#FoodFact: There are over 500 different types of bananas

US Study: Discrimination in Restaurants by Waiters

Survey results showed that 38.5 percent of servers reported that customers' race informed their level of service at least some of the time, often resulting in providing inferior service to African-American customers. [read more]

One in seven people in the U.S. gets food stamps

Forty-five million people – that's one in seven living in the United States – received food stamps last year. That's a 70% increase from 2007, according to a shocking new report by the Congressional Budget Office. [read more]

KFC sued over dodgy chicken

An Australian girl who suffered severe brain damage and was left paralysed by food poisoning won a court case against fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken, in a judgment published on Saturday. [read more]

Food poisoning at Eastern Cape School

Ambulances were bringing 67 children with suspected food poisoning from Chintsa to medical facilities in East London on Saturday afternoon, Eastern Cape health authorities said. [read more]

Are you bored of having the same type of breakfast every day? Then why not try something different this weekend! Book a table at Keenwa and try a traditional Peruvian breakfast.

The Peruvian breakfast special happens on the last Saturday of every month and starts at 10:30. You will need to book a table in order to ensure that there is enough food for everyone. Keenwa serves traditional Sandwich de Chicharron, (pork slowly cooked on it's own fat sliced and served in a Portuguese roll with sliced fried sweet pot`to and red onion sauce) Feta cheese and black olives sandwich, Tamales (paste made of corn stuffed with chicken or feta cheese), Quinoa Müesli with Lucuma Yougurt, fruit juices etc.

Directions to Keenwa
50 Waterkant Street
Cape Town
8001

Telephone :
021 419 2633

Make your way to the annual Riebeek Valley Olive Festival. These quaint little towns come alive as they showcase the best they have to offer in food, wine and olives.

The Olive Festival focuses on this popular fruit during this time, showcasing the diversity of olives. Visitors to the Olive Emporium can stock up on a wide selection of olives, olive oils, preserves, tapenades and a selection of olive-based beauty products.

read more inside

I bought Café Paradiso! Yay! It’s mine! I am converting it back into a house and I shall live in it, very happily, for many years to come. 

That’s what I dreamt about after going there for dinner. From the moment I set foot in the restaurant I fell in love with it completely. The outdoor garden area has a beautiful water feature and on cold nights, fire displays, the rustic interior is decorated lovingly and the little upstairs balcony over-looking kloof street, is one of the cutest spots I have seen in some time.

We settled ourselves down next to the cozy fireplace upstairs, ordered a bottle of delicious, Kanonkop Kadette 2010 and I announced to my friends, “this is a happy place”.

read more inside

It’s the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and the History Channel on DSTV has dedicated several hours to documentaries about that tragic day for the past few weeks. Some historians and experts were trying to analyse and understand the wreckage to trace the events that occurred between hitting the iceberg and the ship landing at the bottom of the ocean, while other shows were trying to finally put common misconceptions and conspiracy theories to bed. As it turns out, the sinking of the Titanic wasn’t as dramatic as James Cameron makes it out to be in his epic big screen version (which you are now also able to see in stunning 3D at Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor).

A few months ago, we had a feature on our blog asking about #yourlastmeal if you knew the world was to end tomorrow. We received many suggestions and placed them all onto our Pinterest page – have a look! While it may have been fun to plan our last meal, I doubt the passengers on the Titanic knew that the dinner they had on the 14^th April 1912 would be their last meal.

read more inside

Thursday, the 19th of April

#FoodFact: Blueberries are a good source of Vitamin C and fiber.

Wine Prices on the Up!

U.S. consumers are going to be faced with a choice this year: pay more for a bottle of domestic wine, settle for lower quality, or buy cheaper imports, the Silicon Valley Bank forecast on Tuesday. [read more]

Manager forced to serve 'expired chicken' at KFC

The term "green chicken" is pretty stomach-turning, especially when you learn it might have been purposely served to customers at an Oregon KFC, according to a lawsuit filed this week. [read more]

Christians fight SA religious food labels

A Christian voluntary organisation is taking the government to court over its new regulations allowing a wide range of food packaging to be religiously certified and to carry religious signs, such as the halaal certification mark, without regulating the labelling. [read more]

North Korea defiant as US cancels food assistance

North Korea broke off an agreement to halt testing of nuclear devices and long-range missiles after the United States cancelled food assistance to the totalitarian regime following last week's botched rocket launch. [read more]

I am not made of money so I love me a good deal. Bring on the 2-for-1, the half-price and the winter-specials. However, one day I plan on being a multi-gapillionaire and when I am, it’s this section of my BucketList that I will refer to.

