My interview with Heston Blumenthal

For the September issue of House & Garden magazine, I got to interview Heston Blumenthal – a true gastronomic legend and international celebrity chef. How did I get so lucky?

Well, he happens to be heading to the Good Food & Wine Show Joburg on (Sorry fellow Cape Townians!!)... but he does have a lot of good things to say about Cape Town... and who knows, he may pop in for a visit again soon...

Here is the interview:

What keeps bringing you back to

South Africa? It’s simply one of

the most beautiful countries in the

world — I get withdrawal symptoms.

What’s your take on South African cuisine?

South Africa is gifted with an incredible wealth

of produce, such as great meat and wonderful

seafood. Its rich multicultural influence, from

Portuguese to Cape Malay, also intrigues me.

More traditional offerings are of the carnivore’s

delight on the braai, like boerewors.

What foodie discoveries did you make during

your last trip to South Africa? When I was

at the Cape Town Good Food & Wine Show

last year, I visited some incredible restaurants

in the winelands. These passionate chefs

are working with small local producers,

encouraging them to grow different varieties

of fruit and vegetables, as well as rear organic

or free-range meat and poultry.

Where in Joburg will we find you when you’re

not at the Good Food & Wine Show? In every

restaurant I can physically visit! Also, if time

allows, I would like to visit a game reserve.

What’s your most memorable restaurant

experience in South Africa? There are too many

to pin-point just one — eating crayfish on the

beach at Fish Hoek, an extravagant four-hour

tasting menu, enjoying a glass of wine and a snack

on top of Table Mountain while watching the

incredible African sunset, having a braai in the

dunes at Bloubergstrand ... When I visit the Cape

I also love to go to Camps Bay for a big plate of

seafood and watch the waves crash between the

palm trees — it was my late father’s favourite

thing to do, so it’s a special moment.

Which South African ingredients do you find

stimulating and have you incorporated them in

any of your own dishes? Rooibos tea — which

I drink in the UK when I can — and also curing

fish, which I use in our The Sound of the Sea

dish, which is made up of sand, seafood and

the ocean waves, which you listen to through

an iPod in a shell. Oh, and I do find it hard to

resist a brown paper bag with great biltong.

Have you ever attempted to recreate a

typical South African dish? I hadn’t thought

about it, but there’s no reason why it could

not go on the radar as a future target. I love

Bobotie. It reminds me of Cape Town, the

same way guava does — the first time I ate

guava was in Cape Town.

What do you have in store for the Good

Food and Wine Show? I will take audiences on

a journey as I create my iconic dishes such as

The Sound of the Sea with edible sand, logicdefying

Hot and Iced Tea, my famous Snail

Porridge and my epic Mock Turtle Soup.

Here are the deets:

Visit the Good Food & Wine Show at the Coca-Cola Dome from 21 to 24 September and book a VIP package with Heston Blumenthal. Good Food & Wine Show, www.goodfoodandwineshow.co.za