Peter James Smith
Why do we handle our supposedly prestige award ceremonies so badly? Last week I attended the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award at Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel. Each year, the winemakers are required to submit a particular cultivar or style and this year it was a “Cape Blend”, which excluded Bordeaux-style blends.
So what is a Cape Blend? Nobody knows. It couldn’t be a combination of the Bordeaux ingredients – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec or Petit Verdot – but it could include them in combination with something else. Not much choice there, so it would probably be Shiraz or Pinotage or possibly even Ruby Cabernet. As it happens, 50% of the winemakers opted for a Pinotage component, but the winner, Ronel Wiid of Hazendal, did not. She won with a 1998 Shiraz/ Cabernet Sauvignon blend that was a fruity New World style wine with a long aftertaste, but which will take a couple of years to come into its own. It’s a very nice wine, but I don’t know what is particularly South African about it, unless the “Cape Blend” characteristic is seen as being Australian.
But back to the occasion itself. The award dinner was held in the Ballroom at the Mount Nelson. It was a black-tie affair, presided over by a Gauteng-based master of ceremonies – “highly recommended by the events company” – with an endless supply of tasteless rugby jokes or their equivalent.
The food was poor. A pretentious, hors d’oeuvre, “Stilton and Potato Brle with a Garnish of Celery and Wild Mushrooms”, proved to be an odd, unappetising dish. The garnish of celery was a large green club and the closest the mushrooms could have got to being wild would have been in the van en route to the hotel.
The greying slabs of meat served up as the main course were described as “Roast Loin of Lamb with Garlic Mashed Potatoes served with a Balsamic Jus and Seasonal Vegetables”. For “seasonal”, read raw.
The dessert was the best course; “Brandy Snap Basket with Praline Ice Cream and Seasonal Fruit”. The Brandy Snap was rolled into an upright dunce’s cap, filled with cream and served with a half ball of ice cream. Unfortunately, there was a fancy chocolate collar attached which gave the dish a similar appearance to “Chico the Clown” – without the sparkler.
Given the exorbitant prices charged by the Mount Nelson – if I remember rightly, it is R140 for a full breakfast – you would expect a little better, but as someone at my table said, “At least you can eat it. At the last major wine award function the food was completely inedible.”
I attended an awards ceremony at another of Cape Town’s international hotels recently which was probably the best corporate function I’ve attended for years. The food was excellent, as was the ambience and the sense of occasion. The master of ceremonies was efficient and unobtrusive. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the company concerned was German.
Peter James-Smith compiles and presents The Food and Booze Programme on Safm