Wining, dining experience elevated to work of art
Passion shines through in perfect pairing
Lunches hosted by celebrity chefs to showcase their latest menus are never quite geared at guests with an appetite as tiny as a bird’s kidney.
In fact, such luncheons can be something of a serious gluttonous affair fit for kings and queens with no worries about developing a layer of lard around their waists at the end.
Yet, weight-conscious sensibilities aside, what would the world of dining and wining be without the passion and art that goes into creating gourmet menus paired with fine wines.
Few venues boast a combination of superb location, sophistication and glitz, along with a wining and dining experience which pampers diners to dizzy heights.
One such place is Southern Sun Hyde Park Hotel, home to the elegant Lucé restaurant and champagne bar with spectacular views overlooking Sandton and distant horizons of Johannesburg.
Executive chef Gareth Jordaan has turned the restaurant into a food theatre, with just about every dish he serves a portrait of his culinary wizardry. All meals are crafted to tantalise the eye first before feeding the soul.
As always, the success of a dining experience depends on the chemistry between chef and sommelier, a wine adviser armed with knowledge of both food and wine. And, thankfully sommelier Miguel Chan, whose job it is to advise both the hotel group and diners about which wines go along with what food – and vice versa – sings from the same hymn book with Jordaan at Lucé.
The other day, both turned what could have been the mundane act of feeding one’s face into a sublime example of the art of dining while showcasing the virtues of a perfect pairing.
Like a boy rejoicing over his toys, Chan has been happy to show off the treasure trove of the country’s superlative exclusive wines bought at two auctions last year. The wines are exclusively served at Tsogo Sun’s more than 90 hotels and 14 casinos in South Africa, some destinations on the continent as well as the Seychelles and Abu Dhabi.
“The wines in our portfolio prove how well South African white cultivars age. A perfect example is the Nederburg Private Bin D 252 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011, a sixyear-old white wine that has aged to perfection,” said Chan.
Jordaan said he enjoyed the challenge of pairing food with wine because “you start off without a plan and create your dishes around ingredients that bring out the flavours in the wine”.
The most memorable combination of the exercise was the Stellenrust Chenin Blanc 2012 served with panco-crusted prawn and ginger peach dipping sauce. It is equally matched by a pairing of Nederburg Private Bin R 181 Merlot 2006 with duck liver paté, cinnamon and merlot jelly, coffee foam and pickled walnut. When a meal has richly dazzled the palate, left the appetite sated and truly fed the soul, bows are quite in order to close the curtains of a hallowed food theatre.