The second annual Gastronomica Knysna festival starts this Saturday (September 23) and with the N2 road at Kaaimans River, between George and Wilderness, now partially open, organisers are upbeat about attracting visitors to the event.
Gastronomica Knysna runs over the school holidays from Saturday September 23 until Sunday October 1. Motorists travelling between Cape Town and Knysna are allowed on the N2 road between George and Wilderness where one lane is open from 9am to 6pm.
Once in Knysna, visitors should head to The Boatshed, Thesen Harbour Town, home of Gastronomica. The festival is 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 foodies – from international and national chefs, restaurateurs, cookery enthusiasts, tourists and locals to the farmers and artisans who produce the ingredients.
Gastronomica opens with an explosive fusion of fashion and food at the Royal Romance Fashion Show and High Tea. More than just a showcase for fashion, this event is choreographed along the lines of an extravaganza which includes musicians, fire-dancers and pythons.
Major attractions at the festival include the Think Like A Pastry Chef, and the Professional Chocolate And Patisserie Workshop hosted by top US pastry chef
En-Ming Hsu. Professionals attending this workshop will get to compete in a Chocolate and Patisserie Invitational Challenge.
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. While their 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.
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 lifestyle will be showcased at Knysna’s top restaurants which will offer festival menus featuring fresh seasonal ingredients. Visitors can also visit the Food with Integrity Market and meet farmers and artisans from the Garden Route and Klein Karoo and experience their natural and organic produce.
An alternate route from Cape Town to Knysna is to take the N1 until Beaufort West, then take the R61 to Graaff Reinet and the R75 to the coast.
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