2012 – The year of very, very good food
There are many predictions about 2012, but one we know will definitely come true at Prue Leith Chefs Academy is that quality food will be celebrated like never before.
The year kicked off on a very high note with a busy restaurant and the launch of the Prue Leith-Alma joint Italian programme that had students cooking with the esteemed Italian Chef Luciano Tona, headmaster of Alma – La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana.
It wasn’t an all Italian start though as South Africans know that nothing brings people together like a braai, so according to Prue Leith tradition the 2nd commis class welcomed the new Pastry, Diploma and Grand Diploma classes with sosaties, wors and fillet on the coals.
A major focus at the Academy this year will be to explore our own cuisine, finding the best local ingredients and traditional recipes and offering them on the fine dining table at the Prue Leith Restaurant as well as in our newly renovated Boma.
Our Italian guests thoroughly enjoyed peri-peri prawns, miniature braai broodjies, and creamed umngqusho with oxtail potjie served around the fire in the Boma. Similar to Italy we have a very diverse cuisine with comforting regional dishes but most restaurants seem to struggle to interpret our culinary heritage to present a contemporary South African cuisine that will make both grandmothers and head chefs proud.
It will require much digging, researching and practice, but definitely a culinary challenge that we look forward too.
If you have a marvelous local supplier or South African family recipe that you would like to share please help us developing our local cuisine and send it to adele@prueleith.co.za.
