Savory South African Culinary Safari...Cooking Vacations...Culinary Getaways...Cooking Classes!
Savory South African Culinary Safari
1-800-405-0313
Ultimate Culinary Adventure in Cape Town and the Beautiful Wine Country
9 days | 8 nights
Pricing: $6,750 (For One Person, Double Occupancy)
Availability: Spring 2012 - Inquire About Dates
Package includes:
- 8 Nights, Four Star Lodging - For One (Double Occupancy)
- Arrival Dinner at Bosman’s Restaurant in Paarl
- Olive Mill Tour, Wine Safari and Lunch
- Nine-Course Dining Extravaganza at Le Quartier Français
- La Cucina Dalla Cia Cooking Class with Lunch & Wine Pairing
- Interactive African Foods Cooking & Museum Adventure
- Company Gardens Walking Tour
- Cooking with Chef Martha Williams with Dinner & Wine Pairing
- Chef-Guided Tour of Fishing Pier, Interactive Cooking Class with Lunch
- Touring, Shopping, Sightseeing and Dining in the Cape Quarter
- Cooking and Dining with Chef Luke Dale Roberts in the Test Kitchen
South Africa Cooking Vacation Highlights:
From Franschhoek to Stellenbosch in the heart of the South African Wine Country to the cosmopolitan energy of Cape Town, prepare yourself for the ultimate culinary adventure. The Franschhoek Valley, first settled by French refugees in the 1600’s, mixes an eclectic array of ingredients to create unforgettable experiences. Franschhoek has become the gourmet capital of South Africa, with star chefs serving gourmet to rustic…and everything in between. Stellenbosch is known worldwide for its quality wines and the spectacular beauty of its surrounding countryside. You’ll be mesmerized by the breathtaking scenery and warm hospitality of the South African Wine Country. Back in the cultural melting pot of Cape Town and the Western Cape you’ll find a cosmopolitan destination where cultural diversity creates an exciting vibrancy. Your culinary safari is a mélange of experiences designed to delight the senses and please the palate in ways you can only begin to imagine.
Four Star Lodging - For One (Double Occupancy) mapmore lodging info
MAISON CHABLIS GUEST HOUSE
White washed walls; beautiful garden and a sparkling swimming pool surround this elegant Georgian Guest House. Each of the beautifully decorated, spacious en-suite bedrooms has its own unique decor and character. The Owners, Renee Calderwood, will ensure your stay will be a memorable one by welcoming you to their gracious guest house with a very special brand or warm and caring Cape hospitality, the attention to detail, sumptuous breakfast and friendly service, will make your stay with us a truly memorable one! Situated a mere two-minute stroll from the historic village centre, with its charming street cafes, award winning restaurants, museums and galleries and within easy reach of walking and horse trails, or an easy drive to many of the Capes celebrated wine estates, golf courses and beaches.
VICTORIA & ALFRED HOTEL ON THE WATERFRONT
The personal hand written note of welcome is telling… as sign of the style that is the hallmark of a very special hotel… the style that sets the Victoria & Alfred Hotel on the Pier head in Cape Town’s Victoria & Alfred Waterfront apart. You can feel the ambience of colonial Cape Town as you step into the foyer, sense the past of shipwrecks and storms that color every corner, then relax in the elegant contemporary bedrooms.. and savor the atmosphere of the world’s most famous working harbor.
White washed walls; beautiful garden and a sparkling swimming pool surround this elegant Georgian Guest House. Each of the beautifully decorated, spacious en-suite bedrooms has its own unique decor and character. The Owners, Renee Calderwood, will ensure your stay will be a memorable one by welcoming you to their gracious guest house with a very special brand or warm and caring Cape hospitality, the attention to detail, sumptuous breakfast and friendly service, will make your stay with us a truly memorable one! Situated a mere two-minute stroll from the historic village centre, with its charming street cafes, award winning restaurants, museums and galleries and within easy reach of walking and horse trails, or an easy drive to many of the Capes celebrated wine estates, golf courses and beaches.
VICTORIA & ALFRED HOTEL ON THE WATERFRONT
The personal hand written note of welcome is telling… as sign of the style that is the hallmark of a very special hotel… the style that sets the Victoria & Alfred Hotel on the Pier head in Cape Town’s Victoria & Alfred Waterfront apart. You can feel the ambience of colonial Cape Town as you step into the foyer, sense the past of shipwrecks and storms that color every corner, then relax in the elegant contemporary bedrooms.. and savor the atmosphere of the world’s most famous working harbor.
Arrival Dinner at Bosman’s Restaurant in Paarl
After arrival and checking into your comfortable surroundings at the beautiful Maison Chablis Guest House, you will join the other members of your tour at the Grande Roche Relais and Chateaux for an early dinner at Bosman’s Restaurant. The recently renovated manor house at Grande Roche is the heart of the hotel and home to the award-winning Bosman's Restaurant where a fusion of imaginative and innovative epicurean delights will enthrall the most discerning of palates.
