Gourmet chef twins Clare and Fiona Ras will celebrate their passion for all seasonal ingredients at the second annual Gastronomica festival held in Knysna between 23 September and 1 October.
The sisters are among the line-up of international and national chefs participating in the 10 day festival at which food is only one of the ingredients in an entire ensemble of cast members, where entertainment, culinary art, music, fashion and education provide a backdrop for a culinary event unlike any other.
The Trends in Cooking Meat hands-on workshop will bring out the carnivore in participants with dishes such as Chinese BBQ pork ramen, Sicilian stuffed pork loin, flattened cinnamon quail salad and duck leg casserole. It will take place at the Bosch Workshop and costs R400 per person.
The Fresh Kitchen Inspiration demonstration is based on their first book of the same name and will demonstrate to cookery enthusiasts just how to take the hard work out of entertaining with simple and delicious seasonal dishes that are quick and imaginative. The menu includes green bean, feta and cashew nut salad, lamb meatballs wrapped in vine leaves with skordalia and Moroccan turla turla with feta. The Culinary Shed is the venue for this demonstration. Tickets cost R80 per person.
The twins will also host an extra fun demonstration The Art of Planning the Perfect Party together with gourmet caterer Tammy Turner of Hungry Heads and DP Ferreira of Natural Floral Design in the Culinary Shed at a cost of R150 for a ticket.
With a restaurant and deli, a catering business, a cookery book and a demonstration kitchen to their credit these culinary twins have more to thank than just the vegetables in season.
“Our food is not only defined by the seasons but also by the seasons of our moods,” admit the sisters.
Clare and Fiona’s success is driven by their passion for food and their love of feeding people. This formula has proven to be the recipe for the success of their Durban restaurant and deli, Sprigs.
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 foodies – from international and national chefs, restaurateurs, cookery enthusiasts, tourists and locals to the farmers and artisans who produce the ingredients.
“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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