South Africa Eats

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

South African cuisine is a reflection of the immigrants who make up the population.  It is a melting pot of Afrikaner, Cape Malay, British, Indian, Jewish, Greek, Italian, Asian, Portuguese  and more recently, immigrants from across Africa. Each wave of immigrants, in their own particular way contributed towards the makeup of the mod and South African table.  It is the young yet vibrant culinary culture that started in the mid sixteen hundreds with the colonization of the Cape by the Dutch, who introduced the savoury spices of the east and the exotic fruits and vegetables from the Americas to the African continent.

In her book, South Africa Eats leading South African foodie and bestselling author Phillippa Cheifitz provides a tempting sampler of the rich variety of our culinary tradition. She has asked 13 of SA’s leading foodies, from Dorah Sitole to Mariana Esterhuizen, about their family history, roots and influences – and, most importantly, for a few of their favourite recipes – Chraime (see our recipe of the week), chicken pie, fish curry, Denningvleis, and Phutu, to name just a few.

The second half of the book expands on these flavours with a great selection of additional recipes.

The book reflects memories of our diverse cultural heritage and the many people that have formed South Africa’s culinary home. It is a great reference point, complemented by some stunning food photography.  A great gift, portraying SA’s rich and diverse cultural  heritage.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R282 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R345)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R63.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

  Wickedfood Newsletter 28 October 09

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

SUNNINGHILLInformation & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

We hope you are having a good week so far. This weekend I’m sure everyone’s eyes will be on the Currie Cup final (coverage starts at 16:30). There are only  one or two individual classes left this month as we wind down to the end of the year, but keep an eye out on the blog as we are updating recipes as often as possible.

Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill

Looking for info on food? -Wickedfood Cooking School’s blog is changing everyday, for those of you who have been checking it out, you will know it is updated nearly everyday with recipes. If there is a recipe you’re looking for or if you need any help in the kitchen, write to us and we will do our best to get back to you with all the info you need. Click Here for more information, hope to hear from you soon.

Cookbook of the week This interesting book is all about pork from day one when Stephane’s grandpa Barbe sat him down and showed him his first slaughter, not much has changed in the way Stephane slaughters his pigs in the last 30 years – maybe just that he’s allowed wine while he does it now. Click here to read more

Our food article of the week: - In the world of haute cuisine it ranks as the ultimate heresy. A food writer has had the temerity to accuse Ferran Adria, often described as the world’s best chef, of inadvertently poisoning diners with additives. Adria, who presides over El Bulli, near Barcelona, inspires a reverence usually reserved for rock stars as he experiments with frozen foams and oyster cubes that many regard more as art than cookery. Click here to read more.

Our favourite ingredient: – Sweet Chilli Sauce – A great quick and easy sweet chilli sauce to make, if you find it is too hot or not hot enough.  Take away/add some chillies. Click here to see how its made.

Food quote of the week: – In Mexico we have a word for sushi:  bait”.  ~José Simons

Food tip of the week: – When boiling new potatoes or cauliflower add a 1/4 of a lemon to the water – this will stop them from going grey and keep them white so they can be used later.

Recipe of the week – Chilli Salt Squid

The Wickedfood Team

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studios. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

  Wickedfood Newsletter 16 September 09

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

SUNNINGHILL>> information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

I hope you are having a great week so far, congratulations to the Bokke for securing the tri-nations you have made every South African proud. Today is International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer so why not try to do something little that could make a difference. We have had a great response to our blog so keep it up, we will do our best to answer any food related questions that have been bugging you. You can now also follow us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us.


Wickedfood Cooking School news

Our October individual cooking class programme is up on the Internet

Wickedfood Cooking Schools run classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience  and keeps the class small enough for maximum learning.

Sunninghill -

  • Sunday 20 September at 4pmPasta making – filled pasta and accompanying sauces (R370pp). Dishes covered in the class include cheese and ham ravioli with a tomato sauce, meat filled agnolotti, spinach and ricotta tortellini, cappelletti filled with sweet potatoes, and ravioli with apple and pecan nut stuffing.
  • Monday 21 September at 6pmEasy entertaining – Entertaining with Asian undertones (R380pp). Elegant dinner party for six with an Asian flavour including duck and bean sprout springrolls, lemongrass vichysoisse, crispy skinned fish and crème caramels.
  • Sunday 27 September at 4pmSpanish peasant cooking (R390pp). Robust flavours of the Spanish countryside including fried calamari, chourizo and cheese fritters, garlic soup, butterflied lamb, hot chourizo salad, and fried cream.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill

September individual class programme….. click here

Looking for info on food? - The Wickedfood blog looks to be taking off very well with lots of questions coming in, if you have any questions that have been bugging you, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for but just can’t seem to find, then give us a shout and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click here for more information, hope to hear from you soon.

Cookbook of the week1080 Recipes is a comprehensive collection of traditional and authentic Spanish recipes, covering everything from tortilla to bacalao. This title has been a bestseller in Spain since it was first published, and with over 2 million copies sold it can be found in most kitchens across the country. The book’s author, Simone Ortega is considered to be the doyenne of cooking in Spain and has written about food for numerous years. Click here to read more.

Our food article of the week: – Do women roast chicken differently from the way men do? Is it possible to tell whether the ravioli on your plate was rolled by a male chef or by a female? Such was the challenge set before a group of hungry panelists at a recent event, “Gender Confusion: Unravelling the Myth of Gender in the Kitchen” Click here to read more.

Our favourite ingredient: - Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, and Cambodian cuisine and is used in other Southeast Asian countries. In addition to being added to dishes during the cooking process, fish sauce can also be used in mixed form as a dipping condiment. Some fish sauces (extracts) are made from raw fish, others from dried fish; some from only a single species, others from whatever is dredged up in the net, including some shellfish and some from whole fish. Some fish sauces contain only fish and salt, others add a variety of herbs and spices. Fish sauce that has been only briefly fermented has a pronounced fishy taste, while extended fermentation reduces this and gives the product a nuttier, cheesier flavour.

Food quote of the week: – “Food for thought is no substitute for the real thing.”  ~Walt Kelly

Food tip of the week: – Cutting a vegetable “lengthwise” means to slice from the root end to the bud end (“pole to pole”). Envision the way a vegetable grows, with the root end down and the bud end up. That’s the length of the vegetable. To quarter a vegetable lengthwise, slice it along a line from the root to the bulb end, and then cut each half again in the same fashion. Cutting an ingredient “crosswise,” on the other hand, means slicing across the circumference, thus creating a piece with the entire root end and another with the entire bud end.

The difference between the two methods can be important to some recipes, especially during grilling. For example, when an onion is cut lengthwise, its root section will remain intact, preventing smaller segments from falling through the grill. When an onion is cut crosswise, it will not stay together as well.

Recipe of the weekChilli prawns

The Wickedfood Team

Wickedfood Cooking School runs Johannesburg cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Cooking classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.