Movember

It’s Movember – that time of year when manly men stand up to be counted, when maidens quiver & mere mortals hide in the shadows

It’s a time when a mans impressive & cultivated facial hair says – here is someone of substance, a force to be reckoned with, a sensitive yet tortured soul who will stop at nothing for an ice cold beer, a steak sandwich and some nonsense about thwarting an evil empire.

Its also a time when these monuments to manhood get in touch with their Testicles and by this I mean raise some funds & awareness for testicular cancer (add more evil empire type language)

It is also a time to celebrate the Amber Nectar– its youth giving properties, its ability to neutralize all fat intake and to transform all manner of beasts into things of beauty ­- such are the scope of its magical powers.

To this end we will be gathering to celebrate and raise funds for Movember as well as to launch the Kitchen Cowboys Black River Ale.

When:Thursday 24^th November

What time: 17h30 – 22h00

Where: Kitchen Cowboys Canteen

20 Brickfield Rd, Woodstock

Cost: R100 per head

Bookings: chef@kitchencowboys.co.za, 021 448 2433 or 083 600 1992

We will provide our legendary Steak & BBQ Pork Belly Sandwiches.

All proceeds from beer and wine sold on the evening will be donated to CANSA.

There will be some fabulous auction items including a 20 man Newlands Brewery Tour & Tasting as well as a one-night Kitchen Cowboy cooking session for 8 people – the proceeds of which will also go to  the charity.

There will also be a special prize for the best MO on display!

Book Now! to avoid bitter disappointment – did you see what I did there – bitter, ale, beer  – oh never mind – just book or you’ll be sorry!

More Meat Mondays

There’s nothing more satisfying than slapping a thick slab of meat onto a red-hot grill. No other cooking method comes close – that sizzling sound, that instant whiff of charred juices, that perfumed smoke rising up to whet the appetite.

But there is more to braaing than meets the eye – how a man behaves in front of a fire speaks to his character, to his work ethic and his relationship with other men – you are what you braai.

Kitchen Cowboys & Jan Braai  invite you to join us for More Meat Mondays where we will crank it up a notch in the lead up to National Braai Day on 24^th September

When:  12 & 19 September

Where: Kitchen Cowboys, 20 Brickfield Rd, Woodstock

How much: R650

What will we be cooking every night:

Milk Stout chicken, beer & corn bread

Hangar steak, shallots & mustard sauce

Rack of lamb, cous cous & harissa

Grilled line fish, marinated fennel, sauce vierge

Pork belly, pickled cabbage, new potato & bacon salad

 

Bookings: chef@kitchencowboys.co.za or 021 448 2433

Kitchen Cowboys Canteen Winter Workshops

A series of seven fabulous fun filled fixtures for the amorous amateur, the garagiste gourmet, the ebullient epicure & the darn right hungry

Each evening is individually priced so attend the ones that tickle your fancy or plum for the entire series and let the chips fall where they may.

Due to a recent ruling in the Supreme Court for Gender Equality & Toilet Seat Lowering we are now statutory required to throw open these courses to all & sundry – we do still however reserve the right to exclude all floor crossers, cross dressers, embalmers, embargo breakers, break dancers, freelancers, freeloaders, load shedders, bed wetters & encyclopedia salesmen.

Weds 15 June – Braai (R650)

We know everyone’s already an expert – but we’ll delve into larger cuts, smoking, seasoning, resting, accompaniments & the best homemade BBQ sauce this side of the Limpopo.

Weds 22 June – North Indian (R650)

If you don’t know your poppadom from your paratha, your bhuna from your bhaaji and your arse from your asafoetida then North Indian is the evening for you

Weds 29 & Thurs 30 June – Butchery (R1200)

If the terms grass fed, dry aged, on the bone, marbled, trussed & well hung get you all aquiver then this two part meat extravaganza is a must.

Weds 6 July – Fish with a Future (R750)

Sustainable alternatives – finding, identifying, buying, filleting, cooking & garnishing – from source to sauce. The future is in your shopping basket!

Weds 27 July – Food & Wine (R650)

The do’s & don’ts laid bare and all the crap in between. Boela Gerber, of Groot Constantia fame will pour and talk while we cook and experiment.

Weds 10 August – Beer & Food (R650)

Beer is the new black – the amber nectar, it’s made with passion & commitment and master brewer Denis da Silva will take us through the intricacies while we venture further than sausages & mustard.