The Pricy Ones

1.       Watermelon

No ordinary watermelon, the Dansuke is perfectly round and pure black. It is grown exclusively on Japanese island, Hokkaido, which only yields about 100 of these bad boys a year, each of which sells for around R48, 000. It is allegedly the sweetest, juiciest melon around and has a crisp and light texture. Whether or not it’s worth R48, 000 I am not sure, but rich Kayli definitely wants to try a slice.

Source: Inquisitr

2.       Caviar

Ya, ya caviar is expensive, everyone knows that. What everyone doesn’t know is just how expensive it can get. Almas caviar, which is Persian for diamond, is the rarest type of Beluga caviar available. Taken from an Iranian centennial female sturgeon, which is a minimum of 100 years old, this pearly white fish roe reaches almost R200, 000 per kilogram. Caviar House & Prunier in London sells the magical stuff in a 24-karat gold tin – they really don’t play games.

Source: Toptenz

read more inside

On Sunday, a few of us got together to have dinner and afterwards play a bit of Nintendo Wii & 30 Seconds. Our host made a few traditional Bulgarian dishes while everyone else brought a little something as well. In the end, we were around 10 people with enough food to feed an entire football team and the reserves. It goes without saying: I was very very happy! =)

I wanted to make something light but most importantly something that is quick & easy. I came across a post for Saucy Asian Meatballs on Gimme Some Oven. Without actually looking at the recipe – I decided to make these. (I was pretty much won over by the pictures). However, I had to change the recipe a little due to constraints on ingredients and practicality. The original recipe asked for ginger (which I didn’t have) and it didn’t call for any salt or pepper at all. So I pretty much had flavour-less meat balls after the first try. After adding a fair amount of pepper & garlic, salt and coriander powder, the 2nd batch was a vast improvement. Also, if you like eating raw meatballs you can follow the recommended cooking time on the original recipe. I had to keep them in the oven for 15 - 18 minutes.

Ingredients for the Meatballs

• 800g ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons garlic
• thinly sliced green onions
• Breadcrumbs
• salt
• pepper
• coriander powder

Preheat the oven at 200C and combine the ingredients above. Use as many cups of breadcrumbs until you are able to shape balls with the mixture without it falling apart. Add as much salt & pepper to your liking to the mixture. Place the balls on a greased baking sheet and bake for 15 -18 minutes.

Ingredients for the Sauce

I must admit, I did cheat a bit making the sauce. I didn’t have most of the ingredients that were placed on the original recipe. I did however have Royco Sweet & Sour Sauce – just add boiling water, whisk a bit and it’s done. I also added:

• 1 tablespoon of Macadamia Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce

Friday, the 13th of April

#FoodFact: Eating Cabbage brings good Fortune. Happy Friday, the 13th!

Jamie Oliver Foundation Announces Inaugural Food Revolution Day

The Jamie Oliver Foundation is announcing its first-ever Food Revolution Day, a global day of action to inspire, educate, and empower people everywhere to stand up for real food. Thousands of people worldwide will participate in events to raise awareness on preventing diet-related diseases, and to arm people with the knowledge and tools to make healthier food choices. [read more]

The Best Lines From Food Blogging For Dummies

On April 17th, Wiley Publishing will foist upon the masses Food Blogging For Dummies. The author, Kelly Senyei, runs the blog Just A Taste and works at Gourmet Live. [read more]

McDonald’s restaurants raise money to help sick Children and their Families
Two McDonald’s restaurants in Perris raised more money to help sick children and their families than any of the other 650 franchises in Southern California. [read more]

Fast Food’s Slow Exit From Hospitals

On one side of a wall inside the Truman Medical Center cafeteria in Kansas City, Mo., the menu features low-calorie, low-fat and low-sodium meals. On the other side of the wall is a McDonald’s, featuring hamburgers and french fries. [read more]

Bucketlists, like New Years resolutions, are things I have never been very good at sticking with. I forget about them, get over them, or realise that they make no significant difference to my life and decide to focus on something else that interests me more. Until now. Now I have a mission. It’s a mission with focus. Why is it so focused you may ask? Well, its something I care very deeply about.

Food

So here is the start of my food bucketlist. I am going to find things online, in recipe books and in my brain so over the new few months we’ll have a grand total of 100 items that I want to eat before I die. Here are the weird ones.

