Taste of Durban: The word on the street and a chance to WIN!!!

I posted about the Taste of Durban Event here, but now I’ve gotten an official press release and some of the amazing photos to show you. I’m super excited for this event, I mentioned last time that I missed the 2013 event and there is no way I’m missing this years (my ticket is already booked). I’m so impressed with the great chefs and restaurants that are going to be there and the suppliers… I’ve heard amazing things about all of them… So basically I’m counting down the days till the event… Read below for yourself…

NEW TASTES…NEW FACES FOR TASTE OF DURBAN 2014

The Pick n Pay Taste of Durban is back from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 July at Suncoast Casino & Entertainment World (Suncoast). Chefs from nine of Durban’s top restaurants will create special menus of starter-sized dishes, including their signature dishes, designed to reflect their individual philosophies, whilst showcasing seasonal and premium ingredients. Taste of Durban 2014 promises to be the most exciting ‘foodie’ event of the year. Marcelle Roberts from Café 1999 is back for the third-year running with her inimitable brand of casual cuisine. Louise Potgieter from Havana Grill at Suncoast and Themba Mngoma from Little Havana. Newcomer Nardia Adams, from Asian Tapas spot Greedy Buddha, will be cooking up a storm on the grill with Lucy Markewicz flying the colours for Freedom Café. Popular Indian restaurant Amaravathi Palki, Market, Beluga Durban, Vigour & Verve and exciting new addition to the line-up this year, The Durban eKasi Experience, brings the total of participating restaurants to nine.

Over three days, this unique international restaurant festival will bring together Durban’s most dedicated and sophisticated foodies in an al fresco, dining celebration. Visitors will have the opportunity to sip, sample and shop their way around the festival. This year’s show offers a range of brand new features and culinary experiences, to ensure that there is something for everybody to enjoy.

“We are thrilled with the wide range of restaurants, features and suppliers we have participating in Taste of Durban this year,” says Event Director, Justine Drake. “The event is growing year on year and we are excited at the prospects of a bumper turnout in 2014.”

‘Must-do’s’ include:

One of the show’s most popular attractions, the Pick n Pay Fresh Living Chef’s Theatre, where top chefs showcase their culinary skills in fun and informative cooking demonstrations, culinary challenges and entertaining Q & A sessions.

The Pick n Pay Wine and Canapé Experience, is an interactive area where guests will learn how to create simple, stylish and delicious canapés, while being instructed by wine experts on how to pair each canapé with a wide range of wines to complement the balance of flavours.

The LINDT Master Chocolatiers will be hand making delicious LINDOR truffles and fresh pralines, as well as selling their delectable EXCELLENCE and CREATION slabs and a variety of LINDOR balls. Come and enjoy the finest LINDT chocolate that melts in your mouth and gently caresses all your senses.

Castle Milk Stout Experience – Castle Milk Stout will bring a taste experience to be savoured to Taste of Durban 2014. Chill out in the marquee and lounge area, complete with the ambient sounds and a tasting experience that shows the full credentials of the full and complex flavours of Milk Stout and its pairing with food.

Robertson’s Butcher’s Block in association with Big Green Egg – A gastro theatre dedicated to all things meaty. Chef Craig Elliot and Celebrity Butcher Caroline McAnn will collaborate with local butchers to harness Robertsons 90 years of sourcing and blending spices. Your braai will never be the same again as you create a Robertsons Combination that comes alive in these versatile rubs. All dishes will be prepared in The Big Green Egg, which rethinks the South African braai, uses the ancient clay cooking technique ‘Kamado’. Featuring in the Butcher’s Block is Certified Karoo Meat of Origin- mutton and lamb which is guaranteed to be free range, fully traceable from the Karoo region, free from added hormones and routine antibiotics

BP Wild Bean Café – Two millions cups of Wild Bean Café coffee are sold and enjoyed every year. BP Wild Bean Cafés use only 100% top- quality Arabic beans – sourced from Tanzania, Gautemala, El Salvador and Brazil – offering the best combination of sweetness, acidity and bitterness. At Taste of Durban, our Wild Bean Café Baristas will hand- make your favourite coffee, latte or hot chocolate to perk you up and keep you going!

The CTA Benefit Stage – The social responsibility initiative, Cape Town Angels, has teamed up with the organisers of Taste Festivals South Africa to bring a coast-to-coast charity challenge to Durbanites. They will host the all-new Call to Action (CTA) Benefit Stage, where a line-up of local artists will entertain by donating their time and talent as an act of active volunteerism. In doing so, they will call foodies to do the same by challenging them to support local charities showcased at the event with their own time and talent donations. One such organisation will be the KZN Branch of ASSITEJ SA, a NPO aimed at transforming society through children’s theatre and so “changing the world one child at a time”

Besides the amazing range of restaurants, suppliers from around the country are pulling out all the stops to make this show a feast for every visitor. Black Mamba Chili will have their fiery gourmet chili product range on offer, while visitors looking for something sweet will love crowd favourite’s Kupcake Heaven and the amazing creations from CakeLab. Meat lovers can look forward to a range of delicious cured meats from father and son team Col’tempo Salumeria. Bringing a taste of the Cape to our sub-tropical shores, some of the country’s best wineries will showcase their award-winning wines – Idiom Wines, Hermanuspietersfontein, Orange River Estate, Thelema Mountain Vineyards, Waterford Wine Estate, Welgemeend Wine Estate, Wildekrans Wine Estate and Stellenbosch Vineyards.

Visitors will be spoilt for choice with the delicious range of frozen, authentic ready-made drinks from Original Iced Cocktails. An essential stop for all Whisky “fundi’s” is the Aficionados stand, to sample the critically acclaimed Balblair and Kavalan single malt whiskies.

To book tickets: Visit ITickets on http://www.itickets.co.za or Pick n Pay tickets on http://www.pnptickets.co.za

TASTE OF DURBAN 2014 – FAST FACTS

What, Where, When, How…

Festival times: Friday 25 July: 18h00 – 22h00,

Saturday 26 July: 12h30 – 16h30; 18h00- 22h00,

Sunday 27 July: 12h30 – 17h30

Tickets: Standard Ticket – *R80 – Entrance to the festival including a glass

Premium Ticket – *R180 – Entrance to the festival including a tasting glass plus R100 worth of Scoins (the official currency),

Taste Clubhouse Presented by DStv Ticket – R685 – entry to the festival, a free tasting glass, R150 Scoins, a private clubhouse to use as a base for the show with a complimentary bar service (wine, malt and soft drinks) plus a Taste of Durban Gift.

Tickets are limited and booking is recommended – for further information and bookings visit ITickets on http://www.itickets.co.za or Pick n Pay tickets on http://www.pnptickets.co.za

 

And onto the good news… I have five double tickets to giveaway!!! YES, a set of these could be yours and the way to get your ‘grubby little paws’ on them is super easy…

1. Follow my Twitter here!
2. Follow Taste of Durban on Twitter – Here
3.  Tweet us both with the following… “Hey @Jane10net, I need to get my hands on those @TasteofDurban tickets because I want to eat some tasty grub from _________”.
4. Comment below letting me know that you’ve done both… Don’t forget to leave your Twitter handle…

And I’ll randomly be choosing the winners on the 11th of July! Don’t forget that the event works on their own currency so be sure to start saving towards your Scoins.