South Africa’s Best Home Cooked Meals Revealed

Samsung Electronics South Africa’s ‘For the Love of Food’ competition encouraged South Africans to share their original recipes and the stories behind them. The recipes were divided into six categories with a grand prize of their share in R300 000 worth of Samsung products for the winners and products to the value of R150 000 for the runners-up.

 

The winners were chosen from thousands of entries and their recipes were showcased at a glitzy Gala event held at The Royal Elephant Hotel. The winning recipes were prepared as part of the six course meal to honour the winners. The illustrious judging panel was also in attendance and included Samsung ambassador and celebrity Chef Reuben Riffel, Carmen Niehaus long-standing food editor of Huisgenoot and You magazines, Chef Tiaan Langenegger, blogger and well-known TV personality Nina Timm and Sam Woulidge columnist and author. The judges chose winners across six cooking categories: Fancy canapés, Quick snacks, Fish and seafood, Braai dishes, Slow cooked meals and Desserts.

 

“We wanted to appeal to the hearts of South Africans, by tapping into their passion for food and cooking and we received truly inspiring anecdotes, relating to the culture, tradition and passion that inspired each recipe. We were overwhelmed by the response. ‘For the love of Food’ is the first of many Samsung initiatives that will enable us to celebrate South Africans and the great dishes and good memories that are close to their hearts,” says Michelle Potgieter, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Samsung Electronics South Africa.

 

South Africans had to enter their favourite recipes, preparation methods, and a story that the dish brought to mind. These entries were all uploaded to Samsung’s ‘For the Love of Food’ website, to showcase all the beautiful stories and scrumptious recipes. The campaign received exposure on television and digital media and throughout the campaign period, nearly 12 000 requests for recipe downloads were received. The ‘For the Love of Food’ website received in excess of 123 000 unique visitors who shared the passion for delicious food. Chef Reuben cooked each winning recipe on the Expresso breakfast show, and his demonstrations were shared on YouTube to help viewers make the dishes in their own kitchens.

 

The amazing response that we received to the campaign is testament to how much South Africans love food and how food unites our nation.

 

“We have found some of the most original and unforgettable dishes prepared with passion and infused with heart-warming memories and these winning dishes stood out to our judges and for this very reason the ‘For the Love of Food’ campaign was centered on celebrating South Africa’s uniqueness and embracing our love for food and home-cooked meals. Given the sheer variety of entries we received ’For the Love of Food has shown how much South Africans value and celebrate where we come from!” concludes Potgieter.

 

Each winner was handed a certificate for their winning recipe and Chef Reuben Riffel, closed off the night and treated guests to a book signing and photo opportunity of his cookbooks ‘Reuben on Fire’ and ‘Braai’.

 

 

The lucky category winners are:

Braai Dishes:                             Lloyd Griffin

Fancy canapés:                Zuri Roos

Fish and seafood:            Gresham Madhan

Quick snacks:                   Kelly Nair

Slow Cooked Meals:         Tasneem Jaffer

Desserts:                         Heather de Bruin

 

All the recipes are on www.theloveoffood.co.za for you to download and enjoy!

 

#PLAYWITHOREO CAFE

 

World’s most playful cookie brings South Africa the #PLAYWITHOREO POP-UP CAFÉ

LET YOUR IMAGINATION GO AND COME play #PLAYWITHOREO

 

This April, the world’s number one biscuit and milk’s favourite cookie, OREO, invites South African fans to the deliciously playful #PLAYWITHOREO café. The quirky cookie has proved to be the most playful snack in the world over the past 100 and some years and always aims to celebrate the kid inside us all and inspire moments of carefree fun. This year the playful biscuit is back with more fun and spirit to lighten fans’ moods. On the 2^nd April 2015 the #PLAYWITHOREO café will open to the South African public at The Zone @ Rosebank for a limited period only (closes 3^rd May 2015).

