This month we give you a guide to all the foodie and non-foodie events you’ll need to watch out for: Knysna Oyster festival, Bastille Festival, Food & wine festival (JHB) and the Durban July.

Honest Chocolate Bonbon Workshop 

Event Details 

Date: 24 June 
Location: Cape Town, Western Cape 
Event Info: Calling all chocoholics! Honest Chocolate is holding a family-friendly workshop, giving us a peak into the magic of chocolate-making. You’ll get a first-hand introduction to how cocoa beans are transformed from a bean to a bar and make your own set of delightful bonbons to take home.  

Knysna Oyster Festival

Event Details
Date: 30 June to 9 July 
Location: Knysna, Western Cape 
Event Info: This 10-day whirlwind of sport, food (all the oysters!), wine and music is sure to delight visitors to the Garden Route. The week is packed with activities – from hand-picking fresh oysters, catching a sunset sail, thrifting at a pop-up store, dancing to live music, bending to the pilates beat to running yourself silly on the mountain trails. Prepare for an outdoor extravaganza! 

Hollywoodbets Durban July

Event Details 

Date: 1 July
Location: Durban, Kwazulu-Natal 
Event Info: It’s time for the largest horse racing event in South Africa, held at Greyville Racecourse. Place your bets and watch the finest horses and their jockeys race for the grand prize of R3 million. If watching horses doesn’t appeal to you, then go for the people, the outfits, the food and the grand party. The theme for this year is Out of this World – from extraterrestrials, shooting stars and planets to AI, astronauts, star gates and galaxies – gear up and get glittery!  

Bridal Expo

Event Details
Date: 1 to 2 July
Location: Kurgersdorp. Gauteng 
Event Info: Grab your fiancé, parents or bestie (and a file to collect all the pamphlets and info you can) and head to Oakfield Farm. You’ll get the chance to interact with seasoned industry experts and plan your perfect wedding day. Walk and talk through booths exhibiting everything from decor to dresses – and don’t forget to sample the food trucks, which are available to cater for your big day, too. 

House + Garden Show 

Event Details 

Date: 1to 9 July 
Location: Durban, Kwazulu-Natal
Event Info: Visit a decor show like no other at the Durban Exhibition Centre. Think home, leisure, garden and grandeur. Expect the latest luxury tools and cutting-edge equipment, decor and appliances – and keep an eye out for the Foodie Fair and the latest in kitchenware design. 

Bastille Festival

Event Details 

Date: 15 to 16 July 
Location: Franschhoek, Western Cape
Event Info: This two-day affair celebrates French heritage with foodie fair in the heart of leafy Franschhoek. Of course, it isn’t a French affair without all the signature dishes, fine wine and colourful traditions. Don your red beret and take a trip through the streets of France. Indulge in the pastries, fine dining fare, coffee, music and markets dotted in and around Franschhoek. 

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By now you’ve heard of the exciting and delicious event coming to Cape Town for the first time ever, The Dessert Expo! Being the first of it’s kind in South Africa, you definitely don’t want to miss the opportunity to taste, learn about and explore all the decadent treats that will be on show. In case you aren’t sure what to expect, here’s a little breakdown of what will be in store.

By Taryn Wilson

With hoards of space at the Greenpoint Stadium, The Dessert Expo will be divided into 7 dessert-themed sections each specifically centred around a certain treat or theme. Let the little ones to learn about home baking in the Little Pasterie Workshops section, discover a taste for dessert and wine pairing in the Dessert & Dessert Wine Pairing Lounge, and enjoy some yummy treats and tea with the Dessert High Tea Experience. Find healthy options at the Skinny Delights Workshop Experience, bring out your inner baker at the Masterclasses/Workshops/Chef’s Theatre, or just enjoy a stroll through the Artisan Dessert Market. No matter your preference, The Dessert Expo will be showcasing it!

