Cape chefs to share all in Joburg City Hall showcase
AN ANNUAL celebration of cuisine and art that raises millions for charity is moving to the Johannesburg City Hall from the Cape Town City Hall, where it has been held for several years – but the Mother City will be fully represented.
Top chefs from leading Cape Town hotels like the Mount Nelson and Table Bay and wine estates like Vergelegen will be giving some of their time to Chefs Who Share – The ART of Giving, while artists are contributing pieces for auction on the gala night.
Chefs Who Share co-founder and trustee Barbara Lenhard says: “It promises to be a culinary and creative showcase that will take Joburg by storm.”
The line-up of culinary talents includes Reto Mathis from Switzerland, Indian Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia, who lives in the UK, Anton Schmaus from Germany, and Vincent Rodier from Mauritius.
Chefs Who Share is planning a week of events in Joburg next month that will include a young chefs competition and feeding the needy.
These will culminate in a black-tie Grand Gala on September 24.
Working in seven teams, the 14 chefs will create bespoke meals for 252 guests. The menus will be paired with wines selected by seven sommeliers.
Among the beneficiaries is The Veggie Box Initiative, which provides meals for chil- dren and helps to create sustainable vegetable gardens in underprivileged communities.
Chefs Who Share ambassador Rudi Liebenberg is the executive chef at the Mount Nelson Hotel, where he has worked for seven years. He has been with Chefs Who Share from its inception in 2013.
He hopes Gauteng will haul in more in donations.
The week begins with an art preview cocktail evening on September 19 at The Maslow in Sandton.
On September 20 there will be a Dom Perignon dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff with the executive chef, Dirk Gieselmann, and Bhatia.
On September 21, a Moët & Chandon dinner at The Maslow will feature participating chefs. On September 22, a Ruinart Blanc dinner will be presented at the Saxon Hotel Villas & Spa by Candice Philip and Mathis.
September 23 is a volunteering day, with the chefs cooking for a community project.
The week ends with the city hall gala dinner, tickets for which are priced at R3 000.
Although the menu has not been finalised for the gala, Liebenberg says it will include seafood starters, pastas, a protein main course, and chocolate desserts.
Veronica Canha-Hibbert, who works at the Ellerman House in Bantry Bay, says she has signed up for Chefs Who Share as The Click Foundation is one of the beneficiaries.
“The foundation is help- ing underprivileged children to learn to read and write in English using computer programmes.
“As the executive chef at Ellerman House I have been involved with The Click Foundation since 2012 as our annual charity is ArtAngels, an evening of art and food to raise funds for the foundation.”
Canha-Hibbert is in a team with Gieselman and sommelier Manuel Capello.
“We are definitely focused on sharing. We are doing a crayfish starter that Dirk has designed. I am using mushrooms from Nouvelle Mushrooms to make a mushroom consommé for the soup course. We are working out the kinks for our duck dish.”
Their dessert will be nine small individual dishes.
Jocelyn Myers-Adams, the executive chef at The Table Bay Hotel, says events like these help shape the profiles of chefs.
For her team’s menu, she will be using foraged ingredients, something she takes seriously when designing menus for the hotel’s Camissa Brassiere restaurant.
She is looking forward to working with chef Ronald Ramsamy from Sun International on the Moët pairing at The Maslow.
Also big on foraging is participating chef Michael Cooke from the Camphors restaurant at Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West. He will be working with Chris Erasmus of Foliage in Franschhoek.
For more infor mation about Chefs Who Share – The ART of Giving 2016, see: www. chefswhoshare.com. For ticket sales and/or inquiries, e-mail tickets@chefswhoshare.com