Delicious handcrafted food was served at Christopher Duigan’s Pop Up Table yesterday evening in Pietermaritzburg. Concert pianist Christopher orchestrated a wonderful evening, full of warmth and special appreciation for the earth’s produce. The theme of the evening was Banting, Science and Art.
Banting Lifestyle
Professor Barry Lovegrove shared his experience of the Banting lifestyle and spoke about how the Low Carb High Fat movement is challenging the thinking of established dietary expertise in this instance in Sweden. The University of Gothenburg’s Andreas Gunnarsson and Mark Elam submitted an article to Science as Culture entitled “Food Fight! The Swedish Low-Carb/High Fat (LCHF) Movement and the Turning of Science Popularisation Against the Scientists”.
In their abstract they believe that the LCHF movement has been able to fashion science popularization into a weapon capable of being turned back upon established dietary expertise in Sweden. We’ve seen in South Africa’s social media how personal testimonies and endorsements of dieters in the public domain confirms the authenticity and trustworthiness of the LCHF regimen.
In South Africa where 25% of the population have metabolic syndrome (i.e. are insulin resistant) and a further 8% have type 2 diabetes, people with both conditions should seriously consider the Low Carbohydrate High Fat diet.
Bouchard Finlayson Wines
The Pop Up dinner was paired with Bouchard Finlayson winesn. Winery owner, Peter Finlayson is renowned as South Africa’s pioneer of the Pinot noir grape. The vineyard is located 120km south east of Cape Town in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in Walker Bay. The semi Mediterranean climate of the region is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean making it ideal for the Pinot noir grape varietal.
Host and concert pianist, Christopher Duigan set the tone of the evening by playing a beautiful piano piece by George Frideric Handel entitled Chaconne.
Bouchard Finlayson’s representative in KwaZulu-Natal, Tony Kee served the Blanc de Mer as the welcome drink. This dry white blend of Weisser Riesling, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc had a delicious fragrant nose and is made as an easy drinking style of white wine.
The amuse bouche comprised a colourful and tasty platter of crudités with an artichoke mousse and bite-sized pieces of unpasturised cow’s milk cheese. MJ Mook, cheesemaker extraordinaire originally hails from the Netherlands. MJ can be found at the Karkloof Farmers’ Market every Saturday morning. The whole milk used to produce the cheese comes from a neighbouring farm that has a mixed herd of Frisian and Jersey cows.
Langoustine Bisque – a Labout of Love
The first course, a langoustine bisque was a labour of love. Chef Jonty Nicolson of Nicolson’s Country Café in Hilton took 12 kgs of langoustine shells, included a mirepoix of diced carrot, onion and celery, sautéed the whole and then added butter, fresh cream, brandy and a little white wine. The 80 litre stock was reduced down to 4 litres.
The rich and velvety langoustine bisque was ideally paired with the Bouchard Finlayson Sauvignon Blanc. South Africans enjoy the Sauvignon Blanc grape and Bouchard Finlayson’s wine has a crisp and clear green apple flavor. This white wine is a perfect match with seafood, fish, sushi as well as vegetarian dishes.
Main course – a Trio of Duck
For the main course, Chef Kayla-Ann Osborn of Trafford’s Restaurant served a trio of duck. The duck breast had been marinated in a cherry tobacco tea, the duck liver parfait was topped with a cherry tobacco gel and the duck rillettes completed the trio. The Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak Pinot noir was paired with the duck and its aromas of raspberry, cherry, flowers and spices perfectly complemented the trio of duck.
Owner and Maître d’of Trafford’s Restaurant and Heritage Guest House in Pietermaritzburg, Penny Hatting has been in the food industry since qualifying from the Christina Martin Cookery School.
The cheese course was paired with the Bouchard Finlayson red blend called Hannibal. The wine comprises of some Italian grape varieties Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Barbera as well as Pinot noir, Mourvedre and Shiraz. Hannibal is a superb wine with firm tannins and hints of red cherry and flowers on the nose. This rounded off the Pop Up Table evening wonderfully hosted by Christopher Duigan where the Banting/ Low Carb High Fat regimen was hotly debated.