There will also be an immense variety of delicious baked, cooked, frozen and quality treats available to sample and purchase. But what kind of goods can you expect? The Dessert Expo has a long (and drool-worthy) list of the desserts you can expect to indulge in:

– Biscuits or cookies
– Cakes
– Chocolates and candies
– Custards and puddings
– Deep-fried desserts
– Frozen desserts
– Jellied desserts
– Pastries
– Pies, cobblers, and clafoutis
– Sweet soups
– Dessert wines
– Coffee
– Cheeses & Nuts
– Fruit
– Jams
– Dessert wine & liqueur

Besides being able to try all the treats, you’ll discover brands, restaurants and bakeries that you never knew existed, and will definitely head to in the future for more sweet treats. Avid dessert enthusiasts will find the best in dessert trends, ideas and recipes to take home, while also walking away with new skills from workshops hosted by celebrity chefs and industry specialists (find out who here).

Image: Unsplash

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The Dessert Expo is excited to announce that three of South Africa’s top food and baking bloggers will be sharing their recipes, tricks & tips over the expo weekend. In no particular order, we would like to introduce to you:

KATELYN ALLEGRA – TheKateTin.com

Katelyn Allegra is a food stylist, food photographer and recipe developer with over 10 years of experience in television and magazines.

Her baking and dessert blog, TheKateTin.com, has won Best Food Blog in South Africa for the last 3 years and has been featured on BuzzFeed, Fine Dining Lovers and in a host of local South African print and online publications. After studying to be a professional pastry chef at the Institute of Culinary Arts in Stellenbosch, Katelyn worked in restaurants and hotels before becoming Top Billing’s food editor.

Her journey in print and television continued on the Expresso Breakfast Show where she became well-known for her insatiable sweet tooth and creating recipes that are accessible to all who her share her obsession with baking. Katelyn lives in Cape Town with her chocolate-maker husband.

CLAIRE WINSTANELY – Good Looking & Cooking

After training at the SA Chefs Academy, Claire worked as a pastry chef in Hong Kong for 5 years before returning to SA to work as a food stylist at The Expresso Show and then moved on to host the cooking segments on the Afternoon Express show. She then left the TV world for the digital one and started the first YouTube cooking show in South Africa called ‘Good Looking and Cooking’. She now works as a full-time freelance food stylist and recipe developer with the sole mission of making food look utterly delectable.

ASTRID FIELD – The Sweet Rebellion

Astrid is a food scientist, food stylist and recipe developer living in Cape Town. Her blog, The Sweet Rebellion, has been nominated for the Saveur Best Baking and Sweets Blog 2018 and is the only South African blog to make it to the finals.

After completing a degree in Food Science, Astrid worked in a flavour laboratory for several years.

In 2013 Astrid was diagnosed with MS. She left the commercial food industry but missed the creative aspect of developing products. This combined with her incurable dessert addiction led her to start a blog documenting her baking experiments. The Sweet Rebellion is all about unapologetically sweet, decadent treats. The recipes vary from simple to showstopper – there is something sweet for any baker.

To keep updated on the schedule of events, follow The Dessert Expo on Instagram (@dessertexposa) or click here to like their Facebook page.

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Joburg, are you ready for the first ever Stellenbosch Wine Live? This three-day wine, food and lifestyle event gives you a taste of what Capetonians experience and love about Stellies!

By Ulisha Moodley

There will be over 40 of Stellenbosch’s top wine estates at the event, including Waterford, Beyerskloof, Warwick and more. Visitors will also get the opportunity to engage with the owners and winemakers about their award-winning wines and wineries.

You can also expect awesome live entertainment brought to you by Kaya FM 95.9. Artists will include DJ Just Temba, DJ Tha Muzik, DJ Musa and Luyanda Madope Ensemble. And if you’re feeling a little peckish you can head over to the Gourmet Food Lane, which will display some of Pick n Pay’s freshest selection of divine cheeses, fish, meats, fruit and vegetables.

Pick n Pay Wine Club members will have free access to Pick n Pay’s Wine Club Tasting Room, which will be offering specialised food and wine pairings.

This is definitely an event you don’t want to miss out on!

THE DETAILS

When: 5-7 October 2018
Where: The Wanderers Club, Johannesburg
Standard ticket: R295 (includes tasting glass) per person
Three-day weekend pass: R515 per person

Children under 18 enter free of charge, do not rea receive a tasting glass

Tickets are available at Webtickets.

