Cook Along with Castle Lager Lions Series - by Penny Edwards

On Thursday, 10th June Penny and members of the SA Chamber of Commerce joined the 2021 Castle Lager Lions Series Cook-Along.

Presenter David Flatman, sports pundit and England International, was joined by Welsh International Shane Williams and Chef Calvin Von Niebel, Executive Chef at Ottolenghi, who guided the cooking.

Last Thursday I had great fun prepping and cooking in my beautiful new kitchen whilst watching and listening to Ottolenghi Executive Chef Calvin Von Niebel. The Lions Series events team sent me a fantastic chilled pack of ingredients with instructions and a list of equipment needed.

The evening started with some interesting and informative Lions Tour 2021 rugby chat with Shane Williams. I listened intently of course, whilst sipping on my De Grendel Chardonnay!

The starter was fresh, slightly moist, super-flavoursome biltong – easy to prepare by just popping into a serving dish and eating!

The main course was a wonderful take on a Cape-Malay dish I know well: Babotie. Calvin’s version of this historic and unique curried mince dish tasted delicious – I particularly enjoyed the fresh tomato we used and the mix of spices he sent had amazing heady aromatics that reminded me of home.

Calvin had a wonderful way of explaining the history of the dish as we cooked – a far cry from my hotel school cheffing days when I only remember the Exec Chef shouting at me!

Pudding was another traditional South African delicacy: Milk Tart. Now I have tried to make this many times before on my own and failed dismally… Along with Calvin’s expert guidance and the handy ready-made pastry shells that were sent in the pack- I created two mini milk tart masterpieces! The flavour was delicate and subtly sweet, the texture smooth and silky. All in all, an enjoyable evening of learning, eating and drinking.