The annual Gastronomica festival in Knysna will take place from Saturday September 23 until Sunday October 1. Gastronomica is a festival where food is only one of the ingredients in an entire ensemble of cast members. Entertainment, culinary art, music, fashion and education provide a backdrop for a culinary event unlike any other.
Gastronomica will be a food lover’s paradise of 10-days crammed with hands-on workshops, demonstrations, competitions and discussions. This year’s theme, From the Earth to the Plate, unifies a diverse spectrum of food lovers – from international and national chefs, restaurateurs, cookery enthusiasts, tourists and locals to the farmers who produce and artisans who process the products. The organizers of Gastronomica also give their commitment to training, development and empowerment – always with a touch of fun and enjoyment.
The festival includes a professional chocolate and patisserie workshop hosted by American champion pastry chef En-Ming Hsu. Main attractions include the
‘Think Like a Pastry Chef” and the “Professional Chocolate and Patisserie Workshop” hosted by En-Ming Hsu. Professionals also have the opportunity to compete in the Invitational Challenge which tests their culinary ability and shows their level of competence.
The festival will culminate in a Chef’s Party, which promises to be an amazing “plating extravaganza”. For this gala dinner, of gastronomic proportions, participating chefs will each perform showing a course in the five-course menu. The guests watch live and on screen and get to understand the mindset and makeup of a dynamic and outstanding chef.
Visitors will also get to flex their biceps in a hands-on Great Bread for your Family and Friends workshop, with award-winning author and Chef Jeffrey Hamelman. Likewise while parents update their culinary skills, children aged four to 12 can don aprons for the “Kids Cooking Workshop” hosted by Hungry Heads Gourmet Foods and learn to make biscuits, pizzas, sweets and other treats.
Durbanite culinary twins, Clare and Fiona Ras of Spriggs, will entertain and educate food enthusiasts in several workshops and fun demonstrations. Included in their line up is a demonstration based on their new Cookery book, Fresh Kitchen Inspiration and an extra fun exhibition on The Art of Planning the Perfect Party together with local gourmet caterer, Tammy Turner of Hungry Heads and DP Ferreira of Natural Floral Design.
The festival will also feature an A-Z Bridal Fair with an extensive programme and wedding dresses on display at the Royal Romance Fashion Show and High Tea.
Aside from celebrating a love of good food, the festival has a larger agenda: to encourage participants to adopt a lifestyle which encompasses “food with integrity”. This will be achieved through Knysna’s top restaurants that offer a special menu. The menu is designed around identified products that are in season, fresh and are “food with integrity” (that are grown under environmentally controlled circumstances). No preservatives, additives, colourants, frozen or long term shelf life ingredients or MSG are used in the preparation of the food. The identified ingredients in season for this spring menu are blue berries, strawberries, artichokes and mushrooms/asparagus
Visitors to the Food with Integrity Market will get to experience the fresh produce and products of farmers and meet artisans from the Garden Route and Klein Karoo.
“We want people not only to enjoy what they are eating but to be aware of where the product comes from, how it was cultivated, the processes involved and also to have fun preparing dishes. Not for the consuming of food to be an unconscious decision,” said Pat Mulder, MD of Gastronomica.
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