Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Beat the heat with an icy sorbet
Savour some delicious sorbet and learn how to make magic macaroons with top chefs who will reveal their summer secrets
WITH hot temperatures on the way, what better way to cool off than with refreshing sorbet.
The 15 on Orange Hotel is sharing a few of their gourmet secrets this summer.
Chefs of their Savour Restaurant are sharing sorbet and macaroon recipes in new demonstration workshops they are hosting in their posh penthouses.
The package costs R195 a person and can be booked for groups of four to 12.
To boot, you walk away with the goods and recipes of how to makes them at home without costly machines.
The interactive workshop lasts about five hours, but The Good Weekend participated in a condensed version as guests of the hotel. Executive chef Sanel Esterhuyse and pastry chef Retha Thorpe are the friendly duo who conduct the demos. Although our group did not make as much sorbet as we tasted, they promise that future groups will get to be more hands on.
Esterhuyse says, “We will hold them in the afternoon. Between 3pm and 6pm not much happens.”
The desserts can be built into a three course meal of lunch or dinner, as part of a dessert course. For example, we tried raspberry and Pimms granita with champagne poured over it, creating an edgy cocktail.
“We want to keep the atmosphere sociable and interactive. This is not a class or a lecture. We will demonstrate and you will be able to assist us. We will set up little work stations,” she says.
The hotel made a very specificied move in selecting these desserts.
“We chose sorbet because of summer coming up and macaroons because they are fashionable. These are fun to make and people think they are difficult,” she says.
Over the duration of the workshop, they shared these recipes with us, demonstrating different textures of frozen fun. Ingredients ● 20 ripe granadillas ● 300g castor sugar ● 30ml water ● 4tbs lemon juice ● 2 egg whites – lightly beaten Instructions Cut the passion fruit in half and scrape out the inside. Pour into a pot and bring to boil. Strain. To create a syrup bring the sugar, water and lemon juice to the boil. Leave to cool down. Mix the passion fruit puree and the stock syrup together. Fold in egg whites and churn in an ice cream machine.