Book now to avoid disappointment, penis envy & water retention.

Preferential rates for the entire series & for Kitchen Cowboys Alumni

All workshops will take place at the Kitchen Cowboys Canteen

20 – 22 Brickfield, Woodstock

Tel: 021 448 2433

Email: chef@kitchencowboys.co.za

I know, I know it’s a month late and most people have already caved in on their resolutions but here are some food resolutions that aren’t about denial or unsustainable life changes just a few things to try as you go about your merry way in 2011.

This year I want you to break some new ground, don’t be so fucking squeamish, lets have some fun and adventure with our food. In the coming months I demand that you free yourselves from your mother’s apron and partake of some of the following:

1. Cook naked for your partner/date. Remember to wear an apron when removing stuff from the oven; you don’t want to accidentally burn the dessert.

2. Eat your steak rare and try something other than fillet.

3. Have a vegetarian meal.

4. Try wine from estates you haven’t heard of.

5. Order the hottest curry in the place (vindaloo or phal).

6. Buy free-range chicken.

7. Go to a top-notch restaurant & push the boat out – drink some fabulous wine, eat the most expensive gear on the menu, spend between R800 –R1000 and appreciate it for what it is.

8. Eat fish on the day that it was caught and never buy frozen shite again.

9. Have a glass of dessert wine with your pudding.

10. Seek out organic produce; ask for it in your supermarket.

11. Taste your food before putting salt on it.

12. Eat anchovies

13. Try something on the menu you’ve never eaten before.

14. Send food back if it’s crap.

15. Try unsalted butter.

16. Eat some good, ripe (preferably local) cheese.

17. Tip at least 10%, more if the service warrants it.

18. Try tuna rare, you won’t be disappointed.

19. Buy the chef a beer if you’ve had a good meal.

Come on it’s not too much to ask, give it a whirl and let me know how it turns out – who dares, wins.

May the sauce be with you

Kitchen Cowboys throw down the gauntlet for Movember

As of next week Movember will be upon us and this year the Kitchen Cowboys will be showing their testicles the love & care they deserve. We are sending out a call to all Cowboys to register on the Movember site (http://za.movember.com) and join us in growin’ a Mo of note next month and to help us raise some much needed cash for CANSA to put towards their men’s awareness programme.

We have just spend all of October supporting our sisters during Breast Awareness Month – we like to help wherever we can!

We are going to to have 2 fundraising events during Movember and the Kitchen Cowboy code requires you to haal uit en wys – your wallet, not your testicles.

There are 3 important dates to remember and they are as follows:

Weds 17 Movember – Bafana Bafana are playing USA at the Cape Stadium (kick off 21h30) we will be organising a few beverages & snacks before the game at a venue within walking distance – venue details will be revealed nearer the event

Tues 30 Movember – we will we hold a Wine, Dine & Donate evening at Kitchen Cowboy HQ, 20 Brickfield rd, Woodstock

Sat 4 December – at the annual Kitchen Cowboys Weber Braai Challenge we will be judging the Mo’s and reporting back on how much cash we raised

We are also calling on all Kitchen Cowboys who have it within their power to donate items for our auction on the 30th to please give me a shout.

Grow the Mo
Raise the Dough

Last Kitchen Cowboy Workshop of 2010

The time has come for the first Kitchen Cowboys Workshops in our new Brickfield Rd premises and our last of the year – apologies if we have been out of contact but putting together our new workshop took a little longer than expected. None the less it’s time to roll up those sleeves, sharpen knives, open bottles and fok voort!

The dates are as follows:

Oct – Tues 19th – Pasta

26th – Bread

Nov –Tues 2nd – Brunch

9th – Desserts

16th – Eastern

23rd – Braai

Each evening will begin at 18h00 and end at roughly 22h00 give or take a bottle or two. All you will need is a keen sense of adventure, a sharp sense of humour and a desire to consume all manner of fabulous produce both solid & liquid. All ingredients & fermented beverage will be provided as well as an apron, a recipe book and any other study aids required.

