Adsactly Travel - Cooking Up a Storm at Leopards Leap Kitchen

in #adsctly6 years ago

Adsactly Travel: Cooking Up a Storm at Leopards Leap Kitchen

Life has interesting coincidences. One minute you are buying some good wine looking at the wine label and thinking about the winery, the next time, they invite you to their kitchen for a unique cooking class.

I was at Leopard's Leap Kitchen in South Africa! I could not contain my joy because I had tried their wine but on this day, I had the rare pleasure of attending one of their cooking classes. We would be making 3 dishes and pairing them with different wines.

This was a great opportunity for me to sharpen my culinary skills. When it comes to cooking, I love to experiment with different dishes and this was a worthwhile opportunity. The icing on the cake was that I was in a new country and I was very curious to see whether the chef would incorporate some of the South African cooking methods and concepts in this class.

We took our jackets off, some folded their sleeves and we all went to the counter in the kitchen. We were ready to get to business. There were bright lights above us and the chef was preparing the ingredients as she explained everything. What excited me about this experience was the fact that we all got to participate. She even let us smell and taste some ingredients. We stirred, plated and did all the extra activities that did not require so much skill.

The cooking was very engaging and the class could accommodate up to 20 people at a time. They also have large screens all over the space so that people can observe how the food is being prepared. If you got tired of standing, one could casually sit on the table and watch what was happening on large screens. I think this is quite incredible. Imagine every time you went to dinner, you had a peek into what the chef was doing and how they were preparing your food.


That made me anticipate the meal even more. They also had some printouts for us to go through during the cooking process. We were free to carry them in case we needed to replicate the meal in our own homes.

This was a slow but fun experience because it took about two hours and a half and we got to enjoy the meal over some wine and great conversation. This had to be one of the memorable dinners I have attended or participated in.

They also perfectly pair the food with their own wine since they have a winery. This is a great way to spend time with family, friend or colleagues during that special occasion. I also enjoyed the fact that the kitchen and restaurant were very big with high ceilings. It was airy and did not feel cramped.
We first made a pumpkin bread that was so fresh and delicious.
Before

After

Starter: Cape Bokkom Salad with Pickled Fish

This was our first dish. As you can see from this recipe, it has so many ingredients but they all work together to create this delicious salad. I appreciated the tastes and textures in this salad and some of the ingredients I had never tried before. All I could hear was forks and knives excitedly hitting the plates and this was a good sign. You know when there is that moment of silence when people are eating. We had that and I about 10 minutes, all plates were clear and we were on to the next dish. I could tell that the chef really loved this dish because of the meticulousness and how she explained everything. This was another delicious dish and even thinking about it just makes me salivate. It was very well plated and people enjoyed it.

Main: Karoo Lamb Ribs and Tails

This was the dish that took the most time to prepare. It was either a hit or miss and you either loved or hated it. I was not too keen on it but I loved the ribs, however, they were too soft for my liking. I love juicy ribs that one can tear off the bone with some work. These ones fell right off. You know when you boil meat for too long.

We also had dessert and talked for a long time after. I really enjoyed how laid back the dinner was. We ate to our fill and had so much fun. We also got to try their wine after dinner. As a food and wine lover, I really enjoy unique experiences that depart from your normal wine and food dinner setting/. This was memorable.

I remember checking my phone and it was 11 pm. I was staying at the Lee Collection Hotel in Franschhoek and this was my last night in Franschhoek. I had made some friends that night and they decide to hit the hotel bar. We had some whiskey on the rocks to toast to a great day before turning in. That is the best thing about solo travels. Sometimes, you can be sipping a Lagavulin 16YO with new friends having the deepest conversations about life.


Authored by @jeanwandimi

Photography by @jeanwandimi


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Just WOW, so much good food.

Amazing food.

God! You do not know how jealous I am when I see the photos and read that story, the plating of the lamb was my favorite!
I would love to know more about the texture and the different flavors that you felt in that dish to make me a better idea.
by the way the pumpkin bread looks quite tasty, even though I do not like pumpkin. LOL.

I also do not like pumpkin but it was delicious and the pumpkin seeds added a nice crunch.

knifes ans forks excitedly making sound

👌 what a lovely way to let us imagine the taste of food. 👍 that mere sentence is enough to make us relaise how good the food was. And glad you had a great time inside the kitchen...are you chef too ? Such cooking classes help to make foodies ponder on every thing.
The way the plates were arranges" were quite fascinating. Such thing increase the appetite. 👌 well presented with some lovely photography. Making mouth watering with a sip of Leapord leap wine 👍

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I am glad you loved the piece. Yes plating makes one salivate for the good meal ahead.

oh my god the pumpkin bread looks amazing , the perfect accompaniment with the wine :]
& the class sounds fun, and something different than what sometimes can seem mundane every day tasks!
nice that you had such a memorable experience.... your photography skills are also up to the scratch as your cooking 😊😊😊

Thanks for the kind words on the photography. I used the Canon g7x The pumpkin bread was delicious and she garnished with pumpkin seed which were crunchy and delicious.

What an amazing experience. Would love to be there learning all these amazing dishes cooked with all these wines and the kitchen looks like a perfect place to do some cooking.
The pumpkin bread looks amazing.
This definitely would be the most memorable dinner ever.

The pumpkin bread was delicious and she garnished with pumpkin seed which were crunchy and delicious.

Life has interesting coincidences. One minute you are buying some good wine...

Nicely described right from the beginning! I guess that’s us humans. We explore everything, we are very curious creatures looking for new experiences. From the moment we are born we are exploring 😆.
Cooking classes? That’s a great idea. It must had been a great experience. I’m really surprised the chef revealed her cooking secrets to you. Sometimes they feel like it’s their baby and rather keep their recipe for them self as a secret.

Imagine every time you went to dinner, you had a peek into what the chef was doing and how they were preparing your food.

Actually you are right. When I go to restaurant, that’s exactly first thing that runs through my mind. Usually when the restaurant is nice and clean and when the kitchen is not shown, I’m thinking ... “dirty kitchen”. Sometimes it makes me think twice to eat in this particular restaurant, just for that reason. In your case, I would feel very comfortable eating. I would love to have this kind of restaurant where I live, in my city. And as wine lover, it would only be a great bonus.
Great cooking, eating of sooo delicious dish and wine drinking experience @jeanwandimi! Especially lamb ribs, that’s my favorite. Lamb cooking has always been a huge challenge for me, but when it’s done the right way, it’s really delicious.

Yes life has great coincidences. They had a big book of recipes that guests get to choose from the possible recipes. And the chef tells you stories as she cooks. Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

@jeanwandimi, In this post we can for sure through your words see that you are really happy because you got this opportunity of Classes and in my opinion everyone will not get that.

And these pictures and your words saying that you really had great time and these sessions were productive too, and at the end of the day Process Of Learning is vital.

And for sure these dishes are reflecting awesome and holding the essence of Deliciousness and for sure these dishes will going to give the great essence to the tummy.

So, i hope and wish that these classes will going to help you ahead and in my opinion life is an experience and it gives many opportunities and we have to use the right opportunities.

Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂

Thanks for the kind words. I also hope you get to enjoy a cooking class soon. Have a great day.

Welcome and thank you so much. 🙂

This post has been resteemed and upvoted by me, BakerBob, the happy little baking bot over at @igetbaking. I like to bake. And read about baking. And watch baking videos... Follow @igetbaking for baking news and random upvotes on your baking posts!

amazing experience

Very memorable.

ok i've been away and catching up. All of this looks fabulous, makes me very hungry all of a sudden !

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