Chef Jodi has returned from her three-week tour through the South African food and wine scene! Making stops in several cities, she gained a number of delicious recipes and new techniques to share with her Lajollacooks4u guests.
Her culinary adventure began in Stellenbosch, a town in South Africa’s Western Cape province. It is internationally renowned for its incredible wine farms, beautiful environment, boutiques and art galleries, Chef Jodi had a great time exploring its wine farms and street cafes.
From there, she was off to the enchanting Franschhoek Wine Valley, an incredibly beautiful area also known as the country’s food and wine capital. There, she dined at The Tasting Room, where she enjoyed a five course menu with her husband consisting of popcorn chicken, lamb, pork belly and sirloin, each dish complete with wine pairing.
Chef Jodi ‘s culinary adventure then took her to Cape Town, where she visited Kirstenbosch, one of the great botanical gardens of the world. There, she took in the city atop a tree-lined bridge!
She also frequented the town’s local farmer’s markets. Every Saturday, Cape Town would transform in order to offer the freshest ingredients to its patrons. Chef Jodi took in the produce and the delicious bakeries.
She also thoroughly enjoyed the fresh array of seafood, complete with flavorful dipping sauces.
After dining on a fantastic Peri Peri Calamari, Chef Jodi visited spice shops and brought back local South African spices, included the country’s popular Peri Peri, to use in her meals for her Lajollacooks4u cooking events.
She and her husband also traveled to Constantia, an affluent suburb south of Cape Town, to savor the delicious South African wines. During their wine tasting, she enjoyed a variety of the country’s most popular bottles and also paired them with chocolate.
Chef Jodi considers the latest of her culinary excursions abroad her absolute favorite. She has been inspired by the South African cuisine, particularly the complexity and flavor of its dishes, and she can’t wait to incorporate all she’s learned into the meals she shares with those who visit Lajollacooks4u!