The address where all of the fun and action will take place is 20-22 Brickfield Rd, Woodstock, Tel : 021 448 2433

The cost of the 6 workshops is R4000 all inclusive. Bookings are done on a first come first serve basis and you can secure your booking by EFT – payments to be made to:

Kitchen Cowboys

ABSA Sea Point

Acc nr.: 40 62 95 36 21

Branch Code.: 63 03 09

May the sauce be with you

Pete

Kitchen Cowboy’s Northern Roadshow

Good day sensation seekers
The FIFA maddness is over and we can finally say football or South Africa for that matter without fear of prosecution and Kitchen Cowboys is at last making the Great Trek north and will be hosting the first Kitchen Cowboys cooking workshops in Jozie in August & September.

The relevant information is as follows:

What & When: Mon 23 – Pasta
Tues 24 – Bread & sandwiches
Mon 30 – Brunch
Tues 31 – Desserts
Mon 6 – Eastern
Tues 7  - Braai

Where: The South African Chefs Association’s Southern Sun Centre for Culinary Excellence.
University Of Joburg’s School of Tourism & Hospitality, Bunting Rd Campus, Cottesloe (entrance in Bunting Rd)

How much: R4500

What do I need to bring: Nada – all relevant materials – liquid and otherwise will be provided – all you will need is a keen sense of adventure, a thirst for knowledge as well as a regular thirst

Time: 18h00

We have a limited number of places available so it will all be done on a first come first serve basis so don’t hold back and book your seat on the culinary roller coaster

You can contact us via email – chef@kitchencowboys.co.za

May the sauce be with you

Pete

Food Critics – can’t live with them, can’t live without them!

The state of food criticism in this country has long since been a point of discussion amongst restaurateurs, journalists, chefs and restaurant goers alike. It is generally accepted the world over that in any centre where the restaurant scene flourishes whether it be London, Sydney, San Francisco, Johannesburg or Cape Town the level of journalism that supports it is a vital part of that industry. Chefs and critics have always had a precarious relationship, but the same can be said for movie directors and theatre producers and their respective critics; they are a necessary evil that keeps the public informed and keeps the operators on the toes. This criticism is an important part in helping to separate the good from the bad, the mediocre from the exceptional.

Newspapers and magazines would be doing their readers and the restaurant community a great service by providing more regular and critical restaurant reviews. Visitors to our cities whether local or from abroad are at times perplexed as to what restaurants are out there and whether they are any good or not. Very few of the daily broadsheets or monthly publications carry enough if any critical commentary on a regular basis.

With the notable exception of Roussows Restaurantswhen was the last time that anyone printed a restaurant review that was actually critical, the reviewers will happily slate wine, movies, plays and exhibitions or any other form of the arts should they feel that such criticism is warranted. Yet the same standards are not held when reviewing restaurants, why is that? The main function of these reviews is to inform the public; I know I always have a look at the reviews when all the new movies come to town, I have neither the time nor the inclination to go to all of them and so I look to my local paper to help with my selection; the same should be for the restaurant scene, the sheer number of new restaurants opening all the time means that some kind of informed review would help when looking for some where new to eat. Newspapers claim they do not have the budgets for these reviews, as by their nature they can be expensive but if one looks at the sort of profile that chefs and the restaurant industry gets in other forms of media these day; you can’t go to a festival without a demonstration kitchen nor can you turn on the television without seeing the latest cooking guru. The point of all this is that food and dining out have become entertainment and it is still beyond me why the newspapers etc haven’t allocated the budgets to do justice to the popularity of this movement. In the Cape Town broadsheets there are listing for every DJ and his mate who have ever pulled an album from its sleeve, but the restaurant scene is relatively ignored.

In London on a Tuesday the restaurant world holds its breath waiting for the Evening Standard newspaper to come out; their food editor, Fay Mashler, is notoriously demanding and a star rating from her is a thing to be proud of, but in the same breath she will unleash a tirade should she be less than satisfied. Terry Durzack used to do the same in The Times in Sydney. AA Giles and Giles Coren both writers for the Times in the UK are a pleasure to read, their knowledge of their subject gives their reviews substance and credibility. Their criticism sells papers, their reviews are well written and for the most part constructive, they will always be subjective but at least that are coming from a professional point of view, from people who are properly paid and expect to pay their way.

