I think Moema’s isÂ*the best patisserie in Gauteng. Its also a rather nice little restaurant with daily special dishes to choose from.The window display can only be described as food shop porn. I challenge any foodie toÂ*cruise past without walking in and buying a little treat or two.The pork and sage pies are deletable, and [...]

more Foodie news ...

I was in Joburg last week to celebrate my brothers 30th birthday and popped past a few of my favourite foodie spots to see what they were getting up to and take a trip down memory lane.There are more, but these are a few of my all time best.TORTELLINO D’ORO It’s an Italian deli and [...]

more Foodie news ...

Bryan Webb, chef/patron at the acclaimed Tyddyn Llan in Denbighshire, is celebrating turning 50 next month with a special birthday bash at the Walnut Tree, near Abergavenny.

2010 has been a momentous year for Bryan, having been awarded a Michelin star in January - along with Shaun Hill, owner of the Walnut Tree.

“It’s a significant place to hold my 50th birthday party as that’s where I celebrated my 21st and my 40th - when Franco and Anne Taruschio ran it - and Shaun Hill is cited as one of my food heroes in my book, Bryan Webb’s Kitchen,” he explains.

Unlike many chefs, who take an executive role once status and fortunes permit, Bryan is still hands-on in the kitchen, even cooking breakfasts for his guests at Tyddyn Llan.

“My hands and forearms are still covered in burns - the trademark of a working chef,” he grins. “But that’s how it should be, cooking is still my passion and I don’t want to take a back seat and create the food from a distance.”

Bryan culinary repertoire, as befitting a Michelin rated chef, is rich and varied.

Dishes featured on his menus this year include grilled red mullet, aubergine puree, chilli and garlic oil; dressed crab, fennel and pea shoot salad; rabbit leg stuffed with black pudding, mustard sauce; roast saddle of venison, braised shin, celeriac mash; grilled pineapple, chilli syrup, coconut sorbet and prune and almond tart served with prune and mascarpone ice cream.

However, Bryan also devised a special £30 menu to help top calibre food be more readily available to a wider audience.

“I don’t believe that good food should be an elitist thing, it isn’t in countries like France and Italy, there, everybody enjoys decent food, and I’d like to see the snooty element disappear from eating well in the UK too.”

*As part of his birthday celebrations Bryan will be offering guests a £50 discount per couple on any two or three night break for 50 days from August 6.

In addition to the Michelin star awarded in January 2010, Tyddyn Llan was also named as The Good Food Guide readers’ favourite restaurant in Wales, 2009, and Bryan Webb was honoured with a fellowship of the prestigious Masterchefs organisation.

more Foodie news ...

Feeling terribly frustrated as a combination of poor Internet connectivity due to Seacom underwater cable dysfunction, a trip away last week and now a dead laptop have resulted in no posts on Drizzle & Dip.Â* I am buying a new machine so hope to be up and running as soon as possible.

more Foodie news ...

more Foodie news ...

I inherited the book ‘The Joy of Cooking’ by Irma Rombauer from my mother whoÂ*in turn had inherited fromÂ*her mother.Â* The book was first published in the USA in 1931 andÂ* my copy isÂ*the 1952 edition.I have never made anything from it, but have read bits and pieces and use itÂ*moreÂ*as aÂ*reference. I am however [...]

more Foodie news ...

When I stumble across a recipe that claims to be the best chocolate cookie recipe ever, or on the internet, I am intrigued. I read further. I travel from one blog link to the next to see who else has baked this recipe. I discover that even Clotilde has baked it and approves of it. The [...]

more Foodie news ...

more Foodie news ...

Luckily my lifestyle is such that while I am still a working girl, I am able to ‘do lunch’ with some of the friends that are not.Â*These two spots are lovely little restaurants to meet a friend for lunch when trekking aroundÂ*the mountain to theÂ* Southern Suburbs.STARLINGSIt’s a wildly popular little spot to meet for [...]

more Foodie news ...