It is not often you get invited to cook and dine alongside a Masterchef South Africa finalist. So when the opportunity arises you grab it with both oven mits!
Claire Allen is Masterchef South Africa Season 3 finalist and a food entertainer. Lets just say, she’s a magician in the kitchen.
A few fellow foodies and I got to share a lovely, fun, wine-filled, gourmet evening with Claire herself at Ginger and Lime. And when I say fun, I mean fun. We were all given the chance to cook alongside Claire and wow her with our skills.
We were all given a task. Some were in charge of the cauliflower cream cheese soup, others the avocado mousse, and some the chocolate coffee brownies. I was put in charge of the dill oil. Thankfully with a little bit of guidance by Claire, I mastered it. So I was given the go ahead to the next stage of Masterchef. (I joke!)
The kitchen got messy, the wine was flowing, the jokes poured were heartily laughed at and the company was amazing.
Starter
The cauliflower cream cheese soup with crispy bacon was so good. It was thick, tasty and hearty. It was the perfect starter for a cold raining evening. I was tempted to ask for seconds but I didn’t want to risk losing space for the mains and dessert.
Main
This is where things got very fun, especially as most of us were onto our second glass of wine. We had to plate our own dishes Masterchef style and Claire was the judge. Whoever took all the factors into consideration when plating was awarded a bottle of wine. But we were only given 10 minutes. It got very stressful and unfortunately I did not win the bottle of wine. I wasn’t even close to it! In fact, I was nearly asked to donate a bottle of wine! (I joke!)
The pan fried angel fish with herbed gnocchi, seafood bisque avocado mousse and dill oil was absolute perfection.
Dessert
Chocolate coffee brownies with whisky ganache. These were the best brownies I have ever had in my life (in this instance, I do NOT joke!).
I noticed one of the dinner guests eating his brownies with a teaspoon. I asked him why and he replied that its because with a teaspoon the dessert lasts longer. Guess who finished their dessert first? Yes, he did! Ha! (Hi Allan!!)
Caire Allen
Claire Allen is the Foodie In Love. Her favourite foods include bacon, cupcakes without the icing, salted caramel nuts and potatoes. A foodie after my own heart.
Having spent an evening alongside her in the kitchen was a wonderful experience and honestly a dream come true. I witnessed how her passion, enthusiasm and love for food shows in the magic she performs in the kitchen.
Claire has her own food blog too, called Food is Love. Go visit it now, you will find her recipe for the delicious cauliflower cream cheese soup with crispy bacon!
Thank you Claire and Michelle from EXBHÂ for such an experience.
♥
P.S. I apologise for the quality of the images. It was all the wine.