For more information visit stellenboschwinelive.co.za

Image: Stellenbosch Wine LIVE/Facebook

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Celebrate South Africa’s finest restaurants with the Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Restaurant Awards. Foodies from around the country will vote for their favourites to honour the best and most prestigious restaurants in an elaborate awards ceremony in Cape Town.

By Taryn Wilson

This year’s event takes place on 18 November at GrandWest Grand Arena in Cape Town where the winners will be announced. ‘Honouring the extraordinary talent in South Africa is what Eat Out is all about,’ says New Media MD Aileen Lamb. ‘This awards ceremony is where we get to celebrate our world-class chefs and the magnificent work being done in the food industry as a whole. Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz, which is also dedicated to recognising excellence and innovation, makes our journey together even more inspiring.’

This year attendees can expect to be welcomed into the Grand Arena with Graham Beck MCC and canapés, and later will be treated to a multiple-course lunch prepared by the country’s top chefs. Afterwards, guests will be able to mingle and enjoy a celebratory party.

The event will kick off with 30 nominees of the best restaurants in South Africa, which will then be counted down until the final top 10 are revealed. Winners will be chosen by a panel of anonymous judges, along with judging convenor Margot Janse.

Aside from 10 top restaurants in South Africa, the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards will also be recognising the Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year, the Eat Out S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Chef of the Year, the Eat Out Nederburg Rising Star, Eat Out Graham Beck Chefs’ Chef Award, the Eat Out Diners Club Service Excellence Award, the Eat Out Wine Service Award, the Eat Out John Psillos Award for Outstanding Contribution to Service, the Eat Out Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award, the Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award, and the Eat Out Style Award.

For the fifth year, Mercedes-Benz South Africa is sponsoring the awards event, with the head chef of the Restaurant of the Year Award being honoured with a luxury Mercedes-Benz for the time of their title. ‘As a brand, we’re always striving to find the very best, and we’re thrilled to recognise local chefs and restaurants around South Africa whose culinary delights exceed expectations year after year,’ says Marketing Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars Selvin Govender.

Tickets are limited and can be purchased for R1 595 per person online here at Quicket.

For more information, visit eatout.co.za.

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…And it’ll make all your sweet-tooth dreams come true! Dessert aficionados are invited to embark on an indulgent journey into the deliciously vibrant world of all things dessert at South Africa’s first ever Dessert Expo!

By Roxy Greeff

Expo visitors will find everything from cakes, macarons, pastries, gelato, hand-made chocolate, cookies, and fudge, to doughnuts, ice cream, truffles, brownies, cupcakes, dessert cocktails and more – it’s a dessert foodie paradise! Dessert enthusiasts are invited to get ready to treat themselves to a range of indulgent delights.

Move aside Willy Wonka! The Dessert Expo is here! Whether you just love all things dessert, you’re in the industry or you just wanna see what it’s all about, there will be something at this amazing event for you.

Greenpoint Stadium will be packed to the brim with South Africa’s elite pastry chefs, chocolatiers, confectioners, ice cream shops, frozen dessert makers and more, everything a sweet or savoury dessert enthusiast could dream of.

In addition to all the deliciousness you will be tasting over the duration of the expo, you will also be entertained with local celebrity cooking demos, bake-offs, competitions and workshops. And we’ll be there too!

Keep your eyes peeled on our website to find out who will be making an appearance.

To make things even more exciting, MyKitchen will be giving away 50 double tickets to The Dessert Expo (Western Cape MyKitchen subscribers only) to the value of R240 (R120 pp).

Not a subscriber? Not to worry! Buy the November issue of MyKitchen (on sale in stores 13 October), where all MK readers get 50% off by entering the voucher code on page 69 when buying tickets to the 2018 Dessert Expo at quicket.co.za.

What are you waiting for?

THE DETAILS

When: 23-25 November 2018
Where: Greenpoint Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Road, Green Point, Cape Town, 8051
Tickets: quicket.co.za
Website: dessertexpo.co.za

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