Catering’s Best by InterContinental

Bafana bafana!

In 2010, Catering’s Best will be putting its focus on South Africa and pamper you and your guests with South African specialities and our very special selection of South African wines, purchased from small, crafty businesses.

To celebrate the occasion, Johann Mitterlechner, chef du cuisine of the InterContinental Düsseldorf, has created a typical South African menu for you.
South Africa is by now a well-established theme both in the InterContinental Berlin and in the InterContinental Düsseldorf. Berlin offers authentic food in an African setting, in the Berlin Zoo’s Hippo House, Düsseldorf offers a variety of South African wines and adorns its suites with South African artifacts.

Simply talk to your Catering’s Best office about your personal South Africa World Cup event!

 

 

The South African Menu

Whoever has travelled to South Africa knows that the slogan „One world in one country“ is more than just a catchline. The country’s turbulent history has brought many different cultures together, all of them adding to the country’s culinary heritage.

The English brought their boiled lamb in mint sauce, „pickled walnuts“ and steamed pudding. The Boers, Flemish-Dutch immigrants, added a rich variety of sweets, such as Melktert and Koeksisters. The Malays and the Indians made the curry a traditional South African dish, adding chutneys, atjars and pickles ranging from mildly to very, very spicy. The Zulu, the Xhosa, the Sotho, the Tswana and many other local tribes are famous for their hearty meat stews and the omnipresent „pap“, a well-cooked, stiff paste made of cornmeal that has found its way into the South African gourmet cooking. Let us not forget the aromatic chakalaka sauce, a mixture of onions, garlic, tomatoes and chilies that can be enjoyed both hot and cold.

Chef du cuisine Johann Mitterlechner has created a special menu to give you a taste of South Africa – even before the World Cup starts.

 

Menu

Salat with fresh and dried mango and biltong made of beef

Soup of baked butternut with ginger and thick cream

Stewed lamb knuckle in its own stock, chakalaka, white beans and baked polenta

Tarte made of lemon and limette, amarula sauce

 

 

 

Eating „on the road“

We have compiled a small dictionary for you, to help you understand the South African attitude towards life a little better and to give you some pointer for your culinary experience inside and outside of the stadiums.

Biltong: Marinated and dried strips of meat, first used as sustenance for long trecks; keeps without being refrigerated, is rich in protein and light. The most common variation is made with beef, but this can also be prepared using the meat of the ostrich, the kudu, the springbok and many other animals. The dried sausage variation is called Droewors.

Boerewors: South Africas variation of the Bratwurst, a bit crude, boldly spiced and made of beef.

Bunny Chow: A South African/Indian invention; a spicy curry is served in a scooped-out loaf. When the fans in Durban go mad in the King-Senzangakhona-Stadium, a lot of Bunny Chow will be consumed as well.

Braai: The South African barbecue; this spells fun for the entire country. Chakalaka: A spicy/hot sauce made from onions, chilies and tomates, very popular as a supplement to the Boerewors.

Potjiekoos: A sort of hotpot, ragout or stew, traditionally prepared in a cast-iron pot standing in the embers of a campfire.

Samoosa: Triangular, baked dumplings filled with a vegetarian or non-vegetarian curry of Indian heritage. Sarmie: The South African sandwich.

Slap chips: Roughly: Flabby fries. Their condition is explained by the fact that rather thick fries are literally flooded with vinegar. This is absolutely what you want!

Snoek: A long, flat fish of prey, similar to the barracuda, that passes by the South African coast in swarms. Fresh or smoked, as a paté, from the Braai or prepared as a curry – this fish is always a delicacy.

 

 

Beaumont Wines

This small family business in Walker Bay/South Africa is known as one of the best Cape wineries. Since 2004 winemaker Sebastian Beaumont, the son of the family, oversees the production of 120.000 bottles per year.

The cooling breezes of the Atlantic Ocean, a mere 20 kilometeres away, temper the hot summer days, make the nights nice and cool and are responsible for the critical prologation of the ripening season. In the course of the last few years, Beaumont Wines has become a reliable producer of hand-made quality wines.