1.       Heart.

I started with something I’ve had before so that I can already tick off number 1. I’m not talking cobra, lion or camel heart – just a good old cow. Beefy and chewy, but if cooked well heart isn’t tough at all. I had an amazing beef heart kebab, called Anticucho, at local restaurant Keenwa. The gamey’ness of the beef works perfectly with the smokiness it gets from the fire it is grilled on.

Source: SeriousEats

by FoodBlogCT

Find the entire list inside

Pick n Pay Taste of Cape Town in association with Orbit Sugarfree Chewing Gum celebrates its 5^th birthday in Cape Town with fun, food and fabulosity galore.

Your tastebuds will be treated to a 5-star experience at this year’s Taste of Cape Town at the Green Point Cricket Oval from 19 – 22 April. This gourmet event allows the public to nibble their way around fourteen of the city’s top restaurants at each Taste session.

The premise is quite simple: Cape Town’s finest chefs line up to showcase their culinary prowess with tantalizing signature dishes. All you have to do is hop from one to the other, sample the best cuisine the city has to offer, all while sipping on superb wines and cocktails. There are plenty of interactive food and liquor classes to attend and foodie folk to meet and greet.

The Festival showcases fourteen of Cape Town’s top restaurants and chefs, who have been tasked to serve the fabulous trend-setting signature dishes that have made them famous.

The impressive list of restaurants and their world class chefs guarantee that there will be something sensational for every palate. The list includes the following restaurants:

• Azure Restaurant at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa – Executive chef Henrico Grobbelaar
• Bistro Sixteen82 – Executive chef Brad Ball
• II Leone Mastrantonio – Daniel Toledo
• Fyndraai Restaurant – Shaun Schoeman
• La Colombe – Head chef Scot Kirton
• Makaron at Majeka House – Head chef Tanja Kruger
• Planet Bar & Restaurant - Executive chef Rudi Liebenberg
• Signal Restaurant at Cape Grace – Executive chef Malika Van Reenen
• Sofia’s @Morgenster & Overture – Chef/patron Craig Cormack & Chef/patron Bertus Basson
• Taj Cape Town – Executive chef Shyam Longani
• Savour Restaurant at 15 on Orange Hotel – Executive chef Sanel Esterhuyse
• 96 Winery Road – Executive chef Natasha Wray
• The Westin Executive Club Restaurant – Chef de Cuisine Johann Breedt
• Taste Pop Up Restaurant – featuring guest chefs the likes of Luke Dale Roberts - The Pot Luck Club, George Jardine - Jordan, Richard Carstens –Tokara Restaurant

Win Tickets to Taste of Cape Town 2012

Thursday, the 5th of April

#FoodFact: The typical American eats 263 eggs a year.

Deregulating sale of blowfish 'is putting lives at risk'

It's ugly, expensive and poisonous enough to induce respiratory paralysis and death, but the blowfish has long been one of the more desirable items on Japanese seafood menus. [read more]

How banks gamble on food prices – and the poor lose out

Investment in food commodities by banks and hedge funds has risen from $65bn to $126bn (£41bn to £79bn) in the past five years, helping to push prices to 30-year highs and causing sharp price fluctuations that have little to do with the actual supply of food. [read more]

Mary J. Blige Burger King Ad Pulled

Burger King has yanked an ad featuring the R&B superstar singing the praises of the fast-food chain's new chicken snack wraps after critics in the African-American community complained it was playing off racist stereotypes. [read more]

McDonald's Previews Sustainability Actions for London Olympics

McDonald's Corporation today announced its support of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games' (LOCOG's) vision to deliver the most sustainable Games possible.[read more]

Dates

Thurday 19 April 18h30 – 22h30

Friday 20 April 18h30 – 22h30

Saturday 21 April 13h00 – 17h00

Sunday 22 April 12h00 – 17h00

On these dates, several of Cape Town’s best restaurants will create special menus to present their signature dishes in starter sized portions. These can be bought with Crowns – the currency used at the Taste of Cape Town festival. Crowns can be purchased along with your ticket or directly from sellers at the event. Each crown is equivalent to R5 while prices for each dish range from four to eight Crowns.

I’ve been to the Taste of CT festival twice – in 2010 & 2011. And I can’t wait to sample more dishes this year. The restaurants that will be attending this year’s Taste of Cape Town have been listed below. A number of small producers and exhibitors will also be on showcase.