Olive Mill Tour, Wine Safari and Lunch
Your first day enjoys a visit to Morgenster in the Helderberg wine region for a tutored tasting of South African olive oil, olives and olive pastes, joined with a wine pairing of regional Bordeaux blends and Italian varietals. Morgenstern Estate in Somerset West is a thriving farm, producing Bordeaux-style red wine and award-winning Extra Virgin Olive Oil and olive products. For almost three centuries Morgenster has been recognized as one of the Cape’s unique wine sites. You will also visit Vergelegen Estate, an historic Cape Dutch manor house dating back to the 1700’s. Here you will enjoy a wine tasting lunch at Rust en Vrede, followed by a wine safari at Waterford Estate.
Nine-Course Dining Extravaganza at Le Quartier Français
The serious business of fine dining at Le Quartier has been set apart and defined by The Tasting Room. Course after course of exquisitely presented culinary delights showcase chef Margot Janse and her team's award-winning talent. You can indulge in a surprise 9 course menu - African inspired - or a five course choice menu. Both options can be enjoyed with a wine pairing.
La Cucina Dalla Cia Cooking Class with Lunch & Wine Pairing
You will enjoy a visit to the Stellenbosch Farmers Market, with time to browse around before meeting up with our hosts with whom we are going to cook this day. After purchasing fresh ingredients, you will continue on to La Cucina Dalla Cia where you will roll up your sleeves and prepare a typical Italian Meal. The menu may include risotto ai porcini, osso bucco di Vitello with Venetian vegetables and creamy mashed potatoes…followed by hands-on preparation of tiramisu and crostoli, which is a Venetian carnival pastry. You’ll also learn to make fresh pasta!
Interactive African Foods Cooking & Museum Adventure
Arrive at Gold Restaurant a wonderful restaurant located in the center of Cape Town for an interactive cooking experience specializing in a variety of African foods. A couple of dishes that will be prepared, perhaps one from North Africa and a South African dish, using the staple foods – pap/putu/papa (this is a coarse grain similar to polenta) as the focus, participants will be introduced to the different ways that this staple of Africa is prepared (stuywe pap, krummel pap, soft pap) with various accompaniments. Once the preparation is complete, spend a short while in the Gold of Africa Museum before returning to the restaurant for an interactive drumming experience, followed by a soothing hand washing, dinner and entertainment.
Company Gardens Walking Tour
Company Gardens is the oldest garden in the country. It has its origins in Jan van Riebeeck’s vegetable garden, which he grew to feed the original colony as early as 1652, but a little closer to the coast. In a bid to plant in more fertile soil, on ground sheltered from the wind, he moved his garden with its northern boundary on Wale Street, and this is where it stands today. Today you will spend the morning in the city, beginning with a cable car trip up Table Mountain where you will take a casual tour through the Company’s Gardens. The raison d’etre for Cape Town, these gardens were started in 1652 by the first commander of the Cape for the Dutch East India Company, Jan Van Riebeek, planting fruit trees, grape vines and vegetable gardens to replenish the little sailing ships on their way from Europe to the Dutch East Indies.
Cooking with Chef Martha Williams with Dinner & Wine Pairing
In the late afternoon you will join Chef Martha Williams and her entourage in the kitchen of the Cellars-Hohenort Hotel for a traditional Cape Malay cooking experience. Cape Malay is unique to the Western Cape. It dates back to the 17th Century and has evolved to reflect the influences of the times. Originally a product of the early Indian and Malay settlers in the Cape it has since been adapted by the creative indigenous cooks of this area. Guests (and aspiring cooks) will join Martha and her team in the kitchen, and under her instructions you will start preparing two main courses and a dessert. While the main course is in the oven, guests are seated in the restaurant where they can enjoy aromatic Cape Malay recommendations. The prepared meal is then plated by Martha and served by the waiters. A special wine list will compliment the cuisine, and there will be a sommelier to assist with wine recommendations. After dinner, guests will leave with signature Malay Restaurant aprons and Cape Malay cookbooks autographed by Martha Williams, Chef de Cuisine of the Cape Malay Restaurant.
Chef-Guided Tour of Fishing Pier, Interactive Cooking Class with Lunch
Spend a leisurely morning touring the wharf with Chef Ivan as he introduces you to the local fishing community. You will learn how to choose the freshest catch of the day, and some of the bounty will be purchased for your hands-on cooking and demonstration class back at Rodwell House. You’ll walk along the pier with the chef as he discusses the various cuts of fish, the practice of line fishing, and his preferred methods for cooking. Your menu might include Waterblommetjie Soup, Fresh Snoek Pate, grilled Fish with a delicious Creamy Caper Sauce, and Rhubarb Pie…or other seasonal and sustainable recipes.
Touring, Shopping, Sightseeing and Dining in the Cape Quarter
Your morning will be free for shopping and sightseeing, then it’s off on a scenic drive along the Atlantic coast line of the Peninsula, driving through Camps Bay, Hout Bay, and over the spectacular Chapman’s Peak for a late lunch at the Food Barn in Noordhoek. After lunch, you’ll continue on over Ou Kaapse Weg to Constantia for a wine Tasting and tapas at Bistro Sixteen 82, before returning to the hotel.
Cooking and Dining with Chef Luke Dale Roberts in the Test Kitchen
For your final dinner and interactive cooking experience, participants will have the opportunity to experience something really different with Luke Dale Roberts in The Test Kitchen. In less than four years as Executive Chef at La Colombe, Luke has taken the restaurant to 12th place at the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, picking up Eat Out/s Restaurant of the Year along the way, and the coveted Rossouw’s three star rating for the past two consecutive years.