Chefs & Wine Makers – brothers in arms

Bruce Jack & I

Recently three quite emotional events transpired; firstly the sad passing of Ross Gower – a man whose passion for life & chest crushing bear hugs will always remind me how lucky I have been to have  known such an indomitable spirit. Secondly the 10th anniversary of the death of a great friend – Spike Russell; a winemaker of estimable talent and a lust for life not unlike Ross’s. And thirdly I made wine for the first time, under the keen eye of Adam Mason at Klein Constantia. (more about the wine making in future blogs – we are pressing this week so we will still have to wait and see whether it is any good)

I have been very fortunate in the relationships I have forged, through cooking and excessive drinking, in the wine fraternity. There are a number of wine personalities who I am honoured to say are also Kitchen Cowboys – Bruce Jack, Wilhelm Coetzee, David Trafford, Guy Weber, Coenie Snyman, Etienne Le Riche, Bevan Newton Johnson, Andrew Gunn, Paul Cluwer & James Farqueson.

Eating, drinking and cooking with these guys has been an unbelievable learning experience as I have always believed that food & wine live side by side, but the creative process has more common elements than you would imagine.

Through out my career as a chef I’ve always be involved with pairing wine and food but have not given at lot of thought to the actual process of creating the wine and by this I mean the creative process of blending and tasting. Any fool can cook as any idiot can make wine, but to make memorable food and exceptional wine, therein lies the talent.

It wasn’t until I started working in Franschhoek on the La Couronne a wine estate that this became clear to me.

Spike, a much missed friend, winemaker and cook of note, put me in the embarrassing position of making me realize that he knew far more about my profession than I of his.

Through our brief but educationally hedonistic friendship I learned what more chefs should know and he what more wine makers should know.

The process of finishing dishes, being able to put your finger (or tongue) on what fine element may raise a dish from mundane to mercurial, be it a pinch of salt or sugar or a hint of acid or a touch of something softer, is a gift that separates the exceptional from the excepted.

The same is true of wine and the ability to juggle barrels and taste and feel what is right and when a taste has been achieved on which there can be no further improvement save the work of Mother Nature.

I also accept that a good wine begins in the vineyards, the same can be said of food, you will only make mediocre food with mediocre ingredients. Spike and I had many a heated debate as I always held that he had the easier of the two jobs as he only had one ingredient to look after while mine where numerous.

This for me is the true magic of our professions and I am disappointed that there is not more of a platform on which to explore this magic.

For a country that has such a wealth of talent both in the vineyards and the kitchen it is indeed a shame that more is not being done to challenge our burgeoning creativity. Having said this food and wine evenings are becoming the norm in the restaurants, but often some of these pairings are often misguided or badly researched.

For me it makes more sense for the chef to taste the wine and create food around what has been tasted as you can’t change what’s in the bottle. There are still too many menus done in isolation – the chef writes the menu and sends it to the wine maker who comes up with some approximate pairings.

We need to see our wine and food as inseparable and the more we talk and write on the subject, the more we will all become more educated diners and drinkers.

May the sauce be with you.

Up & coming Kitchen Cowboy events

We have 2 fabulous Kitchen Cowboy events coming up – firstly the inaugural Kitchen Cowboy’s Wine Making Weekend and secondly a Kitchen Cowboys WC Football Outing.  See below for details – both events have limited space available and spots will be filled on a first come first serve basis. Feel free to bring along any mates who may show latent Kitchen Cowboy tendencies.

Kitchen Cowboys Winemaking Weekend                   10 & 11 April         R2750

This will be the maiden Kitchen Cowboy vintage and it will be made at Klein Constantia under the guidance of winemaker Adam Mason. We will be involved in all facets of the process from sorting, crushing to bottling and of course drinking. We will be braai at the end of each day as well as sampling some of Klein Constantia fine wines. All participating Cowboys will have to avail themselves the following week to help with “punch-downs”. Apart from the obvious fun to be had in the cellar over the weekend each Cowboy will receive 4 (12btl) cases of labelled Kitchen Cowboy wine.

Kitchen Cowboy World Cup Football Outing          Thurs 24 June         R1750

We have managed to secure 20 tickets to the Netherlands vs. Cameroon game at Cape Town stadium. We will be gathering at the Kitchen Cowboys HQ in the Salt Riviera at 15h00 for a braai and a few pre-game beverages before departing for the stadium from Salt River stadium for the game, which takes place at 20h30.

Give me a shout if you are keen and as I mentioned both events will be filled on a first come first serve basis – we have a maximum limit of 20 guys per event. Places will be confirmed will proof of payment details