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SPECIAL EVENTS
SA Cheese Festival
Venue: Bien Donné farm, between Paarl and
Franschhoek. Tel: (021) 975 4440.
Time: Fri, Sat and Sun: 10:00am - 6:00pm; Mon: 10:00am to 5:00pm.
Price: R65 - R110
Performances: 24 - 27 Apr 2009
Genre: Festival
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Cheese has become an indispensable part of culinary
enjoyment, conjuring images of green pastures, down to earth craftsmanship
and leisurely delight. At this year’s SA Cheese Festival, the most ever
new small cheeseries will entice visitors with a multitude of handcrafted
and innovative cheeses. Cheese makers, those who cook with cheese and
other lovers of this noble fare are sure to convert those who still shy
away from experimenting with and enjoying the wide variety of cheeses that
South Africa has to offer.
Be on the lookout for interesting cheeses such as Barbeque
Feta, flavoured with spices and not the traditional herbs; a Yael -
(Hebrew for goat) that is aged in grape skins and pips and Clairevaux’s
red wine; goat’s milk cheese with chocolate, grappa and nut, or cheeses
with green pepper corns or pecan nut.
Although nothing matches the pleasure derived from a well
thought through cheese board, cheese has shown its prowess as starter,
main and dessert. Checkers, the Festival’s main sponsor, has brought
various gastronomic champions on board, such as the illustrious Nataniël
and Jenny Morris, better known as the Giggling Gourmet, to share with
visitors their diverse approach to cheese. Jenny will also dish up with
the products of Willow Creek Olive Estate. Free tickets to Nataniël’s
demonstrations will be available before the shows from the Checkers stall
next to the Cooking Pot. The French Pavilion, where visitors can nibble on
our local cheeses’ ancestors, will enable two lucky cheese lovers a trip
to Normandy. The competition will be run from their stand and the prize
includes two return tickets to France.
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At the same time chefs Peter Goffe-Wood and Craig Cormac
will cook up a storm in the ever popular Cooking Pot with cheese, its
culinary partners and wine. Renowned chef George Jardine, 2008 Unilever SA
Chef of the Year and owner of award-winning Jardine Restaurant in Cape
Town will sip on a glass of Beyerskloof wine while conjuring interesting
meals with traditional Italian Mozzarella made from the milk of water
buffalo. Rebecca Hurst of the The Cullinary Academy
will cook with products from Pesto Princess and fans of the lovely Minki
Visser will be able to see her behind the stove in a demonstration with
Welmoed wines.
Bien Donné farm between Paarl and Franschhoek again plays
host to this ultimate family festival where children will make sure that
parents linger longer. Wilde Fruit Juices Kiddies Corner on the Gourmet
lawn will cater for the small kids with face painting, organised games,
clowns and activity areas for clay and bead projects.
On the Dairy Square teenagers can lounge
in the DSTv Cheese Chiller, the Boomerang Theatre and Energizer Games Room
with music, games, cartoon characters and magic shows, while mom and dad
will be able to enjoy an unrushed meander through the stalls. The
Milk Factory is also a big draw card for kids and adults of all ages
especially when it is milking time and they can taste the fresh milk.
Kleinplasie will entertain and inform with demonstrations of traditional
butter and cottage cheese making in the Milk Factory.
Tickets are available from Computicket and Checkers stores
and have to be purchased before the start of the Festival. NO TICKETS WILL
BE SOLD AT THE GATES. Tickets are R85 pp for adults for Friday or Monday
and R110 pp for Saturday or Sunday. Children 12 years and younger enter
for free and senior citizens pay R65. Opening times for the festival will
be as follows: Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 and on
Monday, 27 April from 10:00 to 17:00.
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