance but this was remedied with a sprinkling of salt. I must note that the manager, Jaques, did advise that he preferred the ravioli with a burnt butter sage sauce (not the standard sauce but available on request) which probably would have given the dish the balance we missed. 

Speaking of Jaques, we were very impressed by his attentiveness and passion. At one point he invited me over to the kitchen, where I was taken through a tasting of some of the sauces which was a lovely personal experience and a great chance to experience more of the menu. In fact all of the staff,  and the service in general, were outstanding. 

Overall we had a great evening with lovely company and a great start to our newly formed (after the second glass of wine) supper club.

Uber Delicious

We love Uber. Especially when we have have been wine 'tasting' a bit enthusiastically... We also love ice-cream. Even more so when it is as good as Pauls Home Made Ice Cream. So when it was announced that Uber would be delivering tubs of Paul's homemade around Jozi, in their international #UberIceCream promotion, we were excited. 

Not that I needed an excuse, but since it was one of the girls birthdays, an ice-cream delivery seemed like the best way to celebrate. Joburg may have been cold and grey but the demand was high! At 11am when the promo started it seemed like everyone in SA was trying to secure a delivery .After some frantic refreshing of my Uber app and a dose of mild panic, I manged to secure ours. Before long the little blue ice-cream icon could be seen as making its way across my screen towards our location. 

The Uber Ice Cream "truck"

Delicious Delivery

Ice Cream Excitement

For our R80 we received 4 tubs: Dulce De Leche, Roasted Banana, Milk Chocolate and Cookies and Cream. The roasted banana, which literally tastes like fried banana, was my stand-out favourite! 

What an Uber delicious idea...

Ice Cream Wisdom

The Birthday Girl 

Two Peas in Heaven - DW11-13 Review

I like to think only the best people are born on July 18 (Mandela being the prime example). Since I too am born on this day, this weekend was all about birthday celebrations in the Two Peas household. 

On Friday Kyle booked us a table at the fabulous DW 11-13 by Marthinus Ferriera. This restaurant, which has been on top of our dining out wish list for some time, describes itself  as offering a  "unique experience through experimental cuisine"and is regularly cited as one of the top restaurants in South Africa. DW 11-13 is located in the Dunkled West shopping Centre in  shops 11-13, which goes some way to explain the name, but apparently it is also a play on South West London postcode and Gordon Ramsay’s Boxwood Cafe where Ferriera once worked. 

Arriving at the restaurant we were greeted and showed to our seats by the hostess, a friendly and impassioned lady named Robin. Having agonised for days about whether we wanted to order a wide section off the A La Carte Menu and share everything or try the tasting menu, we arrived still unsure of which one we wanted to do. The tasting menu with wine pairing comes in at a sizeable R950 per person, while we estimated a starter, main and dessert with a bottle of wine to share would cost us in the region of R650 per person. In the end following the ardent urging of the hostess, and on the basis that we had wanted to really experience the restaurant, we opted for the tasting menu. 

We where not disappointed. The 6 course tasting menu (really 7.5 if you include the sorbet, amuse bouche and pre-desserts served between courses) was not only outstanding but also generous. Both the DW 11-13 food portions and wine pairings were perfectly sized to enabled us to taste a variety of bites and flavours without being left feeling like we needed to look for the nearest drive through on the way home. 

The stand out savoury dish for us was undoubtedly, and much to our surprise, the vegetarian,  'Polenta, cauliflower espuma, sultanas, pine nuts, kale and brown butter'. This dish was delishiously balanced by the contrast of the creamy texture of the cauliflower with crispy kale and the saltiness of the brown butter with the sweetness of the sultanas. I wish I could say we got a picture before we tucked in but unfortunately I only remembered halfway through. This course was paired with what was also our favourite wine of the evening an Oak Valley  Mountain Reserve White Blend. 

What remained of my 'Polenta, cauliflower espuma,
sultanas, pine nuts, kale and brown butter' when I
remembered to photograph it.

Kyle absolutely loved the 'Springbok, dauphinoise, beetroot, blackcurrant ketchup and parsnip purée, spiced jus' but I, being rather sensitive to pepper, found the spicing of the on the springbok a bit overpowering and was unable to really enjoy any of the other flavours on the dish which was a pity. 

For me the 'Karoo stilton ice cream, walnuts, port gel, melon compote, puff disc and celery' was the most exciting dish of the day due to the creamy sharpness of the Karoo stilton ice-cream. Kyle thought the ice-cream didn't have enough stilton flavour when eaten alone but worked with the dish as a whole. 

Overall it was the details that made the DW11-13 experience exceptional. We loved the subtle South African theme to the décor and the way this linked to both the food and the plating. We also loved how knowledgeable and attentive all the waiting and hosting staff were and that they made us feel right at home.

DW 11-13's subtle South African themed décor