The experiential café, a pop-up store at its best, characterises the brand’s imaginative spirit. OREO’s attitude will be brought to life in the café as the store is built around the concept of ‘play’. OREO believes that ‘play’ enables us to see possibilities in the ordinary and that’s what it wants for its fans – moments of endless, imaginative play.  “OREO fans are used to playing with OREO, whether twisting, licking, dunking, rolling, stacking or dipping the biscuit to make various delicious treats,” says Grant Van Niekerk, Category Leader: Biscuits and Beverages at Mondelez SA, “Now OREO is on a mission to inspire imagination and play around the globe, not only with the cookie itself, but in consumers’ everyday lives.” “We are thrilled to open the #PLAYWITHOREO Café to celebrate playfulness and inspire more moments of joy,” explains Van Niekerk.

Fans visiting the cafe can take time out of their busy, serious days to enjoy the delight of the OREO ‘Cookie Conveyer’, a moving dessert bar with OREO inspired treats designed by the renowned patissiere Danielle Postma from Moemas. OREO dessert prices will vary from R10 to R40 and the menu is a mouth-watering list of OREO happiness; OREO popcorn snack, OREO sprinkle pops, milk & OREO, white chocolate OREO fudge, chocolate OREO slab, dreamy OREO chocolate truffle, crushed OREO milkshake, OREO cookie monster cupcakes, OREO cookie crumb parfait, rocking OREO white chocolate cheesecake, OREO shortbread sandwich with ice-cream and last but not least the OREO ice cream Sundae.

 

 

Whilst at the store, café goers can also let their creative sides free and play with the world’s number one biscuit via a variety of fun-tivities. Visitors can dream up amazing ‘OREO Selfie’ art at the OREO decoration station by choosing from a multitude of miniature and edible props and create their own ‘Cookie Characters’. There are three miniature OREO photo-studios where you can style your OREO for awesome mini photo opportunities. Additionally, there are life-size backdrops to take your own playful selfies or simply take five on our OREO see-sae or swing or café tables and relish in the playful spirit of the cafe.

 

 

The playing doesn’t end there as the café also hosts a boutique OREO store where fans can purchase limited edition OREO merchandise and memorabilia. You can even share the fun with a friend by purchasing a dessert for them to come and enjoy when they visit the store next. The café is the perfect spot to bring family and friends to let your imagination go. So make your play date today!

The café will be open to fans 7 days a week from 10:00am to 20:00pm, including public holidays.

Don’t forget to sign the café guest book before you leave the happiest pop-up café in town and share the fun you had with us with #PLAYWITHOREO to @OREO on Twitter and Instagram  and Facebook at Oreo.

Coca Cola Bottle Art Tour

We were privileged to have been able to attend the Coca Cola Bottle Art Tour on Friday on Constitutional Hill. The tour celebrates 100 years of the iconic Coca Cola Contour Bottle.

This is a traveling Art tour and will visit more than 15 countries, South Africa being its first stop, and will travel over 100,000 km around the world in 2015. It includes an amazing array of Coca-Cola® inspired art and features actual artwork by world renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Clive Barker and Norman Rockwell, among many others.

 

 

It was such an amazing experience to be transported back in time, and see how such an iconic brand has evolved into what it has become today.

Written by Ghia ten Doeschate

In The Purple Seat: The Dining Room

Due to its popular demand, AFICIONADO POP-UP BAR has teamed up with foodie lover and caterer, Sasha Sonnenberg of Prep’ed By Sasha to bring you The Dining Room experience once again.

Together with Sasha, The Dining Room gives you a reason to reward yourself after a busy week with tasty drinks, mouth-watering food and lengthy conversation.

Expect to have your taste buds blown away with a 6 course fine dining menu that consists of starters like the Greek salad granita and deconstructed Taco. Mains include the 48 Hour Ron Zacapa Braised
Beef Short Rib and dessert is the Liquid Popcorn with caramel froth and
the Tres Leches (From Spanish, “Three Milks Cake”)

The Dining Room runs from the 30th October to the 13th December. This is
a semi-private pop-up restaurant in a pop-up bar with no more than 36
guests wining and dining at one time.

Definitely something worth experiencing!

By Ghia ten Doeschate