Restaurants

• Azure Restaurant at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa
• Bistro Sixteen82
• II Leone Mastrantonio
• Fyndraai Restaurant
• La Colombe
• Makaron at Majeka House
• Planet Bar & Restaurant
• Signal Restaurant at Cape Grace
• Sofia’s @Morgenster & Overture
• Taj Cape Town
• Savour Restaurant at 15 on Orange Hotel
• 96 Winery Road
• The Westin Executive Club Restaurant
• Taste Pop Up Restaurant – featuring guest chefs the likes of Luke Dale Roberts - The Pot Luck Club, George Jardine - Jordan, Richard Carstens –Tokara Restaurant

Tickets

R80 Standard

Entrance to the festival and includes a tasting glass

R200 Premium

Entrance to the festival and includes a tasting glass and R120 worth of Crowns (The official currency of Taste of Cape Town)

You can also purchase tickets for the Taste Clubhouse Experience while a Corporate Hospitality ticket is also available. These cost R685 and R750 respectively. Head over to iTickets to purchase your Taste of Cape Town 2012 tickets now

6 course tasting Menu R165 | with wines R330

(more info about the La Mouette restaurant)

Truffle and cheese croquette smoked tomato aioli

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Butternut squash raviolis sage brown butter and shaved pecorino

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Roasted line fish chick pea, tomato and baby spinach ragout

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Confit shoulder of beef sweet corn polenta, tomato and feta gremoulata

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Warm choux pastry doughnut lemon curd and coffee Chantilly

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‘Chocolate orange’ macaroon, chocolate financier, orange puree, marmelade ice cream and cointreau syrup

Asoka Bar brings you a series of sensational nights of live music to feature Sylvestre Kabassidi.

Sylvestre Kabassidi is a rebel with a sensitive soul whose music breaks stereotypes and takes African song into a new dimension. Armed with acoustic guitar and accompanied by percussion and rich vocals, Sylvestre is part of a quiet revolution in African music that is passionate, classic, and expressive.

Representing the new generation of African artists whose music emphasizes fragile melodies and poetic lyrics, his music is cosmopolitan, yet rooted in tradition, simple in arrangement, but rich in sentiments.

The setting, Asoka, an elegant Victorian Town House transformed into a modern cocktail lounge that oozes comfort and relaxation. Feel at home as you indulge in delectable tapas, mouth watering cocktails and the soothing sounds of Sylvestre Kabassidi’s music.

Join Asoka for a guaranteed great Monday dining experience.

Sylverstr Kabassidi will perform every Monday night in April starting on April 2^nd 2012.

To avoid disappointment, call or info us for a table reservation:

Everyone who has read my Aqua reviews (yes, I wrote two), knows how much I love Terry Zhou’s sushi. The restaurant itself may not have been run all that well, but you could never fault it on the quality, range and inventiveness of the sushi.

But then Aqua closed down. The night I found out I honestly felt a sense of loss – ‘kinda like when Spur stopped The Salad Valley. I loved Salad Valley.

But then last week I got a message. A message that inspired such happiness, I could barely contain myself. TERRY IS WORKING AGAIN.

SushiBox. An ickle little restaurant in Newlands, giving the peeps of the Southern suburbs an alternative to try out, and making the old favourites of the ‘burbs quake in their chef’s hats.

Read more inside

Onion Challenge

Whisking Challenge

Potato Challenge

Overall Show

The Riebeek Valley Mediterranean Festival or MedFest is an annual event presenting the unique culinary lifestyle of the Mediterranean and samples its tapestry of tastes and flavours. All the venues and restaurants of the twin towns of Riebeek Kasteel and Riebeek Wes participate, each representing the culture and cuisine of an Meditiranian country over the duration of the festival. Live music, wine tastings, markets and party nights are only some of what is on offer.

This year Bar Bar Black Sheep will represent Spain in the 4th annual Riebeek Valley Medfest 2012. [menu]

Solo Flamenco Dance Co. will be performing Spanish Flamenco at its best with 5 dancers, guitarist and vocalist, 9Pm Saturday the 31st of March - R80.00 cover charge per guest will be added to the food bill.

Booking is essential as Bar Bar Black Sheep have limited restaurant seating available but lots of standing space for non restaurant goers.

Join for a bit of a dance in Short Street afterwards to celebrate the Mediterranean!

Directions to Bar Bar Black Sheep

Phone 0224481031.
Email bbbs@telkomsa.net
Website http://www.bbbs.co.za/

The Ribeek valley is an easy 60 min drive north west from Cape Town on the N7
Visit http://www.bbbs.co.za/page6.html for a map